Clachnacuddin A 2
Fort William 3
North Caledonian League
A powerhouse finish from Davie Neil saw Fort William Football Club enjoy a late, late show as they pipped Clachnacuddin A in Inverness, writes Peter Newman.
The win moves the Claggan Park men to the top of the table, even if only temporarily.
In the first half, however, it did not look like it would go their way as Clach set out their stall to frustrate – and did so effectively.
Doubling up defensively to try and neutralise attacker Marty Munro, Fort played some attractive football in the wrong areas of the park and produced little of excitement.
This meant when the defenders failed to deal with a bouncing ball, it was all the more surprising for the home side when Aidan Mackinnon slipped a finish past Kit Fletcher for 1-0 after 23 minutes.
The pattern of play remained that way until half-time.
Manager Alan Gray and assistant Darren Duncan made certain the players were left in no doubt of the increased performance levels required.
This did not immediately bare fruit. Passions ran high as the linesman awarded a penalty to Fort William for a scything challenge on Munro, only for the referee to wave his colleague aside and order play on.
Despite chances beginning to arrive, Clach doubled the advantage on the hour, Ryan Walker slotting a penalty home after the Clach striker got between Kieran Lopez and Fletcher and went to ground.
Five minutes later, however, Juan Cardona reduced the arrears after a goal line stramash.
Now it was all Fort William as they poured forward to get a positive result.
When the two sides drew last month, it had taken a last gasp Andrew Mclean header to secure the point. Here, as the clock approached 80 minutes, the lolloping midfielder nosed in front of his defender and planted another finish home for his fifth goal of the season.
The final twist came as another goal line skirmish saw the ball drop to Davie Neil. Taking control with a powerful shot, Neil secured his first goal for the club and three points.
Alan Gray said: “We made it hard work for ourselves but at least we got a positive result. It was an epic comeback but having the spirit to get the three points is what counts. These are the games you grind out and earn the points. They could be important come the end of the season.
“There were a number of decent performances, but I was especially impressed with Ross Peters who was incredibly hard-working and consistent.
“Credit also goes to Davie Neil who has been hard-working off the bench and has finally got his first goal.”
Next week sees Fort William travel north again to take on Alness.