Conlon targets duo as Fort plot recovery
FORT FC boss Danny Conlon insists his side will improve this season – despite sliding to the foot of the Highland League.
Fort had Michael Gillespie and Sean Grant sent off in the second half as they were edged out 1-0 at fellow strugglers Strathspey Thistle on Saturday as they dropped back to the dreaded 18th position.
The winner came with 15 minutes to go when Polish striker Mateusz Bobrowski headed home a cross from Josh Peters.
Ahead of this Saturday’s home date with Deveronvale, Conlon explained that he’s closing in on two players as he bids to bolster his squad.
He said: "Even after that result, I still feel we have a squad which is getting stronger all the time, possibly as strong as it has been in the past two to three years.
"What the players need is more game time together and that will come. The problem is because the players are coming from various locations it makes training more difficult, but the more they play as a team the better we will be and I am confident that we will progress.
"We’ve two trialists with us at the moment, one is a left-back and the other is a centre back, who can play in central midfield. I don’t want to reveal who they are right now until the paperwork is complete, but if we can get these players signed up then we’ll have a really good squad."
Last season in the league, Fort crashed 7-1 against Deveronvale at Claggan Park, but only lost 2-1 away to the Banff side.
Conlon said: "Charlie (Charlesworth, Vale boss) has brought in a few players, but the team have been blowing hot and cold so far, which he will be disappointed about.
"They lost 4-0 against Forres at the weekend, but Forres are on a great run right now and, in my opinion, in a false position in the league (eighth). Deveronvale had a cracking result in the Scottish Cup recently when they beat Linlithgow Rose, so this will be a tough game for us.
"We just need to work a bit harder in games. If we can get a bit of stability that will help. If we can add the two trialists then that will give us more strength in depth and that will mean we’re not chopping and changing as often."
Fort’s defeat at Strathspey came on the back of a 6-0 home hammering by Inverurie Locos and a 3-2 win at Keith, which is their only victory of the season so far.
Conlon says Locos’ rousing 3-2 Aberdeenshire Shield win against Scottish League Two side Peterhead last week shows that they can’t read too much into that sore scoreline.
He explained: "That win against Peterhead puts things in perspective."
Looking back at the weekend’s loss at Strathspey, Conlon believes poor refereeing from Martin Kerrigan proved to be costly for Fort.
He stressed: "I thought the referee was very inconsistent. I had never seen so many free-kicks given in a game.
"Michael Gillespie was sent off for two bookings then Sean Grant was sent off late on for dissent, neither of which helped our cause.
"Their manager Brian Grant asked before the game whether they could change their keeper as their first choice (Andis Karklins) was feeling unwell.
"I said that was fine, but said to my coaching team I hope that was not going to be a bad omen.
"The keeper who played (Steve Martin) did very well, especially in the first half when we also hit the woodwork. It was a game of two contrasting teams. They played more long balls, whereas we tried to get it down and play football. I have no complaints about their goal, which was very well worked."
Two players unlikely to feature for Fort this weekend due to work commitments are Gordon McCarroll and Duncan Campbell.
