As well as the North of Scotland Cup, family bragging rights will be at stake when Brora Rangers face Clachnacuddin in Saturday’s final.
On one side is Cattachs director David Dowling and on the other is his son Scott, who is a director of the Lilywhites.
The pair also work together as directors of Cairngorm Windows in Inverness and both believe their side can be victorious at Grant Street Park this weekend.
David said: “On the week of a game there’s always a wee edge to it at work waiting to see who’s going to come out on top.
“From a Brora perspective, I’m confident we can do it.
“We’ve got a group of players whose attitude will be right, but Clach play football on the ground the same way we do and have a lot of quick players in their team.
“If we’re at our best I’m confident of taking the trophy back to Brora.”
Scott added: “The morning after the semi-finals there was good banter in the factory, the Dowling derby it was being called.
“We’re under no illusions it’s going to be tough, Brora are a quality team who have been there and done it.
“We believe we can win the cup and if we didn’t there’d be no point in turning up.
“We believe we’ve got players that can hurt Brora and get the result on the day.”
Differing fortunes
Clach and Brora have enjoyed contrasting fortunes in recent years.
The Inverness outfit have been rejuvenated by manager Jordan MacDonald and this is their first final since 2014.
Scott said: “It’s massive, it’s the first final in eight years and the club has been through a lot during that period.
“The last 12 to 18 months we feel we’ve made huge progress on and off the park and it’s really a reward for the hard work that Jordan MacDonald, his staff and the squad have put in.”
Meanwhile, Brora have won five of the last eight North of Scotland Cups, although they were defeated by Rothes in last season’s final.
Dowling senior added: “We’re delighted to be in the final and there are still memories of last year’s disappointment losing in the final to Rothes.
“It’s a trophy that means a lot to the club and we’d be delighted to win it and take it back up the road.”
Anniversary of historic triumph
To add further spice to the occasion David is a former chairman of Clach and was with the club from 1990 until 2010.
This season also marks the 30th anniversary of the Lilywhites’ North of Scotland Cup success in 1992-93 which came just three years after the club almost went out of business.
“The biggest highlight of my time at Clach was probably that early win in the North of Scotland Cup,” David said.
“That was a huge thing, winning the Qualifying Cup and winning the Highland League later on were also huge things.
“There were lots of good memories over a 20-year period.”
Scott added: “In 1990 the club nearly went out of business. At the 11th hour a group of local businessmen, including my father and my grandfather, got involved and took the club out of that.
“I was six years old when Dad got involved with Clach and the club’s been a huge part of my life.
“We struggled at the bottom of the league for a couple of years, but we then put a really good team together.
“The North Cup final in 1993 is still one of my favourite Clach games to this day.
“I think it was a real landmark from where the club had been in 1990. We were 2-0 down to Inverness Thistle, equalised in injury time and went on to win 4-2 in extra-time.”
Next week's HLW special on the @EveningExpress Aberdeenshire Cup and North of Scotland Cup finals – with highlights, celebrations and reaction – will go live on the @pressjournal website at 7pm on Monday ⏰️⚽️📺
— Highland League Weekly (@HighlandLW) September 28, 2022
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