Buckie Thistle president Garry Farquhar: Highland League title is “massive” for whole town
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BUCKIE Thistle’s Highland League title win is “massive for the whole town”.
Those are the words of delighted Jags president Garry Farquhar, whose faith in the Buckie squad and management team paid off on Saturday as they were crowned 2023-24 league winners.
A four-figure crowd turned up at Victoria Park to watch Buckie become champions after a 1-0 success over Moray rivals Keith - with celebrations for players, fans and committee lasting long into the night.
Garry Farquhar said: “It’s massive for the club and it’s massive for the town. The crowd showed the amount of support there was. It’s fantastic and shows how much it means to the town.
“I have always had belief in the team here and, finally, after being down to the last game the last two seasons, we have finally broken that duck and we are the champions.”
While the title will mean the world to every single Jags player, for one it’s something that has been dreamt of since childhood.
Marcus Goodall is a Buckie loon and described the feeling of winning the league with his hometown club as “unbelievable”.
“After last season, I wasn't sure how long it would take to win the league so I'm glad I've got it done this season,” he said.
"It's one to mark off and hopefully it's not the last one.
I didn't think I'd ever play at Celtic Park and obviously I wanted to win the league as well.
"To do that in the same season is unbelievable. I don't think it will get much better than this.
"For the town, it's massive. The football club is one of the biggest assets of the town. We have been unbelievably well supported.”
Buckie are back in action tonight when they travel to Keith to take on Inverurie Loco Works in the Aberdeenshire Cup final.
After seven trophyless years, the Jags will be aiming to secure their second in four days.
Garry Farquhar added: “After the guys’ shift (against Keith) it’s not going to be an easy game.
“Our opponents haven’t played for a week - so we are going in as underdogs again. But sometimes being the underdogs isn’t a bad thing.”