and Inverness Thistle amalgamated and left to join the SFL, along with Ross County. The first game at home to Cove Rangers drew a crowd of 1,700, but ended with a 3–0 defeat. After a draw with Rothes, Academy beat the then league leaders Forres Mechanics 1–0, and after three straight wins in October, were briefly fourth in the table. In the 2001–02 Qualifying Cup, wins over Lossiemouth and Nairn County saw Academy in the Scottish Cup proper and BBC TV cameras were at Harmsworth Park where, Threave Rovers won 3–2. Midfielder Martin Gunn represented Scotland in the Four Nations semi-professional tournaments in May 2005 and May 2006. In January 2007, the club appointed Richard Hughes and Ian Munro as first team joint managers after Peter Budge resigned to join the SFA as football development officer at the Highland Football Academy. Hughes and Munro have long been associated with the Caithness side. After finishing usually between 10th and 13th, Academy completed a run of ten successive league wins in the 2008–09 season to finish fifth. Co-managers Richard Hughes and Ian Munro received the league's Manager of the Year Award, with Richard Macadie voted Player of the Year. In the 2009–10 season, wins over Clachnacuddin and Girvan put the team in the third round of the Scottish Cup for the first time, earning a home tie with Second Division side Brechin City. Academy almost pulled off a shock, but an equaliser for Brechin five-minutes from full-time saw the game finish 4–4. Brechin won the replay at Glebe Park 4–2. Academy finished the season in ninth position and midfielder Sam Mackay was voted the Sunday Post Young Player of the year. The 2010–11 season saw the Scorries under-achieve in the league with a disappointing 14th-place finish, but the Club reached their first senior Cup final in September 2011. Academy beat Brora Rangers and Thurso to reach the North of Scotland Cup where Wick produced a magnificent performance in beating a strong Inverness Caledonian Thistle side 3–1. This set up a final against the current cup holders Forres Mechanics. The final was played in Brora at Dudgeon Park and Academy took over 1,000 supporters over the Ord where they created a sea of black and white inside the ground. Unfortunately Academy had a poor first half and went into the break trailing by three goals to zero. A battling performance in the second