On BBC i-player the documentary on Fort William FC told a sorry tale of the Scottish 5th Tier club's 73 (at least) "winless" matches in the Scottish Highland League and various cup games. At home at Claggan Park, Fort William's 840 days of despair came to end when they beat Nairn County 5-2 in the North of Scotland Cup. The club's goal difference in the league was, at the time, 221 and they won their last game four campaigns ago, when they trounced Strathspey Thistle 4-1. Last season's record read; 2 draws and 7 points deducted due to use of an illegal player THRICE!
Sited at the foot of Ben Nevis, the Fort William club always had a mountain to climb. Manager Rossie MacMorran, a traffic police officer, has used the experience of running the club as a cure for his PTSD acquired through having to attend too many nasty traffic accidents on his Highland patch. There's a lot of driving to do however, with nearest rival, Clachnacuddin 66 miles away in Inverness and one player has a 300 mile round trip to make earning £20 a game!
Last February they were leading a league game at half time when the referee abandoned the game due to a waterlogged pitch. It wasn't going to be their season! Eventually the club formed a "tie up" with Inverness Caledonian Thistle borrowing 9 players from the Scottish League club, two of whom scored in the recent victory
Founded in 1974, Fort William has been through the North Caledonian League from 1983 and joined the Highland League in 1985. Their most recent league game was on July 27 losing away to Brora Rangers 6-0 with Inverurie Loco Works due to come to Claggan Park on Saturday.
I like it when individuals come together and share views.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, keep it up!