Brora Rangers’ North of Scotland Cup final hat-trick hero Shane Sutherland was delighted to gift his winners’ medal and the match ball to his son Lewis.
The striker notched a treble in the Cattachs’ emphatic 6-1 victory over Clachnacuddin at Station Park, Nairn and joked he wouldn’t see his medal again after giving it to his seven-year-old son.
Sutherland, 33, only returned to action last month after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained while playing for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in May 2022.
The ex-Elgin City and Peterhead player revealed a desire for Lewis to see him playing motivated him to make sure he got back on the pitch.
Sutherland said: “After all the hard work of the last two-and-a-half years, this makes it even better. It’s the first cup I’ve won at Brora and I’m delighted to win a trophy.
“The way we started the game we were able to put it to bed quite early and we were very professional.
‘It means a lot’
“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance to play in games like this again.
“It means a lot because of what I’ve been through – I’ve had the little man asking if I’m going to play again for two years.
“Lewis wants to play football when he’s older, like all kids do. He’s away with the match ball and my medal, so I might never see them again, they’ll be in his room.
“I said to him after I gave him the medal: ‘Am I going to see that again?’ And he said no!
“When I was at Caley Thistle before my injury he was only five and wasn’t as interested in football.
“But in the last couple of years when I haven’t been playing, he’s got into football, so it meant a lot that he was here.
“To see the smile on his face when I gave him the medal was great. A lot of the boys had their kids on the pitch at the end – and that’s what it’s about when you win finals.
“There are people at my former club that told me it was time to hang my boots up and that drove me on.
“The other thing is to have memories to look back on. When Lewis is older he can decide how good or bad I’ve been, but to have him here makes it all worthwhile.”
Match action
In front of a large crowd at a sunny Station Park ,Brora produced a sparkling display.
There was an intensity to the Cattachs’ play that Clach struggled to cope with and the breakthrough arrived after only five minutes.
Ali Sutherland found space at the edge of the box and his pinpoint pass teed up Shane Sutherland to finish into the bottom left corner from 12 yards.
Soon after, Shane Sutherland had an effort deflected wide. From the resultant Tony Dingwall corner on the left, Michael Finnis’ close range header was brilliantly saved by the left hand of goalkeeper Joe Malin.
The vast majority of the play continued to be towards the Clach goal as the Lilywhites did their best to dig in, but after half an hour Brora struck again.
Craig MacKenzie’s inswinging corner from the right was headed into his own net by defender Josh Meekings at the near post.
In the 35th minute, goal number three arrived. James Wallace advanced down the left flank and picked out Shane Sutherland inside the penalty area. Hs angled finish nestled in the bottom right corner.
Before the first period was over, Malin made a good block to thwart Wallace and Shane Sutherland curled narrowly wide.
No let up
Despite Clach boss Conor Gethins making three changes at the break, little changed in terms of the flow of the contest.
In the 48th minute, Colin Williamson made it 4-0 with a near-post header from Dingwall’s corner on the left.
There was no mercy from Brora and Shane Sutherland completed his hat-trick just shy of the hour mark when he nodded home Tom Kelly’s delivery from the right.
In the 61st minute, the Cattachs netted again. Kelly passed to Shane Sutherland on the right side of the area and his low ball across goal was tapped in by Craig MacKenzie.
Clach’s Malin – up against the club he served for 11 years – prevented further damage with two spectacular fingertip saves to repel MacKenzie’s 25-yard free-kick and Williamson’s attempt from even further out.
The custodian also made superb double save from Williamson and Finnis headers.
In the final quarter of an hour, Clach subs Scott Davidson and Troy Cooper stung the palms of Brora goalkeeper Cammy Mackay.
The Lilywhites’ consolation came in stoppage time when Davidson’s cross from the right broke for Lewis Mackenzie to finish from 15 yards with the aid of a deflection.
The final whistle soon after confirmed Brora’s ninth North of Scotland Cup success and their seventh triumph in this tournament in the last 11 years.
Bosses deliver their verdict
Steven Mackay hailed Brora Rangers’ flawless North of Scotland Cup final performance as he won a first trophy of his second stint as manager.
As a player with the Cattachs, Mackay helped them win seven honours and during his first spell as manager – between 2018 and 2021 – he led them to two Breedon Highland League titles and a North of Scotland Cup.
He also won this tournament last season with Nairn County before returning to Dudgeon Park in April.
Mackay said: “The expectation at Brora is that you win trophies so it’s nice to get one early and take the pressure off slightly.
“I came back because I want to win cups and I want to win the league as well.
“It was a flawless performance from us. We knew this had the potential to be a tricky game for us.
“We felt if we started the game right and did the dirty side of the game right in terms of winning second balls and pressing them, then our quality would shine through.
“I’m delighted with the win, the performance was clinical – it doesn’t get better than that really.”
On the contribution of Shane Sutherland, Mackay added: “Shane’s a top class player and we knew that when we signed him.
“Was it a risk signing someone that hadn’t played for two years? Possibly.
“But we knew he was desperate to get back. We felt we could bleed him in at the right times and his quality would be huge for us. He’s a phenomenal player.”
Boss Conor Gethins said: “It’s a tough learning curve for the boys. We’ve told all of them to get their head up – six months ago we were second bottom of the league.
“We were up against an excellent Brora team. That’s the level we want to be, but right now they’re at a different level.
“I’m gutted for the fans and the players. A lot of them haven’t been in this position before.
“We’re here to win trophies, push Clach up the league and bring the good days back to Clach.
“It might take a couple of years, but we will. We’re not even a year into our project and we’re sixth in the league and we’ve been in a final.”
Teams
Clachnacuddin (4-3-3) – Malin 8, Kerr 5, Meekings 5, H Nicolson 5, Riddle 5 (Cormack 46); MacKay 5 (Adams 46), Macleod 5 (Cooper 64), Davison 5; MacPhee 5 (L Mackenzie), Anderson 5 (Davidson 64), Bunce 5.
Subs not used – Rae, Urquhart, Lawrie.
Brora Rangers (4-2-3-1) – Mackay 8, Kelly 8, Nicolson 8, Finnis 8, Williamson 8; A Sutherland 9, C MacKenzie 8; Ewan 8, Dingwall 9, Wallace 8, S Sutherland 9.
Subs not used – Gillan, J MacRae.
Referee – Owen Lawrence 6.
Man of the match – Shane Sutherland.
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