Edinburgh-based Mental Mechanics to visit Forres for Carisbrooke clash at Mosset Park
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FOOTBALL club Mental Mechanics will be coming to Forres for the first time next month – and playing at Mosset Park.
The Edinburgh-based club, set up by three Forres locals in memory of close friend Charlie Tull, will be playing a charity match against welfare side Carisbrooke on at 7.30pm on Friday, November 5.
The match will be free to enter, with donations and a raffle at the gate. Proceeds will be split between the two sides, with Carisbrooke to donate the money to Forres charities, while Mental Mechanics' half will go towards Edinburgh-based mental health charity Support In Mind.
While raising as much cash as possible for charity, the match will also be played in memory of Charlie Tull and Martin Scott – two young local men who lost their lives after mental health struggles.
Team president Fin Anderson said: "The whole idea of the game is to connect Mental Mechanics back to Forres. I've been amazed at how generous people in the town have been with the club and we want to show we are appreciative.
"As well as that, we want to connect back to Charlie and Martin's families. Charlie was the inspiration for the club and Martin's family have supported us really well.
"We want the match to be a celebration of their lives. It should be a night for people who knew them to reminisce, as well as support the fight for better mental health."
It isn't just people who knew the pair who will be in attendance at Mosset Park – with the whole town invited down to watch what is sure to be a competitive game.
Mental Mechanics have played nine games in the Lothian and Amateur FA's Division 1 West, with mixed success, and will be testing themselves against Forres and Nairn Welfare cup winners Carisbrooke.
Fin added: "We are coming up there to win! We aren't coming to roll over, I can't let a team from my home town beat us.
"We were unsure if our squad would want to come up but the match has been so popular that we have to have an extra car coming up alongside a 19-man bus.
"The majority of our team haven't stepped foot in Forres before but they all want to come up, play at Mosset Park and enjoy the weekend.
"We have to thank Forres Mechanics, they always said we could have the pitch on a weekend they weren't at home.
"The Brookie have been great with organising the match, too, they were the ones to message us as a lot of their team knew Charlie.
"The support from the whole town has been touching – from Mechanics, Forres Thistle and now the welfare league."
Forres Mechanics secretary Ian Wood said: "We were more than happy to help Mental Mechanics out and allow them use of our facilities.
"The club has an important message and is close to the hearts of many in the town. We'll continue to help them out in future where possible."
With the game on the Friday night, the remainder of the weekend will also act as a squad builder for Mental Mechanics – who will be heading along to Forres Thistle's game on the Saturday to thank them for raising funds for the club during lockdown.
The match will be filmed, so there will be highlights for those who can't make it along. There is also a JustGiving page for those who can't attend, which can be found HERE.
Any businesses willing to donate raffle prizes should contact Mental Mechanics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FCmentalmechanics.
