Buckie Thistle 1-2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle: Caley edge Highland derby

Inverness Caledonian Thistle had to work hard to see off Highland League Buckie Thistle 2-1 at Victoria Park as they opened their pre-season.

The home side twice had the ball in the net in the early stages, only for both efforts to be ruled offside and the Premier League team took the lead when Shane Sutherland netted from Richie Foran’s pass.

Martin Laing doubled their advantage when he beat Darren Strong with a left-foot shot ten minutes from time and Neil Robertson scrambled a late consolation for Buckie from a corner kick.

First Division champions Ross County edged Turriff United 1-0 away from home, the only goal coming midway through the first half when Steven Craig delivered a perfect cross for Colin McMenamin to turn home from six yards.

Dundee, still unsure whether they will start the season in the Premier League or Division One, enjoyed a 2-1 away win at Lancaster City.

Ryan Conroy struck the post early on for Dundee and it was no surprise when they took the lead after 16 minutes, Conroy’s free-kick headed into his own net by Neil Marshall.

Robert Douglas saved from Zach Clark as Lancaster hit back and the home side equalised four minutes from half-time while McGregor was off receiving treatment and Clark scored with a low shot.

Iain Davidson came on early in the second half and came close to getting on the scoresheet when he headed wide at the far post as Dundee stepped up a gear.

Baird came even closer shortly aferwards with a well-struck shot from 25 yards which whistled narrowly wide.

Stephen O’Donnell scored the winner after 78 minutes with a precise finish when he steered his shot high into the net from the edge of the penalty box.

Cowdenbeath won an entertaining game 4-2 at Brora Rangers after establishing a 3-0 half-time lead, player-manager Colin Cameron getting in on the scoring act with a superbly-taken third goal.

Liam Baxter and Steven Mackay pulled a couple of goals back for the home side but John Armstrong then scored a fourth for Cowdenbeath.

Cove Rangers struck a blow for the Highland League by beating Arbroath 1-0, the only goal coming after an hour from Ryan Stott.

At Ochilview, Andy Rodgers continued where he left off last season as he gave Stenhousemuir a 2-0 win over Montrose. The club’s top scorer last season, he scored twice in six minutes early in the second half to settle the issue. The striker was guilty of missing a decent chance late in the first half when Eric Paton’s free-kick came back off the underside of the crossbar and he sent the follow-up shot wide. But he produced a cool finish from outside the area six minutes after the break to find the bottom corner of the net and then took a pass from strike-partner Stewart Kean to grab his second when he clipped the ball high into the net from 25 yards. Stenhousemuir dominated and Montrose did not manage a serious effort on goal throughout the 90 minutes.

A Falkirk XI beat Stirling Albion 3-0 in a closed-door game at Forthbank. Jay Fulton fired the Bairns in front after 11 minutes with a deflected 25-yard shot and his brother Dale doubled the visitors’ advantage midway through the first half when he converted a spot-kick conceded by Albion player-boss Greig McDonald. A trialist completed the scoring with a header in 65 minutes.

Morton beat Albion Rovers 1-0 in a game played at St Andrew’s High School in Coatbridge, a rehearsal for when the teams meet in the first round of the Ramsdens Challenge Cup later this month.

Livingston’s match against Rapid Bucharest at Grangemouth Stadium was called off due to a waterlogged pitch after an 11am inspection. The Romanians play Motherwell at the same venue tomorrow at 7pm.