7pm 19 July 2021
Inverness and District League, Division Two
Conon Bridge 3 Tomatin United 2 (att 56)
Most games in the Inverness and District League are played on the many pitches at Bught Park, but a handful of village clubs have their own grounds, and Conon Bridge is one of them.
The club has made a recent and welcome return to local football. There was a Conon Bridge in the Ross-shire Amateur League in the mid 1990s, when I first travelled far enough north to take an interest, but the club disappeared and football in the village remained dormant for many years.
The Ross-shire Amateur League is no more, but clubs who were once in that have gravitated to the Inverness and District League. As newcomers Conon Bridge are in the third and lowest tier, but that hasn't dampened local enthusiasm.
Due to Covid, spectators are officially discouraged from Inverness League games at present, and neither the local newspaper nor the league's social media account list fixtures. There was still a decent turnout for this match, and by my reckoning none of us watching broke the current Scottish Government rules for outside gatherings.
The socially-distanced crowd was treated to a great game. Both teams had early chances but it was Conon Bridge who opened the scoring. A great strike by Tomatin levelled the score, but the home side were back in front by half time.
The end to end action continued into the second period, but the only goals were penalties. Conon Bridge got theirs first, after around an hour, and it proved decisive. A rash challenge by the home keeper allowed the visitors to reduce the arrears from the spot 15 minutes before the end.
Conon Bridge play on a narrow pitch in the centre of the village. There's no facilities, not that any would be expected or required at this level, but on a warm evening it was a nice place to watch a game. And it was only a 20 minute drive back to our temporary base in Inverness.
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