Mackay stars as Nairn crush Fort William

STEVEN Mackay grabbed four goals as Nairn County moved third spot in the Highland League with a sensational 9-0 midweek romp at Fort William.

Les Fridge’s side, who are midway through a run of six successive away matches, showed no signs of fatigue as they tore their hosts apart.

Fort, who have a number of young players in their team, had no answer against one of the division’s most clinical teams.

The goal blitz began when David Watson crashed home a shot from the edge of the box after being set up by Ross Naismith.

Mackay then netted his first of the evening with a close-range header before Robbie Duncanson powered the visitors’ into a 3-0 lead after just 12 minutes.

Paul Macleod’s cross beat goalkeeper Robbie Donaldson, who is on loan from Clach, and Steven Ellis added to Fort’s woes when he finished after good build-up play from Mackay and Wayne Mackintosh.

Mackay notched goals either side of the break for his hat-trick to make it 7-0 and leave Fort’s young side stunned.

A Mackay penalty completed his terrific night, but Nairn added one more as Duncanson added his name to the scoresheet with five minutes to go.

Nairn will aim to build on this when their well-used team bus takes them north to Brora Rangers on Saturday, while Fort will look to gain some much-needed confidence when they host Fraserburgh.