Ally Macdonald fired up for run in as Brora Rangers look to return to the summit of the Highland League
Ally Macdonald reckons it is time for Brora Rangers to start walking the walk in the Highland League – rather than talking up their title credentials.
The 33-year-old left-back knows what it takes to win the north game’s top honour and is clear on the opportunity still beckoning for the Sutherland club this year.
But Macdonald betrayed an impatience to spark a run of victories – after a costly 4–4 draw with Formartine late last year – as he looked ahead to tomorrow’s trip to play Nairn County.
Fraserburgh sit six points above the Cattachs, but the pair still have to meet once more in the league among a clutch of demanding games.
“We know the gap can be closed – it is still there for us,” Macdonald said.
“The same is true for the likes of Buckie and Brechin, while Inverurie will definitely have a say in where the league title goes.
“The big positive is it is still in our hands. We have a bit of control over it and know in ourselves what we are capable of achieving.
“We’re capable of beating any team in the league, but we need to start showing that on Saturdays because we’ve dropped points to Formartine twice and Fraserburgh at the start of the season.
“It is all well and good talking about it, but we have to go out and show just what a good team we are.
“We’re still full of confidence and the management team’s positivity can be a big factor for us in what lies ahead.”
The cost controller with Global has been impressed by the Broch’s resilience as leaders, particularly in their 5–3 festive win against Brechin.
“Watching Fraserburgh in their recent games, you felt maybe they would drop something against Brechin, but they obviously came back and won it,” Macdonald said.
“We’re in the unfamiliar position of chasing them, and they’re dealing quite well with the pressure of leading the table. That’s probably been their downfall in the last couple of seasons when they’ve faded a little bit.
“This year, they seem to be ploughing on, but we’ve still got to play them again and both us and them have a good few tricky games remaining.”
Macdonald added: “Our games against Nairn are a bit like local derbies. We know what we’ll get from them – they will look to make it hard for us for as long as possible – but we need to get back to the kind of winning run we were on before Covid began playing havoc.”
Ross County, meanwhile, have recalled loan pair Matthew Wright and Adam Mackinnon from the Cattachs.