Buckie Thistle’s hopes of the Highland League title may be decided on Thursday night.
The title favourites will have to answer charges they fielded an ineligible player, Callum Murray, on the bench against Formartine after he had previously been on loan to Highland League rivals Deveronvale.
League rules state a player registered by a club after March 31 cannot be involved and Buckie could face a three-point deduction and fine of up to £500.
Buckie officials are confident they have done nothing wrong, but the incident could not have come at a worse time for manager Graeme Stewart’s men, who endured a fraught 90 minutes against Formartine before eventually earning the point which seemed to edge them closer to the title.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s match, the Jags thought a win at home to Strathspey Thistle on Saturday would take the title to Victoria Park, such is their superior goal difference on Brora and Cove Rangers.
Buckie forward John McLeod endured a tense 90 minutes and said: “They only had one shot on target in the game and I had a couple cleared off the line in what was a really nervy game.
“We deserved the point which sets up well for Saturday’s home game against Strathspey. A win and we are the champions. Our supporters were brilliant, they always are, and they will turn up in numbers to hopefully cheer us to the title.”
Buckie’s 5-2 win at Deveronvale on Wednesday was seen as a giant stride to the title as Cove were drawing at Turriff, but that victory came at a price as attacker Sam Urquhart and midfielder Craig Cowie both suffered injuries which kept them out of this game.
Buckie had the breeze and the slope in their favour in the first half but nerves were evident in a scrappy opening.
Buckie appeared to be missing the width Urquhart brings to the side and their midfield players sat deep, leaving McLeod to plough a lone furrow in attack. It took until the 33rd minute for the first shot on target with McLeod forcing United goalkeeper Ewen Macdonald into a fine block with his legs.
Just before the break Macdonald was again forced into a fine diving stop to gather a 15-yard Jay Cheyne shot as Buckie started to lumber into life.
The Jags had forced seven corner kicks in that forgettable first 45 minutes without really causing the well-organised United defence too many problems.
As news that Cove were winning at Lossiemouth filtered through the atmosphere around the ground became even more tense as Buckie knew defeat would put the Aberdeen side firmly in the driving seat going into the final game of the season.
Into the second half neither side seemed capable of taking the game by the scruff off the neck but with 20 minutes to go Formartine passed up a great chance to take the lead when Jamie Masson shot weakly wide from 10 yards. Buckie went straight up the pitch and Calum Dingwall cleared a McLeod flick off the line as the game finally began to stretch and Angus was close to opening the scoring only to be denied by United goalkeeper Ewen Macdonald. There was to be no winner and it’s on to next week to decide the title.
United defender Calum Dingwall said: “The ball was in the air a lot today and there wasn’t much football played.
“We played pretty well and probably just edged it, the main thing for us was we didn’t want people to say we just lay down and let Buckie go on and virtually win the league. We didn’t and can be proud of out performance in a really difficult match.”
