Turriff United manager Ross Jack was quick to congratulate Brora Rangers on retaining the title.
The former Dunfermline Athletic centre forward said: “They have been the best team over the season so I wish them all the best.
“We have gone to the final minute all season since we lost up at Brora early on, we have done fantastically well and I am so proud of the players, they have been brilliant this term. It’s not finished yet, we have five huge games still to play, and five wins is what we require.
“Their second goal was the killer, it was a scruffy affair I felt. There weren’t a lot of chances in the game but Steven Mackay did what he has done all season, and he did well to get into the six-yard box to score both his goals.
“We should have had a penalty, I don’t know how the referee missed that, it was a clear handball by a Brora player, but it was not to be.”
Jack felt Gary McGowan’s close-range miss in the second half changed the game, when he added: “That was the turning point, Gary put it past the post and they went up the other end and scored, that gave us a mountain to climb at 2-0.
“Having said that it was still a great effort from the players and I can’t fault them for that. We are now chasing the runners-up spot. We have a lot to play for yet as we are also in the Aberdeenshire Shield final.
“At the start of the season the pundits predicted we would finish in 12th place and we used that as great motivation. We did much better than that, but it’s still not good enough.”