Goalscoring goalkeeper Joe Barbour hopes it can be a weekend to remember for Fraserburgh.
On Saturday, the Broch take on Brora Rangers at Grant Street Park in the final of the R Davidson (Banchory) Highland League Cup.
Then, on Sunday, it is midfielder Jamie Beagrie’s testimonial golf day, and goalkeeper Barbour will also celebrate his 32nd birthday.
Fraserburgh are attempting to win the Highland League Cup for the third time in their history and for the first time since 2006.
For Barbour and a number of his team-mates the League Cup is the only competition they have yet to win, having enjoyed success in the Breedon Highland League, Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup and Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield.
Barbour said: “We know it will be very difficult against Brora, but winning the cup would be a good way to end the season.
“We’ve also got Jamie’s testimonial golf day on Sunday and, for me, winning on Saturday would be the perfect birthday present. Hopefully it’s a good weekend all-round!
“We’ll turn up and support Jamie on Sunday regardless, but it would be extra special if we’ve won the cup on Saturday.
“It would also be really good for the fans if we could win it, because they haven’t seen a Broch team lift the Highland League Cup since 2006.
“We’ve lost a couple of finals in years gone by and we’d love to get over the line this time.
“Personally it would be great to complete the set of medals, but we’ll have to see what happens on Saturday.”
Clean sheet would mean more than goal
Barbour scored the first goal of his career last weekend in Fraserburgh’s 4-0 win over Huntly – however, he would happily swap that for a clean sheet in Saturday’s final.
He added: “I’d much rather keep a clean sheet this weekend than score last weekend.
“I suppose it’s good to have scored, but my job is to keep the ball out of the net.
“If I do that then I let the other boys further up the pitch do their jobs and try to score goals.
“Brora are an excellent team and it will be a really tough game.
“Given the attacking threats Brora have, we’d be really pleased if we managed to keep a clean sheet and that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”
Long-range strike ‘wasn’t meant’
Barbour’s goal against Huntly was spectacular as a long punt forward from his box took a big bounce and looped over Black and Golds’ custodian George Ritchie.
However, Barbour was quick to admit his strike was a fluke and also sympathised with his opposite number.
He said: “I was just trying to put the ball in an area where it might trouble Huntly’s defenders.
“Bellslea is a tight pitch compared with some others and it was straight down-wind.
“As soon as I kicked it, I thought I’d overhit it and it was going to run through to the goalkeeper.
“Initially I thought it was a poor kick and I did feel sorry for their goalkeeper, because it took a really big bounce.
“But Scott Barbour did well to put him off and luckily it bounced over a defender as well.
“It was a total fluke – it wasn’t meant that’s for sure.
“As a goalkeeper, it’s not something you want to happen.
“Something similar happened to me years ago when I was playing for Maud against Longside. It wasn’t a goalkeeper that scored against me, but it was a long ball forward and it went over my head with a big bounce like Saturday.
“I can sympathise with George, but I’m sure he’ll learn from that.”
Nicolson glad he’s kept going
Mark Nicolson is glad he didn’t consider retirement last summer as he aims to help Brora Rangers win the treble.
The Cattachs face Fraserburgh in the final of the R Davidson (Banchory) Highland League Cup on Saturday as they attempt to clinch a third of trophy of the campaign following Breedon Highland League and North of Scotland Cup success already this term.
Brora’s squad was overhauled last summer by returning manager Steven Mackay as experienced campaigners like Ally MacDonald, Dale Gillespie, Martin Maclean, Joe Malin, Paul Brindle and Josh Meekings either retired or moved elsewhere.
Although he is 36, Nicolson – who has been with the Dudgeon Park club for the last eight years – says he was always keen to keep playing, and it’s a decision which has paid off.
The defender said: “Retirement was never really in my thoughts. I felt and I still feel like I have something to give and something to offer to the team.
“I still feel fit and still feel like I can contribute. We’ve not had those conversations yet regarding the future, but we’ll see what happens.
“Last year, although I was close with a lot of the boys that left, it was never in my thinking to make the decision to retire.
“It’s paid off to keep going. We knew Steven Mackay was coming in (as manager) and the success we’d had with him previously probably made it easier to stay.
“I challenged myself to keep going and see if we could have success.
“There’s no getting away from the fact it does get more challenging as you get older.
“But I’m happy that I kept playing this season and I’ve been pleased to be part of what we’ve achieved so far.”
History beckons
If Brora are successful on Saturday, it would be the first time they have won three trophies in a season.
It would also be just the third time since World War II, and the first since Buckie Thistle in 1953-54, a club has won every competition they play in at Highland League level in a single season.
Nicolson added: “Clubs winning trebles doesn’t happen very often and Brora has never done it, so it would be a great thing.
“But Fraserburgh are a strong, fit, good side and we know it will be a very tough game.
“However, if we can continue our form then we’ve got confidence we can get the treble.”
Nicolson is also keen to redeem himself if selected to face Fraserburgh on Saturday.
Both league meetings this season have finished 3-2, with Brora triumphing at Bellslea in September and the Broch prevailing at Dudgeon Park in January.
Nicolson reckons the last encounter – a match in which he scored at both ends – was his worst display of the season.
He said: “The game against Fraserburgh at Dudgeon Park was probably my poorest game of the season.
“Hopefully I get the chance to make amends for that, but there is the chance there will be changes and I might not play.
“But if I do play, I’ll be doing everything I can to help the team win the cup.”
Ridgers joins boyhood club
Clachnacuddin boss Conor Gethins reckons goalkeeper Mark Ridgers will be a massive signing for the Lilywhites.
The former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County man has joined the club he grew up supporting after leaving fellow Breedon Highland League outfit Buckie Thistle.
Ridgers started his career with County before spending seven years with Hearts, during which he also had loan spells at East Fife and Airdrie.
The 34-year-old then moved on to St Mirren, before having spells at Kilmarnock, Orlando City and Partick Thistle.
In 2017, Ridgers returned to the Highlands and joined Caley Thistle.
With Inverness, he won the Challenge Cup and kept a club record 91 clean sheets in 280 games during a seven-year stint.
Last summer, following Caley Thistle’s relegation from the Championship, he was released and signed for Buckie on a one-year deal.
Now, Ridgers has made the move to Clach – whose manager Gethins was on the look-out for a new goalkeeper following the retirement of Joe Malin.
Gethins said: “Following on from Joe, we were looking for experience and Mark’s been there and done it. He’s played at a very high level and he’s won trophies.
“When he played against us this season, I thought he was excellent in both games – but especially the game at Victoria Park.
“Adding Mark’s experience to our squad will be massively important for us going forward.
“I think it shows where we want to be as a club. We don’t want to be floating about lower down the table – we want to push on.
“We’re trying to push as much as we possibly can and trying to move the club forward.”
Custodian has club connection
Gethins revealed concluding a deal to sign Ridgers was pretty straightforward, particularly due to his affinity with Clach.
Gethins added: “Mark’s a Clach fan and we knew that and we knew that he wanted to come to the club eventually.
“We also knew that Mark had only signed for one year at Buckie.
“We kept an eye on that and when the time was right we spoke to Buckie to get the chance to speak to Mark – and it didn’t take too much talking to get it over the line.
“Given Mark’s connection to the club, it was pretty straightforward and it was a no-brainer for us to bring Mark in.”
Turriff’s Allan on move home
John Allan says he’s loved his time at Turriff United as he prepares to return home to Shetland, writes John Innes.
The striker has spent the last two seasons at Turra, having initially started playing football on the mainland when he joined Peterhead in January 2023.
However, the 27-year-old and partner Leanne are set to head back to Lerwick next month, and later this summer he will play for Shetland in the Island Games, which are being held in Orkney from July 12-18.
Allan netted 21 goals during his two seasons with Turriff, and said: “I’ve absolutely loved it at Turriff.
“It’s been a brilliant experience, and if I’d been a few years younger, I could’ve easily stayed for a few more years.
“My work with SSEN takes me back to Shetland in the middle of May and I will be working up there until the winter months, when my partner and I will go travelling. It was a now-or-never chance.
“I’ve got to keep myself fully fit as I’ve been selected to play for Shetland in the Island Games.
“The Shetland football season has already started and I’ll be playing for Scalloway when I get up there.”
Allan has previously represented Shetland twice at the Island Games, but missed the last event in 2023.
He’s looking forward to competing at another games, where Shetland will attempt to win the football tournament for the second time, after their inaugural success on home soil 20 years ago.
He added: “I’ve played in a couple of Island Games. The standard is really quite good, but I’d say it’s a mixed standard in comparison to the Highland League.
“It would be great to win it after I watched Shetland become champions in 2005.”
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