Buckie Thistle 0 Brechin City 2: Last-gasp goals deny Jags the Highland League title
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A LAST-GASP Brechin City show denied Buckie Thistle the Highland League title in front of a bumper crowd at Victoria Park.
A draw would have been enough for the Jags to secure their first league title since 2017, but late goals from Ewan Loudon and Grady McGrath saw the visitors pip them 2-0 to take the crown.
The defeat is Buckie's first at Victoria Park since August 2019. Brechin City will now go on to take on Lowland League side Spartans in a play-off.
The first chance of the game went the way of the home team as Andy MacAskill's free-kick from the right-hand side reached Sam Urquhart at the back post, but he missed the ball with a wild swipe.
The Jags made the better start and a big chance came and went on 12 minutes when Hamish Munro's clearance was misjudged by two Brechin defenders and Josh Peters raced through on goal. His effort beat Lenny Wilson but was hooked off the line by a last-ditch Euan Spark slide.
Brechin's only real chance of the first half came when Marc Scott fired a shot from the edge of the box that was inadvertently blocked by team mate Grady McGrath.
The hosts went close to taking the lead twice in the 26th minute – first when Josh Peters' clever turn and shot was kept out by Lenny Wilson's foot and then, seconds later, when Sam Pugh's 20-yard drive was blocked in a crowd of bodies.
A theme of the first half was City conceding possession in their own half – Max Barry almost capitalised on that 10 minutes before the break when he robbed Fraser MacLeod of the ball before firing a 20-yard effort that keeper Wilson easily saved.
Joe McCabe, too, picked up possession in a dangerous area after a slack Brechin pass, but he chose to shoot when a pass was on and Wilson easily saved.
Brechin started the second half the better side, although clear-cut chances remained hard to come by for the visitors, with a series of half-chances and corners before the hour mark the best they created.
With a draw enough to secure title glory, there was little to see of Buckie as an attacking threat after the break with Peters up front on his own and feeding on scraps.
However, the game plan seemed to be being executed to perfection – until City substitute Ewan Loudon picked the ball up, moved forward and rammed a low drive from 20 yards which deflected off Kyle MacLeod and into the bottom corner on 86 minutes.
That goal sparked a pitch invasion, but with the visiting fans back onto the terraces, Buckie went close to equalising.
Two minutes into added time, a long ball up the park was played into Peters' path by Jack Murray, but Kevin McHattie made an excellent last-ditch block before Marcus Goodall sliced wide.
With the Jags throwing everything forward, Brechin hit them on the break as Grady McGrath ran through from the halfway line before slotting across Buckie keeper Bal Demus and in five minutes into added time for 2-0.
