I don’t know if this feeling is the same anywhere else, but perhaps due to the extremely lengthy closed shop nature of the league structure in Scotland, pitching up at an old stalwart ground which is now in the non-league world, it just feels weird. I was at Berwick Rangers when they debuted in the Lowland League at home to Bonnyrigg a couple of seasons ago, and while this trip to Glebe Park wasn’t their opening Highland League game, it was quite soon into Brechin’s new odyssey.
1/ Brechin City v Formartine United
Dear goodness this iconic venue has always been a cherished part of my football watching. Everybody loves Glebe Park’s hedge, but now they are down in non-league football, Linlithgow Rose’s Prestonfield ground could give it a run for the hedge of the year award! On Saturday 7th May 1983, upon the final whistle, Brechin and Meadowbank fans all ran on the field after a 1-1 draw, giddy in delight that both clubs were going up to the second tier (there were only three divisions in those days), and in the case of Meadowbank, it was promotion for the first time ever. More recently, less than four years ago on the cusp of 2018, my more recent charges Inverness (following the demise of Meadowbank Thistle) were trailing Brechin 2-0 in a Scottish Championship game. It had been my last visit to Glebe Park, an angst ridden affair before we pulled a few rabbits out of the hat to win 3-2, thereby making sure we weren’t the first club to lose to City that season. Ultimately Brechin beat no one during 2018/19 in the league, and it’s as if the trauma of that campaign has haunted them ever since as they plummeted to the foot of the bottom league, and ultimately beyond.
Even the pandemics “good fortune” couldn’t arrest the fall, and upon finishing bottom yet again, in trying to launch a legal challenge to avoid the relegation play-offs because of the curtailed non league season, against the very same two clubs who were denied such an opportunity the season before, it was just plain shabby. That is all in the past, even if they tried to gain access into the Lowland League when the demarcation lines between it and the Highland were already drawn. More recently, in one of their first Highland games, Rothes presented Brechin with a commemorative bottle of whisky by way of a welcome, but the reality is, City are the ones who should be rolling out the mat to their opponents by way of an apology for having tried everything to avoid playing in the Highland League. My sympathy for the Glebe Park side has taken a serious knock, but the memories of some great days here run deep, it felt good to be back. A new adventure and an intriguing match awaited.
Brechin is a city, a very small one, maybe the smallest in Scotland, and the accolade comes with having a Cathedral, but with a population of 7,400, it is really a town. Like many of their fellow Angus region town’s, grey coloured granite buildings are the stalwart of construction, a more famous moniker for Aberdeen, the Granite City, but in Brechin you are less than thirty miles from Scotland’s third city. Nowhere in Brechin is far from Glebe Park, and any bar or eateries pre-match will be in the town centre a mere ten minute walk from the ground.
Brechin are now the most southerly participant in the Highland League, that distinction having previously fallen to Cove Rangers, who now play in the most Southern part of Aberdeen not far from the clubs home village of Cove in the Scottish third tier. The 75 mile distance between Edinburgh and Brechin makes Highland League action just that little bit more accessible for me, particularly for a midweek affair, and on a balmy summer’s night it was a pleasure to watch the action unfold in this loveliest of venues as the sun went down behind the “new” stand behind the goal. There was a good crowd inside Glebe Park too, although I didn’t spot any visiting fans from Pitmedden, home to Formartine. I did learn that Brechin are experiencing a “curiosity bounce” is how it was put to me, with gates up since relegation, which is always good to hear, and adds further credence to the notion the club had little to fear from dropping down a level. Berwick Rangers and East Stirlingshire have steadied the ship and while the SPFL prize money and visits of bigger clubs in cups might have diminished, they have proven that a club can still survive and thrive outside the cozy world of league football.
Formartine were riding high and were just above Brechin in fourth place at the start of the game, and they started the brighter. Their enterprising and pacey play brought an early reward with the opening goal, but it didn’t last very long with a defensive calamity gifting City the equaliser. There was nothing between the teams in the first half, but after the break, the half-time team talk had obviously stung Brechin from its slumber and they totally dominated the play. Even one of the floodlights went pop and gave up the ghost, but given it was in the corner where Formartine were shooting towards, the slightly dimmer area was rarely troubled. It took a soft penalty to finally put Brechin ahead, but minutes later when a second spot kick was awarded, this one was not in doubt, and when a fine shot nestled in the Formartine goal late on, the 4-1 scoreline perhaps flattered to deceive, but no one could deny they didn’t deserve the win.
While I had journeyed home that night and headed in other directions first, nine days later I was back under the lights for my next Highland League adventure, 86 miles north of Brechin right out on the most easterly point of Aberdeenshire at the league leaders no less, welcome to Fraserburgh.
2/ Fraserburgh v Huntly
The Broch or the Burgh as the locals refer to Fraserburgh is double the size of Brechin, and it is one of Scotland’s main fishing ports. The harbour is vast, festooned with a plethora of very large North Sea and beyond fishing vessels, some of them obviously state of the art boats. It is a thriving port, always things going on, and always a whiff of fish in the air. Fraserburgh is also home to the Scottish Lighthouse Museum, a tipping of the hat to the days when light keepers and families were stuck out in isolated locations (or rock stations) to help protect our seas. My grandfather was a lighthouse keeper, it’s in my blood.
A Friday night match at Bellslea Park, where Fraserburgh play was always an enticing opportunity to get two North games in over a weekend. The fixture had been brought forward to coincide with the exact date 100 years ago when the impressive stand was opened! It is in terrific nick, something to be proud of for the club and the fans. It has borne witness to some famous occasions, the most incredible being when the Broch beat Dundee 1-0 in the Scottish Cup in 1959. Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions graced the venue and performed in front of the stand in 1970, which was a tremendous gesture, a charity match to help raise money for bereaved families after the local lifeboat was overturned by a freak wave and only six men survived. Rangers more recently came calling in the Scottish Cup Fourth Round, a fantastic achievement for a non-league club to get so far, a worthy reward, and while there was no shock, Bellslea and Fraserburgh got UK/International exposure on Sky TV, and quite possibly the clubs biggest payday.
From snippets of chat I read regarding the stand, it has survived not only two World Wars, but 24 Prime Ministers! More importantly, it has witnessed the glory days of three Highland League titles, twice in the thirties, and most recently in 2001/02, as well as countless Aberdeenshire Cup successes. Whisper it quietly though, Fraserburgh look like real championship contenders this term, and what a fitting crown that would be to cap the club’s celebrations. While the stand is celebrating its centenary, Fraserburgh FC is 111 years old. My aunt and uncle used to live in Fraserburgh, and as luck would have it, their house overlooked the ground. I was only ever at one game here back in 1985 versus Forres Mechanics, so this visit was long overdue, although Broch are one of a few Highland clubs I always try to catch in the Scottish Cup if they are vaguely near the central belt.
A perfectly benign early autumnal Friday evening doubtlessly helped draw a significant crowd for this encounter. The old stand was full, with the perimeter of the pitch, the hospitality boxes behind one goal and the terrace opposite the stand were all hosting a very healthy number of fans too. Fraserburgh had already accounted for recent Highland Champions Brora Rangers (6-2, a result that saw their manager resign), and the aforementioned Brechin City (1-0), and while both of these games had been at home, the confidence was visibly flowing throughout this clash with Huntly. The second goal might well be a candidate for goal of the season with an audacious half volley that curled so exquisitely in off the far post, almost guided to perfection, but Paul Campbell the striker knew what he was doing. Two up at the break, Broch doubled the scoreline in the second half, but while Huntly did some pressing in the first half, they were quite simply blown away in the second by a home side whose energy, pace, pressing and style was a joy to behold. Fraserburgh are going to be difficult to dislodge on this showing, they were superb.
It was good to see Huntly again, and also to see that they have improved immeasurably once more after a period in the doldrums. My sister lived near Huntly in the mid ‘90’s, a period in the clubs history when they were the dominant Highland League club, guided back then by Steve Paterson who became a cult boss at Inverness. Huntly used to have such great Scottish Cup runs, and having seen them beat Burntisland Shipyard 7-0 in the previous round, I was back up the road the following month for possibly the biggest game in the clubs modern history when a full to bursting Christie Park welcomed Dundee United. United got a proper test from the black and golds in a game that ended 3,1 to the Tannadice team.
Bellslea Park is easy to find. If you are coming by car from the south, just follow the signs for the town centre and you will see the ground and its floodlights quite a distance along on your right as you journey along a very straight road. If you arrive by bus (there is no train station) and are in the High Street, just head along the street with the harbour on your left, and the impressive church spire in front of you is a signal that the ground is there. Such a walk will take no more than a few minutes, which is exactly how long it will take you to get to a game from a choice of eating establishments and bars, Bellslea is very central.
The last leg of my Highland bonanza took me 57 miles along the A96 via Elgin and down into the heart of whisky country to Rothes. This is home to those nice people who presented Brechin with a commemorative bottle of the gold nectar as some might call it when they visited Glebe Park! A Rothes shirt is bright orange, brighter than a glistening dram, but if you added Irn Bru, bingo!
3/ Rothes v Wick Academy
Game three of my Highland bonanza, and the first to be played in daylight! I had originally thought to head to Inverurie as an ex-Inverness great Richard Hastings was making his home debut as boss, but they were playing Formartine who I have already seen, and judging by the weather, this pesky East Coast harr was still going to linger. By venturing just that little bit further west it was suggested I could be headed into bright sun, and besides, Wick Academy are the side I would support ahead of any other Highland outfit, given its proximity to my island roots of Orkney.
If Fraserburgh and Brechin are small, with a population of just 1,252 Rothes is no more than a village. To be home to a fifth tier football team with such a small number of people is incredible, but do remember that the Highland League has only recently become part of the Scottish pyramid, and only this season will the bottom club have to survive a play off if they want to retain their Highland status. Had the new system been in place a few season season’s ago, Rothes would have been right down there scrambling to avoid the drop along with Fort William, or Strathspey, as the bottom of the table looked in 2015. One very early January day that year I had been headed up the A9 to Inverness to watch ICT when I got a text from a friend to say the game was off. A quick layby stop to digest the alternatives and I diverted off at Aviemore and headed to MacKessack Park, Rothes for what was a 3rd January battle for the Highland League wooden spoon, but that particular game didn’t sort the issue with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. Just a couple of season’s further down the line, Rothes were back as a genuine force in the league and that is still very much the case to this day. The Scorries of Wick, the draw experts of 2021 were in for a tough afternoon I envisaged as I walked across the road from the Glen Grant Whisky Distillery to the ground, all in aid of a photo and research, of course! .
The Speysiders as Rothes are known, play at the picturesque 2,700 capacity Mackessack Park (nearly double the village population). They play in orange shirts and black shorts, similar to Dundee United, and that is not by sheer coincidence as the club bought the Arabs old floodlights and such was the bond that was struck, they changed their club colours as well! Mackessack Park is tucked away behind the main road towards the north end of the main street if you are coming from the south. The A95 is the road you would take from Aviemore, or Elgin at either end to get you to Rothes. Being a small village, amenities might be limited, but there is enough to give you a solid meal and drink ahead of a match, or afterwards of course. The Station Hotel are club sponsors as well as being the nearest hostelry for all requirements, including a nights kip if you are looking to enjoy the distillery offerings in the vicinity. If you are coming by bus (again no train), Rothes is much closer to Elgin and bus number 36 is the one you’ll need.
Entering the ground, if you know your whisky’s, the far end advertising boards are awash with seven different brands, which adds credence to the notion that this truly is whisky territory. Indeed, while at Fraserburgh you might catch a faint whiff of fish occasionally, here at MacKessack Park, the proximity of distilleries, and more especially a collection of old whisky distillery equipment, collected in a yard behind the ground gives a distinct dram waft to the air at that end.
After the astonishing display by the Broch the night before, this was always going to be a case of after the Lord Mayor’s Show, but despite having a curtailed squad due to Covid, Wick gave as good as they got in this one. A defensive blunder gifted Rothes a half-time lead, and they maybe just edged proceedings at that stage, but in the second half Wick really put the home side to the sword. The equaliser took a long time in coming but it was richly deserved, a rare moment of calm poise in front of goal by the Scorries, who should have had two or three more at least as they regularly pulled the Speysiders rearguard this way and that. Given Rothes had held Brechin 2-2 at Glebe Park, I had been expecting more from them, but conversely I was delighted by what I saw from Wick. Six draws after 8 games is extraordinary, but that first win of the season is just around the corner if they play as well as they did here.
Walking out with the locals one commented “how awful that had been”, but another reminded him that a “few seasons ago we’d have been delighted with a point”. The growing expectations at Rothes are healthy, and I suspect any of the leaders who aren’t exactly on their game when they come across either of these sides might well come a cropper. Rothes is a lovely venue deep in the heart of the Highlands, the perfect place to bring the curtain down on this particular trip, but learning that Brechin v Brora was off because of the virus did bring a smile, as any subsequently rearranged fixture should allow me to be there. It’s going to be a fascinating season in the Highland’s.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 