Fraserburgh will face Buckie Thistle in the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield final after a Ryan Sargent hat-trick helped them beat Huntly 6-0.
The Broch took a grip of the semi-final early on at Christie Park and didn’t relinquish it with Sargent bagging a treble, Connor Wood netting a brace and Kieran Simpson also on target.
Fraserburgh are the most successful side in the Shield’s history, having won it eight times, and will have the chance to make it nine with the final against Buckie to be played on either February 15 or 22 at a venue yet to be decided.
Huntly manager Allan Hale made four changes to the side which beat Deveronvale on Saturday.
James Connelly, Cameron Blacklock, Cameron Heslop and Gavin Elphinstone dropped out with Ryan Sewell, Kyle Dalling, Andy Hunter and Robbie Foster coming in.
Mark Cowie made three changes to the Fraserburgh team which drew with Nairn County at the weekend.
Willie West, Marc Lawrence and Connor Wood replaced Ryan Cowie, Jamie Beagrie and Josh Bolton.
Lively opening
It was the visitors who had the first effort with Scott Barbour coming in from the left and stinging goalkeeper Fraser Hobday’s palms with a shot from 14 yards.
On nine minutes Huntly threatened with Angus Grant, who signed a contract extension until 2027 on the eve of the game, beating two players on his way to the edge of the box, but his low shot was saved by Joe Barbour.
A minute later Fraserburgh took the lead with Scott Barbour’s corner from the right headed down by Bryan Hay – who was making his 500th Broch appearance – and Sargent forced the ball into the net from three yards.
It was Fraserburgh who were the more potent attacking threat with the pace and power of Sargent and Barbour causing problems.
Sargent should have netted his second on 29 minutes. Barbour got the better of Michael Clark on the left and teed up Sargent with his cutback but he blazed over from 12 yards.
However, Sargent only had to wait two minutes to net his and the Broch’s second.
Scott Barbour’s corner from the left was cleared back out to him, his second delivery found Lawrence whose shot was superbly saved by Hobday, but Sargent was on hand to tap home the rebound.
Quickfire third
Within two minutes of the second half starting Fraserburgh netted their third.
Again it came from a Scott Barbour corner, on the right this time, with Sargent’s header beating Hobday and completing his hat-trick.
Shortly after Hunter dragged a shot wide as Huntly looked for a response but it was Fraserburgh who were on target again in the 55th minute.
Sargent got the better of Callum Murray on the left and although Dalling got his head to the cross it only looped up in the air and Wood ghosted in to bullet a header into the left corner.
The game threatened to peter out after that but then Fraserburgh made it five with Logan Watt’s cross from the left tapped home by Wood on 72 minutes.
Five minutes later it became 6-0 with referee Duncan Nicolson – who had rankled the Huntly supporters all evening with some of his decisions – penalising Clark for handball inside the box.
Simpson stepped up and stroke the penalty down the middle and that was how it finished.
