Robert

They were throwing stones at some of our fans before kick off too and quite a number of Police Officers were in attendance at full time to ensure there was no further trouble and they ushered the young idiots away from the Stadium. Credit to our younger fans for not responding in kind, although it could have turned a bit nasty had the Police not been there. Totally unnecessary and it could easily have marred Aaron’s day but fortunately it didn’t.

I thought it was a pretty even match but in Hale County had a match winner. Sadly both goals started through poor play by us: losing possession cheaply for the first then giving away an unnecessary free kick in a dangerous area for the second. Wotherspoon brought out a tremendous save by the County goalkeeper when we were only one down but otherwise we didn’t carry much threat up front, although we looked a lot better after Longstaff and Mckay came on. I don’t recall County bringing our goalkeepers into action, other than picking the ball out of the net, until substitute Logan made a good block to stop a third. We need to find potency in the final third and avoid silly errors, but other than that I thought we matched them. It was great to see Aaron on the pitch again, and he got the send off he deserved from a decent crowd and afterwards in Bar 94 which was again busy today.

They are normally available at the ticketing windows along from the shop entrance.

I got my tickets in the shop and I really hope the on line issues have not deterred anyone and as tickets are available at the stadium tomorrow that they get them then. Aaron is a club legend and really deserves tomorrow. I just hope there’s a good attendance. I’m really looking forward to him and other players being in Bar 94 after the game too, hopefully celebrating a derby win.

We’ve been drawn at home to Lossiemouth on 6 August in the first round. If we win that we are at home to Strathspey on 20 August. In recent years, we have forfeited home draws and played the games away so that may happen this season too.

Jordan Alonge has signed from Forres on a one year deal.

If anyone has free time tomorrow, remember that Dale (the club Groundsman) is seeking assistance to do a general tidy up around the pitch from 1000 onwards tomorrow (Friday). Everyone’s assistance, even for a hour or two, will be very much appreciated, and if you have an edging iron or shovel please take it along too. If you can help, please let the Supporters Trust know by e-mailing them at [email protected] or reply here saying you can make it.

Does the wee no 11 have curly hair? If so that will be probably be Carlos Heredia. Ojo wore no 9 at Nairn and Clach so presumably it’s him again. The club is crediting both goals to no 9.

Sean Welsh has joined Spartans, Morgan Boyes has joined St Johnstone, Jack Newman has joined Peterhead, Cammy Kerr has joined Livingston, Billy King has joined Bonnyrigg and Nat Wedderburn has joined Cowdenbeath.

Adam MacKinnon hasn’t featured yet whilst Paul Allan was not in either squad today.

I enjoy games at HL stadiums when you are pitch side and hear everything that’s said, which is why I go. I’ve just tried to give feedback to those not there, particularly about the trialists. You are right that results don’t matter at this stage, but it’s not long until we do have competitive games and we need to be ready for them. And I’m sure we all want a win next Saturday for Aaron, and I hope he gets a really good crowd.

Thompson was playing wide right in the main with Chalmers and MacLeod the central pairing. He switched to the left in the second half as Longstaff didn’t appear after the break.

The windy conditions made it a bit of a lottery but it was a pretty poor performance by us despite the strong line up. We got our penalty when Clach were down to 10 as Meekings got a knock in the first minute and hadn’t been replaced by the time Longstaff (I think) was brought down. Wotherspoon took it well. We moved the ball pretty well, largely through Chalmers and Wotherspoon but lacked a cutting edge and didn’t create much. Clach equalised against the run of play but there was a clear offside in the build up. Clach had the best of the second half, with Munro making one fingertip save to keep it level. Our best chance fell to young Gardiner late on but he couldn’t keep his shot down. I’ve now seen Nkwonta and Ojo twice and am not convinced by either. Nkwonta was subbed with MacLeod playing right back for the latter part of the game. Next weeks games will be much bigger tests and we will need to up our game if we are to get results.

1-1 full time.

1-1. Offside in build up (right in front of me) but linesman not up with play.

1-0. Wotherspoon penalty.

Trialist A is Austin Nkwonta and Trialist B is Destiny Ojo.

Young Kerr was left back. The trialist was at right back and really didn’t impress me. He was caught out of position a few times and conceded a lot of fouls. Again, I accept it is wrong to pass judgement on one performance, particularly pre-season but the Nairn wide left player knew he’d the beating of him. I also didn’t see Keogh tracking back to help him, whereas Longstaff was tracking back to help Kerr.

Was Destiny Ojo the no 9 at Nairn? I heard calls of what sounded like Jojo, so presumably that was him. I must say I was not overly impressed but it is always hard to tell in one game, particularly pre-season. He scored 2 goals in 17 games last season.

What position was he playing?

Are Sam and Ali Nixon brothers or cousins? They both played against Clach, either a pre-season friendly or the Inverness Cup. Is Leo Walker related to Jack Walker?

If the tannoy announcer at Nairn got it right, we beat Rothes 3-2 in the other game.

Poor game with not much of note. Nairn will feel unlucky they didn’t beat us. Savage, Kerr and MacLeod were the players who caught my eye. I don’t think the right back or striker trialists would add anything to our squad, whilst Heredia was perhaps a bit more promising but not as impressive as he seems to have been on Saturday. Early days but work to do before the competitive games start.

Pretty sure it’s Carlos Heredia. He’s been the only trialist who looks worth considering if the three here based on the first half.

Half time at Nairn is 0-0. We've had most of the ball but not created much. Nairn have hit the bar and had three attempts saved. Poor game so far. 1-1 at Rothes.