Kevin McHattie has gone from the brink of retirement to winning the Breedon Highland League with Brechin City.
The Hedgemen claimed the silverware with Saturday’s final day victory against fellow challengers Buckie Thistle at Victoria Park.
For McHattie, the triumph was particularly sweet.
The former Hearts, Kilmarnock, Raith Rovers and Inverness Caley Thistle defender was on the verge of hanging up his boots following a succession of injuries.
But, in September 2021, the 29-year-old joined Brechin and has helped Andy Kirk’s side earn a shot at a return to the SPFL via the pyramid play-offs.
Despite having played in the Premiership, McHattie views the weekend’s title-decider as one of the biggest matches of his career.
He said: “It really means a lot to me, because before I signed for Brechin, I was thinking of retiring.
“But the manager gave me a wee bit of hope to come in and play football and I’ve been rewarded.
“It’s been brilliant.
“We were unlucky last season and it was tough to take.
“The gaffer brought in some new faces and we’ve pushed on this season, but since day one, it’s been brilliant being at Brechin.
“It means a lot to me and Saturday was among the most important games I’ve played in.”
⛔️ @BrechinCityFC's Kevin McHattie with the most vital of vital tackles 😲👏🏆
With Brechin leading 1-0, if @BuckieThistle had scored here, the title would surely have belonged to the Jags. #HighlandLeagueWeekly highlights, celebrations and reaction:https://t.co/2BSxtEv0af pic.twitter.com/GO7TJ7gr8F
— Highland League Weekly (@HighlandLW) April 23, 2023
Rollercoaster ride
McHattie was pleased Brechin managed to get over the line against Buckie with late goals from Ewan Loudon and Grady McGrath.
He described the title race between the two clubs as a rollercoaster and admits he did ponder at various points if things were slipping away from the Angus side.
McHattie added: “Buckie’s a tough place to come and I’ve realised in the Highland League every away game is a lot harder than your home games.
“If you look at quite a few of our homes games, we’ve won them quite comfortably, but coming away, it’s harder and we’ve found that.
“I played at Buckie with Inverness in the Scottish Cup (2021) and we won 3-2 – that shows how difficult it is, because that was a Championship club finding it hard to win.
“That’s a credit to Buckie and the way the league panned out is a credit to them as well.
“We lost one league game all season and they took us to the last day of the season.
“It’s been a rollercoaster really this season… I looked back at the 0-0 at Fraserburgh when we missed the penalty, and you think: ‘could that be one that costs us?’
“We drew with 0-0 with Brora, (and I wondered) was that a wee slip-up?
“But fair play to the boys, management staff, the chairman and Craig Levein (football advisor at Glebe Park) – everyone’s stuck together.
“Craig’s been great to have about, I’m sure he helps the gaffer and he helps the players massively as well.
“It’s a great club Brechin and it’s a club going in the right direction.”
Conversation