Brora Rangers 2-1 Turriff United
Highland League
Saturday 30th July 2022
Anyone who knows Scottish Football will know that a journey to Brora Rangers is usually one of ‘epic’ proportions and takes a fair element of planning beforehand.
It’s a trek and, for most folk, it genuinely is one of Scotland’s hardest away days!
Located two hours NORTH of Inverness, there’s only eight trains a day (four northbound) which pass through the village. Brora aren’t the most northerly club in the Highland League as Wick Academy scoop that accolade by being two more hours further north, but the club have aspirations to get into the SPFL at some point in the future and there’s every likelihood they’ll achieve it at some point.
The Cattachs (a nickname given to them due to a tribe of cats which once inhabited the place) certainly have a squad which should compete for the title with Josh Meekings and Tony Dingwall boasting experience at Scottish Premiership level - and they’ve had a few skirmishes with promotion to League Two in the past decade. Seven years ago, they were narrowly edged out by Montrose in the inaugural two-legged Promotion Play-Off, and in 2021, they lost to Kelty Hearts in the Semi-Final who went on to beat Brechin City in the Final and earn promotion.
Due to ScotRail’s recent long-running strike over a pay dispute, I wasn’t entirely sure on whether I’d be able to get to Brora and back on the same day (from Inverness) when I originally booked this trip to the Highlands. The separate national train strike added an extra layer of uncertainty but, thankfully, trains were running and a return ticket cost £25.50 with the two-hour journey including some great scenery en route.
With a population of just over 1,200 inhabitants, it’s unsurprising that there’s a quaint, quiet and laid back vibe around the village and a big emphasis on community spirit. Everybody knows everybody (and if you’re an unfamiliar face you stand out like a sore thumb) and not long having got off the train I’d managed to gatecrash a fancy dress festival and parade which was just about to start in the middle of the village.
It included a bagpipe parade from the lorry park to the marquee which was erected at the back of Dudgeon Park, along with bouncy castles, sideshows and loads of entertainment. Local characters included five lads in cheerleader costumes, plus the Flintstones chasing Elvis Presley and Thomas The Tank somewhere amongst the crowd.
It wasn’t quite the ‘Welcome to the Highlands!’ I was expecting… but it felt very welcoming!
Although Brora consists of not much more than a few streets and a housing estate, it’s very picturesque. To get to the ground from the station, you’ll pass over the River Brora and then through the middle of the village where you’ll find Capaldi’s Ice Cream parlour (traditional Italian Ice Cream made in Brora) and that’s smack bang opposite the Sutherland Inn pub. Traffic isn’t too heavy but you’ll probably see a tractor or two and, in the distance, plenty of giant haystacks in the nearby fields. Otherwise, bar a few small shops and a Co-Op mini market, there isn’t much else around which is probably the way the locals like it.
As for Dudgeon Park, the ground is modest in size. It’s easy to tell that there’s been a fair amount of money spent to make it feel as pleasant as possible. On one side is a tiny seated stand which bears some similarities to the Main Stand at Doncaster Rovers’ old Belle Vue ground (where I grew up watching football) albeit on a much smaller scale, whilst on the other side of the pitch is a small covered terrace.
There are worse grounds in the SPFL (a dishonourable mention for Edinburgh City’s new Meadowbank Stadium) and I’ve certainly watched football at a lot worse places in the past. I just hope the photos do it justice!
Given the strength of their squad, Brora are amongst the favourites to win the Highland League this year and had they scored early on in this game, they’d have probably gone on to bag a hatful and win quite comfortably.
Instead, they couldn’t make their dominance count for an awfully long time. It was largely down to Turriff ‘keeper David Dey, who was in excellent form, and it ended up being one of those frustrating afternoons where they needed to work very hard and be patient in order for their persistence to pay off.
Dey proved to be a formidable figure and pulled off the first of a string of saves when he kept out a point-blank header and got in the way of the subsequent rebound after nine minutes. He was soon required to keep the scores level again when Andy Macrae let fly with a speculative 25-yard drive which was palmed away.
Turriff were constantly on the back foot and they didn’t offer much of a threat other than when Rory Brown was released on a couple of occasions. One of his free-kicks almost caught out the hosts when it was flicked goalwards and had to be gathered by Joe Mallin but, otherwise, Brora dominated the vast majority of possession and had all the territory.
They just couldn’t make the breakthrough their pressure deserved with Dey saving again; this time from a set-piece, whilst a couple of efforts cleared the upright. Some sporadic outbursts from the bagpipe band on the other side of the fence (who belted out Auld Lang Syne and Scotland The Brave at different intervals) couldn’t help Brora to find the opener and it remained goalless at the interval.
When you don’t convert your chances (even if it’s down to an inspired ‘keeper) then quite often you come a cropper and when Turriff broke away for their first proper chance within a minute of the re-start, it culminated with Aaron Reid putting the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-0.
It was completely against the run of play and with Turriff now having something to protect, it only served to intensify Brora’s desire to hit back and they continued to pile on the pressure.
Dey was required again and pulled off another excellent reaction save after Macrae did all the hard work to spin away from his marker inside the box and pull the trigger, before Meekings came closer with a flick on from a corner towards the near-post which was also clawed away by Turriff’s undisputed Number One.
Meekings then flashed an effort narrowly over the uptight as Brora continued to force the agenda and just as it was starting to look like one of those afternoons where they might drop points, they equalised in spectacular style when Dingwall picked up possession, ventured forward and hit a rip-roaring drive straight into the top corner. 1-1.
It was now game on and although Brora went close when one of their attackers slid the ball across the face of goal, the turnaround was soon completed as Jordan Macrae found space and was put through on goal and subsequently slid the ball past an advancing Dey to make it 2-1.
The referee, Billy Baxter, left plenty to be desired at times with his inconsistent decisions and made a shocking call when Max Ewan was judged to have dived inside the box to try and win Brora a penalty. It wasn’t a yellow, nor was it a penalty, and just like a few officials I’ve seen in the past fortnight, Mr Baxter seemed more likely to lose the plot rather than keep control in the dying stages.
To their credit, Turriff tried their best to get an equaliser and were left infuriated by a couple of decisions. Brora, likewise, weren’t happy when the referee allowed SEVEN minutes of injury-time to be played (proof that games in Scotland aren’t always the first to finish) but they held firm and the screams of ‘YESSSSSS’ when the full time whistle was blown was an indirect nod to the fact they’d had to work hard to get this win.
On the whole, I’d go back to Dudgeon Park in a heartbeat and, if I ever win the lottery, I might get to Highland League games on a more regular basis.
For now though, the 800-mile round trip distance between the Highlands and South Yorkshire means I’ll have to make do with visits on a sporadic basis - although it is my intention to get to Forres Mechanics (which was my back up plan had the trains not been running) at some point this season.
Enjoy the photos!
