Fraserburgh’s Aidan Sopel joked he’ll continue shooting on sight after netting what he believes is the best goal of his career.
The Broch winger broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion in their 3-0 Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield quarter-final victory against Keith at Kynoch Park on Wednesday night.
After kick-off had been delayed until 8.45pm due to a power outage, Sopel’s strike lit up the evening. From Greg Buchan’s crossfield pass, his first touch took him inside on to his right foot before he lashed a sublime shot into the top right corner from 30 yards.
Fraserburgh face Formartine United at North Lodge Park on Saturday in the Breedon Highland League – and Sopel fancies trying to repeat the feat.
The 25-year-old said: “I took a touch, and I just thought: ‘I’ll hit this as hard as I can’ – and thankfully it went in the top corner!
“It was a good strike, and in senior football, it’s the best goal I’ve scored.
“Hopefully there’s more goals like that in my locker. I’ll be shooting every chance I get on Saturday so see if I can replicate Wednesday’s goal!”
Big games to come for Fraserburgh
Victory on Wednesday means Fraserburgh have now lost just once in 17 matches in all competitions and have two semi-finals to look forward to.
The Broch face Turriff United at the Haughs next Wednesday in the last -four of the Shield and host Banks o’ Dee in the semis of the R Davidson (Banchory) Highland League Cup on Friday, February 28.
Sopel added: “It was good to get through on Wednesday. Keith played well and we were under pressure at times.
“But once we got the second goal, we pushed on from there and we managed to get through, which was the main thing.
“We’ve been doing well recently and it’s good to have two semi-finals to look forward to.”
Robertson wants Keith to power on for rest of the season
Keith co-captain Ryan Robertson had never experienced anything quite like the build-up to Wednesday’s game against Fraserburgh.
But after being knocked out of the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield, he insists it is crucial the Maroons don’t let the lights go out on the rest of their season.
The Broch triumphed 3-0 at Kynoch Park on Wednesday in the quarter-final of the Shield, but the result only tells part of the story.
The tie had already been postponed five times and – before kick-off – it looked like a sixth call-off was on the cards when a power outage around 7.15pm in the Keith area meant the floodlights started flickering on and off.
But after two blown fuses within the ground’s circuit board were replaced, the lights were back on, and following consultation between both clubs and referee Robert Mackinnon, the tie got under way at 8.45pm.
Bizarre build-up
Robertson, who is joint-skipper at Keith alongside James Brownie, said: “I’ve never been involved in anything quite like that.
“When we played Brechin at Glebe Park last season there was a stoppage because of a floodlight outage, but that was fixed pretty quickly – whereas we weren’t really sure what was going to happen on Wednesday.
“It was a big game for both teams and it was a bizarre way to prepare.
“But we did well to regroup and make sure we were focused when kick-off came.
“Before the game there was a lot of laughing and joking and the boys were in good spirits.
“Then we heard there was a deadline for it being called on or off (9pm) and, as that was getting closer, it would be easy to let your mind wander, and think: ‘It’ll be off – we’ll go again next week.’
“I didn’t want it to be off again. Even though we lost, I’m not going to say I wanted it off.
“We were all wanting the game to be played and the circumstances didn’t have anything to do with the result.”
Keith’s quest for goals
Keith went toe-to-toe with Fraserburgh for long spells, but after falling behind to Aidan Sopel’s magnificent strike, the Maroons were unable to take their chances and a brace from Logan Watt sealed the Broch’s victory.
With 13 games left this season, Keith are 14th in the Breedon Highland League table with 21 points. Robertson believes they can finish the campaign strongly if they start scoring when they’re on top.
He added: “We don’t seem to be getting the rub of the green in front of goal.
“It wasn’t just against Fraserburgh – it was the same in the game before that against Lossiemouth (2-0 defeat) when we were on top we couldn’t take advantage.
“We need to stay positive. We’ve still got 13 league games left, so the aim is to try to get as many points on the board as we can and finish as high as possible.
“The last two games are probably the most creative we’ve been for a while in terms of the chances we’ve had.
“I think we’re just needing one to hit the net and that will give us a bit of confidence.”
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