Bridge of Don Thistle completed their McBookie.com Superleague campaign with a victory over Ellon United at The Meadows – a result which confirms the Jags as runners-up in the table to champions Banks o’ Dee.
The visitors opened the scoring midway through the first period when Craig McKeown fired home directly from a free-kick.
They then doubled their advantage early in the second half with a spectacular volley from the edge of the area from Bradley Deans.
“We played well enough,” reflected Thistle manager Steve Dolan. “It’s not where you want to be and to finish second is okay, no more than that.
“We want to be challenging for the title, but when that wasn’t possible, then the aim is to be the best of the rest.
“We set the players a target and, to be fair, the squad responded and we reached that target. It would have been easy to let the season fade away, but the lads stuck in.
“Before the Ellon game, they were told that it was vital that they concentrate on getting the three points to end our league campaign. They did that and the focus now switches to two massive cup games, starting with Sunday’s League Cup final against Banks o’ Dee.”
Crombie Park, Culter, will stage Sunday’s showpiece (2pm kick-off), and Dolan knows his side will have to be at their best.
He said: “We’ve never won the League Cup before so it would be nice to get our hands on it, but we know exactly how difficult it’s going to be.
“If we don’t turn up on the day and aren’t at it, then the outcome will be inevitable – but hopefully there’ll be a decent crowd and it’s one that we’re looking forward to.”
There’s a swift return to Crombie Park for the Jags the following weekend when they face Culter in the last eight of the McLeman Cup, another encounter Steve knows will not be easy.
He added: “We beat them narrowly and drew with them in the league an, again, it’ll be down to the attitude and hard work on the day. It could be down to a mistake or a wee bit of quality, but, for both games, we’ll be focusing on ourselves and get a team on to the pitch that we believe can win it.
“There’s a few bumps and knocks, but we should have everyone available by Sunday. We’ve a tight squad and everyone wants to be involved.”
