Fraserburgh captain Willie West was delighted to lift the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield and deliver the perfect birthday present for his son Zack.
The Broch defeated Formartine United 4-2 in a thrilling final at the Haughs in Turriff to win the Shield for a record-extending 10th time.
Skipper West made his debut for the Buchan side in November 2003 and is the most decorated player in the club’s history.
This is 14th trophy he’s won with Fraserburgh and the fifth time he’s triumphed in the Shield.
The 37-year-old was thrilled for everyone associated with the Broch and enjoyed celebrating with his family at full-time.
West, who opened the scoring in the final, said: “Once I’d lifted the trophy I wanted to see my family and let them experience it.
“It’s my son Zack’s birthday, he’s seven and it was really special to score a goal and win it for him. It was a wee bit past his bedtime, but it was great to share it with the family.”
Togetherness is key
Fraserburgh led 2-0, but had withstand a comeback as Formartine rallied to make it 2-2.
West added: “The momentum was with Formartine at 2-2 and I was a bit worried. There was a period of the game where it felt like it maybe wasn’t going to happen for us, but we recovered well and got things back under control.
“We showed the character in the team to get the third and fourth goals.
“The character and the spirit is just the whole ethos of the club – it comes from the chairman and the board down to the management team and the players.
“There’s a togetherness at Fraserburgh, it’s a really enjoyable club to play for and a great place to be.”
Match action
In the opening exchanges Formartine carried the greater threat. Graeme Rodger had one effort blocked by Bryan Hay and fired narrowly over following a Robert Ward corner.
A tempting Julian Wade cross evaded everyone in the six-yard area and he later teed up Paul Campbell on the right of the box, but goalkeeper Joe Barbour gathered his cross-cum-shot.
Fraserburgh did have a couple of sights of goal as a Greg Buchan snap-shot and West’s volley drifted wide, but on 36 minutes they took the lead.
A corner was cleared to Paul Young, and although United’s Glenn Murison got his head to the cross, the ball broke for West to finish into the bottom right corner from 12 yards.
A minute before half-time the Broch struck again. West’s cross from the left was flicked on by Connor Wood and Logan Watt netted from close range.
United rally
To their credit Formartine responded well in the second half. On 59 minutes Matthew McLean’s long throw-in from the right was headed home by Stuart Smith at the back post.
Three minutes later United equalised as Aaron Norris let fly from 30 yards and his attempt looped over Joe Barbour with the aid of a deflection.
However, Fraserburgh found a way to regain the upper hand and a wonderful move resulted in them retaking the lead on 71 minutes.
West, Wood and Watt linked up on the left flank before Buchan played the perfect pass to find West in space on the left side of the box and his low delivery was tapped into the net by the sliding Scott Barbour.
United went in search of an instant reply and Murison’s strike from 20 yards was tipped over by Joe Barbour, but the outcome was settled in the 83rd minute.
Wood broke in behind on the right, his angled drive was parried by goalkeeper Ewen Macdonald, but Jamie Beagrie followed up and dispatched the rebound.
Boss hails Broch character
Manager Mark Cowie hailed Fraserburgh’s character after they carried out his gameplan to win the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield.
The Broch lifted the Shield for the 10th time after beating Formartine United 4-2 in a pulsating final.
Cowie took charge at Bellslea in April 2015, this is the ninth trophy he’s won as gaffer and fourth time he’s led his club to Shield glory.
He believes the mentality of his players was key as they saw off a Formartine fightback to triumph.
Cowie set his side up in a 4-4-2 formation, but with a diamond in midfield, and praised his charges for adapting to a shape they don’t usually play.
He said: “When it was all square, Formartine’s tails were up and there was a bit of me thinking we could struggle.
“But finals are about character, from 2-0 up to be back to 2-2 and to score the third goal we did is what the players have done for years.
“All of them were immense, the hunger to win never goes away. It’s still in me and it’s still in the players and we’re delighted to win the Shield again.
“I threw in a shape that we haven’t worked on, we sat down on Monday at training and threw it at them.
“My job is easy, I just move markers about on a board and say what I’m looking for, but doing that and implementing it are totally different things.
“I said to the players if it worked it was entirely on them because they’d have taken it on board and made it work.
“I’m proud of all of them. In my 10 years the players that are here and the players that were here previously have been unbelievable for us.”
Anderson rues naivety
Formartine’s wait for a first trophy since February 2019 continues.
Manager Stuart Anderson said: “It’s a big disappointment, when you get to a cup final you want to win it.
“In the first half I thought we were on top and then we gave away two cheap goals from our point of view.
“In the second half we showed great character, we got back in the game and were the team in the ascendancy.
“The third goal from Fraserburgh’s point of view is a good goal, but the fourth goal is naïve from us and it killed the game.
“I’ve got disappointed players in the dressing room, they gave everything, but we were just a bit naïve at times.
“They’ve got to learn from it because they want to win trophies.”
Forres Mechanics 0-5 Huntly
A Sam Robertson hat-trick and a Ryan Sewell brace gave Huntly a comfortable 5-0 win against Forres Mechanics.
It was the Black and Golds’ biggest win away to Forres since the 1996/97 season.
Huntly were awarded a penalty after seven minutes when Shaun Sutherland was deemed to have handled a Sewell cross.
Robertson powered home the spot-kick for his 13th of the season.
In the tenth minute, Callum Murray burst down the left wing and his cross was met by the in-form Robertson to head in at the near post.
Huntly were well in control and were gifted a third on 22 minutes when goalkeeper Corey Patterson’s poor kick upfield only went as far as Sewell who netted his third of the season from distance.
Robertson had a chance for a hat-trick before the half-hour mark but was denied by Patterson. Forres went on the counter-attack with Lewis Mackenzie finding the side-netting.
Forres did have a chance as the half drew to a close with Matt Jamieson seeing a shot saved by Calum Brodie while a Mark McLauchlan effort flashed by the post.
Huntly added a fourth when a great move down the left by Lewis Crosbie saw the substitute cross for Sewell to turn in at the near post.
A poor kick from Mechanics keeper Patterson led to another goal on 74 when he kicked a clearance off Robertson who took advantage before rolling into the net to complete his hat-trick.
Huntly would record back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since September 2023 and ensured the shut-out in stoppage time when Brodie pulled off a good save to deny Kyle MacLeod a consolation.
Strathspey Thistle 0-3 Clachnacuddin
Clachnacuddin tightened their grip on fifth place in the Highland League thanks to a 3-0 midweek win at second-bottom Strathspey Thistle.
Troy Cooper’s classy finish seven minutes before the break gave the Merkinchers the advantage in a real toe-to-toe first half.
Clach upped the ante in the second half and James Anderson doubled the scoreline just after the hour mark before Cooper added a third after a sharp team move.
The result means Conor Gethins’ Lilywhites are now eight points in front of Fraserburgh, although they have played three more games than the Broch and have just four fixtures to go this season.
Strathspey sit ahead of Rothes on goal difference and are six points behind Lossiemouth with eight matches to play.
Clach made the trip down the A9 in fine fettle following their 7-0 rout of Rothes at the weekend.
Ryan Esson’s Jags went into this on the back of a last-gasp 2-1 loss at third-placed Banks o’ Dee.
Early action
On a bitterly cold night at Seafield Park, both teams showed plenty of attacking intent from the off.
The Jags almost nudged in front, but a save on the goal-line by on-loan Ross County goalkeeper Logan Ross kept out a James McShane header from a well-worked corner.
Home keeper Euan Storrier was called into action next as he smartly pushed away a fierce 25-yarder from Allan MacPhee.
Clach captain Harry Nicolson was not far off the mark with a long-range strike before team-mate Rorie Macleod’s shot was turned over the top by Storrier.
However, Storrier was beaten seven minutes before the interval when Cooper, fresh from his weekend treble, gathered the ball then coolly guided a shot home after being picked out by a long Greg Morrison pass.
Strathspey almost restored parity just before half-time when Zach MacPhee powered a free-kick on target, but Ross was on hand to beat the ball to safety.
Two goal-line clearances denied Clach early in the second half, from Allan MacPhee then Jack Davison after an attack sparked by a brilliant weaving run by Morrison.
Most of the play was directed towards the hosts’ goal, who were doing well to repel those advances.
Their resistance was broken on 62 minutes when Thistle failed to clear their lines and Anderson turned on the spot to unleash a low drive past Storrier into the net.
Cooper rounded off the scoring when he tucked away a close-range shot after being teed up by Anderson following a clever range of neat passing.
This Saturday, Clach visit Turriff United, while the Grantown Jags are away to Inverurie Locos.
Brora ready for top of the table clash
Captain Michael Finnis wants Brora Rangers to embrace the pressure of Saturday’s top of the table clash against Brechin City.
The Cattachs and the Hedgemen both have 64 points from 27 games, with Brora 27 ahead on goal difference, prior to this weekend’s meeting at Dudgeon Park.
Finnis and his team-mates suffered their first loss since January 25 last weekend when they were beaten 3-2 by Buckie Thistle.
But the skipper is optimistic Brora can bounce back in a game that is likely to have a major bearing on the title race.
Defender Finnis, 34, said: “We’re looking forward to the game, that’s why you play for Brora to be involved in games like this.
“It’s set up nicely in terms of what’s at stake, when you’re trying to win things there will be bumps in the road.
“It’s not always going to be straightforward, all you can do after a bad result like last Saturday is work hard and be ready for the next game.
“There’s pressure involved, but as players you’ve got to enjoy that because if there wasn’t pressure involved you wouldn’t be playing for anything.
“It’s still in our hands so we need to go into the game with confidence.”
Clean sheet key
Before the defeat to Buckie, Brora had kept five successive clean sheets in the Highland League with the relatively new central defensive pairing of Finnis and Wallace Duffy working well together.
Finnis is hoping the duo can help shut out Brechin on Saturday, which would keep them in pole position in the championship chase.
He added: “Before last Saturday we’d kept quite a few clean sheets recently and a clean sheet against Brechin would be very welcome.
“Wallace is a really good player and I’ve enjoyed playing beside him.
“He reads the game well, he’s strong and he’s got pace so he’s a really good player.
“Although we haven’t played together for too long I think we’ve formed a good partnership.”
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