Hopes for top three finish remain intact following Inverness win

That gap looked set to extend after the opening quarter, when Inverness’s Dominic Macaulay opened the day’s scoring with his ninth finish of the season.

But this Fort William team is made of sterner stuff and 10 minutes later Finlay MacDonald arrived in the box to level the scores.

Five minutes after that, another traveller, Spaniard Juan Cardona, edged the away team ahead.

And almost immediately, Andrew Sneddon rattled the rigging for his seventh goal of the term to close the half.

Despite a finish from Inverness’s Luke Mackay on the hour, 3-2 was the final score.

Goalkeeper Kit Fletcher won the man of the match award after several smart stops to keep the team in the contest.

The win sees Fort William move a point clear of Golspie in fourth, level on games played. However, Halkirk’s three games in hand may yet see Fort William slide further back.

Temporary gaffer Darren Duncan said: “The team deserves their plaudits today.

“It was not our best performance against a good side, but sometimes you’ve just got to roll the sleeves up and grind out a win and they did that.

“I’ve been part of plenty of Fort teams over the years that would have lost that, so the lads can really hold their heads up high.”

Fort William’s next game, on Saturday March 23 at Claggan Park, is their final home tie of the season when they host Tain St Duthus. Kick-off 1pm.