Keith set for Elgin City clash as pre-season begins
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
KEITH are set to play their first official friendly match of the season tonight when they welcome Elgin City to Kynoch Park.
The Maroons drew 1-1 with Forres Mechanics in a behind-closed-doors bounce match in Banff on Saturday, but tonight will provide the first chance for supporters to see the new-look squad.
City come into the match (kick-off 7.30pm) off the back of four straight wins – having defeated Highland League sides Lossiemouth and Clachnacuddin 6-0 and 5-0 respectively and Highland League champions Fraserburgh and League One outfit Peterhead 2-0.
After hosting Elgin, Keith travel to face Ellon United on Thursday, before a local derby with Islavale at Kynoch Park on Saturday.
“We have a really varied mix of friendlies,” manager Craig Ewen said.
“We are doing a bit of a bonding type of trip down to Edinburgh to take on Tynecastle in July, we’ve got Hermes as well as a couple of other junior games which will be tough.
“Islavale will give us a bit of a local derby, so we will see how that goes and see what we have available.
“We’ve got a lot of boys on holiday but hopefully we can get plenty of match fitness into the players.”
Keith will be without Kieran Mooney and Nizam Abdulkarim who are away, Liam Duncan, who is returning to light training after a cruciate ligament injury, and Scott Gray, who is working as a football coach in the United States until late August.
Ewen is hoping to have 15 or 16 players available for the coming friendlies.
The Highland League fixtures for the upcoming season have also been announced – with the Maroons set for a difficult opening game when they host Brora Rangers on Saturday, July 23.
The fixtures were released on Thursday, after it was decided that Fort William won’t be playing in the league next season.
After hosting Brora, Keith make the long journey north to face Wick Academy.
Ewen added: “There aren’t any easy games for Keith so every game will be tough.
“Brora at home is a tough start, but maybe it’s a good time for us to go to Wick in the summer rather than winter. We’re just going to take it one game at a
time. We’re hoping to get off to a positive start and get points on the board early and get a bit of a confidence boost.
“But we are aware it’ll be difficult to stifle Brora.”
Meanwhile, James Brownie and Ryan Robertson have been named joint Keith captains for the 2022-23 season.
