Player Interview: Flying Lewis Set To Jet Back Down Under
One player who has been flying for Nairn County of late is Lewis MacKinnon. But now the centre half-come-centre forward is set to jet back Down Under to resume his playing career in Australia.
It was a situation County boss Les Fridge knew he would have to deal with when he brought the player to the club on a short-term deal back in November. But surely even the manager could not have foreseen the profound impact the 23-year-old would have had on the team when he beat off the likes of Buckie Thistle, Elgin City and Huntly to his signature.
Because of the winter weather, MacKinnon has only managed seven games in his second stint at the club - but the way in which he has established himself as a first pick in Fridge's team is testament to the ability of the former Inverness CT youth.
Since returning to Station Park - where he spent the 2004-05 season on loan from Inverness CT - MacKinnon has grabbed five goals as he struck up an instant understanding with sidekick Shaun Kerr. He showed little sentiment on his second debut for the club by opening the scoring at his former employers Buckie Thistle. But County went on to lose the game.
He again featured up front in the 2-2 draw with Clachnacuddin in his home town of Inverness before filling in at the back as Nairn rounded off 2008 with a derby defeat at Forres Mechanics.
But since the turn of the year, MacKinnon has really stamped his authority on the team. He was the difference between the sides when Fort William visited Station Park in January, scoring one and setting up another as County struggled to see off the league's bottom dogs.
Then he added further two to his tally in another commanding display at Brora Rangers as County saw off the home side in a comfortable 3-0 win before bagging his final goal in County colours in the 2-2 draw with table toppers Deveronvale last week. Another 2-2 draw followed in his last outing for the club at Keith as Nairn battled their way to a share of the spoils at Kynoch Park.
After that match, Nairn County FC Online grabbed an exclusive chat with Nairn's departing number eight. Speaking about the game, he said: "It turned out to be a battle in the end and the goals we lost were probably pretty poor. But we scored two cracking goals ourselves and Shaun (Kerr) did really well."
The former Forres man added: "My time at the club has been good and there have been a lot of changes since the last time I was here. There has definitely been a big improvement and maybe with a couple of quality additions in the summer, the club will have the ability to step higher up the league."
MacKinnon is preparing for his mammoth journey back to Oz which begins at the start of next week. "I fly off on Monday and that is me back there until September 14. That's when the season finishes over there so after that I'll be back in sunny Scotland!"
He has managed to avoid a gruelling pre-season regime in the sweltering heat of Australia and will go straight into the league campaign upon his return. He revealed: "I'm straight into when I get there with my team, Sunshine Coast, in Queensland and we have our first league game next Saturday. I have managed to dodge pre-season for two years in a row now due to being away which is quite good."
MacKinnon is firmly placed to compare the standard of football Down Under with the Highland League. He said: "It's a pretty reasonable standard that Sunshine Coast play at, probably level with the Highland League or Third Division. There's a bit more football played and it's a bit less physical because of the heat."
And the former Inverness CT youth will not be alone with several former Highland League players already plying their trade in the same league. MacKinnon said: "Brian Gilfillan who played on loan at Brora while with Inverness CT is out there just now and Richie Davidson, my former Buckie teammate, is signed out there as well. There's also Greg Hennessey - who used to play for Montrose - over there so there is a good Scottish connection."
With the likes of Scott Graham, Martin MacDonald, Glenn Main, Willie Barron and Chris Finnigan all at the club and capable of playing up front, Fridge is not short of candidates to take MacKinnon's place. But the manager will be hard pushed to find a player able to come into the team and make as big an impact in such a short space of time as Lewis has done.