Fraserburgh are one victory away from securing their first Breedon Highland League title since 2002 after a nervy 1-0 win against Nairn County.
The Bellslea men moved four points clear at the top of the table thanks to Ryan Cowie’s winner.
The Broch will be champions if they beat Forres Mechanics at home on Saturday.
The home side put their fans through a nervy 90 minutes against a very committed Nairn County side and it was a relieved Broch manager Mark Cowie who reflected on the positives at the end of the game.
He said: “The league throws up fixtures that are tough, you cannot take anything for granted.
“But we won and these are the type of games you have to grind out to win a title.
“We made it nervy, we created chances and should have been out of sight.
“The final ball let us down and weight of pass let us down.
“We started brilliantly but the goals never materialised and all credit to Nairn for that.
“We were under pressure in the closing stages but other than that we were comfortable.
“We are a good side and the table shows that. Every player in the squad is playing their part.”
The Bellslea side went in front after six minutes when an in-swinging corner from Ryan Cowie came off the inside of the post and was declared as being over the line by the flag of the assistant referee.
Two minutes from the break a lob from Scott Barbour came off the top of the crossbar but life for the homesters became edgy in the second half as the weather worsened.
Lewis Duncan fired over from a good position before Ryan Sargent was unable to apply the finishing touch to a ball across the face of goal by substitute Paul Campbell.
The Wee County kept plugging away and asking questions as the wintry showers became heavier but the early goal proved decisive and Ryan Cowie was delighted to have scored it.
He said: “I didn’t think it would be the only goal, I thought we would have kicked on from there.
“It showed how good Nairn are, they matched us the whole game.
“I don’t know if that was us taking the foot off the pedal or just turning scrappy. We were maybe trying to force it too soon downwind.
“Nairn managed to slow the game down and stop our momentum.
“But we have one game to go and we have a very strong squad, players who have come into the team and cemented their places.”
Nairn boss Ronnie Sharp was pleased with the way his side competed against the league leaders.
He said: “It was a hard physical game and one I felt was quite even.
“We had a few clear chances but weren’t quite good enough in the final third.
“We told the players the longer the game stayed tight the more Fraserburgh would get nervous.
“They dug out the win and that’s what good teams do. We’ve been fine defensively in the six games in a row we’ve lost but really struggling up front with so many players out injured.”
