Elgin City’s bid to get promoted through the play-offs today could be hit by a lack of balls.
The Borough Briggs side has been targeted by thieves in the run-up to the club’s biggest game in 40 years.
It means the team have only one ball left for the match as they look to win promotion for the first time in their history.
City regularly lose balls that are kicked out of the ground during the season and will be doing their best to make sure more do not go missing.
Chairman Graham Tatters said: “We’ve just got to play on with one ball and try to keep it for as long as we can.
“We have to use the official yellow SPFL balls, you can’t get them in the shops. They’re very recognisable.
“Earlier this season, we bought about 10 extra ones at £40 each because we seem to be losing balls hand over fist at the moment. We’re losing about one a game over the fence.”
It is estimated that up to 15 balls were taken by the thieves. They went missing between Thursday April 28 and Thursday May 5.
After packing them into a container at the ground the previous week, the chairman was making preparations for today’s crunch play-off game, which he has described as the club’s most important match since the 1970s.
When he opened the doors, which had been left unlocked, he noticed the balls, which were all still in polythene wrappers, had been taken.
Mr Tatters admitted the club’s “stupidity” was partly to blame. Instead of reporting the theft to police, he is hoping the culprits will be shamed into giving them back.
He said: “It’s our own stupid fault. We should have locked it. There were other things in there, but all they took were the balls.
“It just annoys me that people out there will steal from the football club. I’m hoping somebody sees the balls being used and gives us a shout so we can get them back.
“We’ve still got about eight left for the warm-ups, but the referee always wants a brand new match-ball for the game.”