Forres Thistle’s north junior football championship promotion hopes fade after heavy defeat at Longside
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Forres Thistle’s distant promotion hopes were all-but-banished after a bruising 6-1 defeat in Buchan.
With the top four sides in north junior football’s Championship in line for promotion to the Premier League, Jags needed a win at Longside on Saturday to keep their hopes alive.
They scored after just two minutes when Jamie Souter flicked on Connor Aubrey’s throw and Neil Moir scored at the back post.
The Thistle lead lasted barely five minutes as a Sol Collins free kick went low to keeper Rian Wilson’s left side but somehow evaded him and bounced into the net.
The wind and fast surface made life difficult for both teams with Ricky Wardrop firing high and wide from Forres’ next chance.
Longside went in front eight minutes before the break when on-loan Turriff United man Harry Copeman scored with a spectacular overhead kick from the edge of the box.
Aubrey fired wide from a Forres free kick as the home side held their advantage until the break.
Moir went through one-on-one for the visitors at the start of the second half but was denied by a save.
Longside then grabbed a third when Jamie Elrick’s wind-assisted 35-yard effort flew into the top corner of the net.
In the final 15 minutes Jamieson headed in a fourth, and Collins netted his second in spectacular fashion with a 40-yard free kick.
The elements helped the home side’s long range shooting, with Copeman also scoring from fully 35 yards to add to the impressive goals display and leave Forres floored.
Forres: Wilson, Stone (Grant 46), Gemmell, Milne, Innes, Hoath, J Souter (Owen 56), A Souter, Moir, Wardrop (Janousek 77), Aubrey (Clark 56). Subs: Lloyd, Robertson, McLeod.
