Clach get active with double signing boost
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CLACH made a double signing swoop on Sunday with the recruitment of a new assistant manager and a talented attacking midfielder from Ross County.
The Highland League club moved quickly to appoint former defender Brian Macleod as Allan MacDonald’s replacement as Iain Polworth’s right-hand man, and 19-year-old starlet James Beeston has been snapped up from the Scottish Premiership Staggies.
Polworth said of Macleod: "Brian is a great addition and has shown to be really keen and respected as a coach.
"He came back from his time playing at Nairn and has his family fully involved in the club and I’m sure it’s news that is good both for him and the club.
"Allan MacDonald has been absolutely fantastic for me, but he had to take time out to have a hip operations. He’s recharging the batteries and will always be welcomed back if he wants to be involved with the club."
The manager, meanwhile, was happy with how the belief grew within his side as they restored pride within Sunday’s 3-1 friendly defeat against Caley Thistle.
The Highland League side, who faced juniors Inverness City at Lister Park last night, were blown away by early goals from Ali Sutherland and Sam Robertson before Alex Fisher made it 3-0 just before the break.
A much-improved second half display saw the Merkinchers test their Premiership visitors from across the city and Liam Shewan reduced the deficit, after Stuart Leslie had blasted a penalty over the bar following Martin Callum being tripped in the box.
Polworth said: "I was really happy with the second half performance. We got a lot closer to them. We let them play in the first half, especially in the first 20 minutes.
"We found ourselves two down because we were not getting close enough to them, which was disappointing, but overall it was a good workout for us.
"We have boys here with good ability. They just need at times to have that wee bit more belief and hunger.
"We showed that better in the second half, after maybe giving them too much respect in the first half.
"Caley Thistle have good players and when you give good players space and time, they can really hurt you."
