Rothes 2 Keith 0: Moray derby finale to Highland League season sees Rothes clinch fifth spot after testing afternoon at MacKessack Park
This may have been Keith’s final game of 2021-22, but it certainly didn’t have an end of season feel to it.
The Maroons went toe-to-toe with hosts Rothes and were probably a mite unfortunate to travel home empty-handed.
As a result of the reverse, Craig Ewen’s men finish 13th in the league table while Rothes overtook Formartine United into fifth position.
The progress made by Keith in recent outings is there for all to see following the disastrous start to the season, and the signs are a lot brighter for next season.
Saturday showed the fine margins often seen in football matches when a Michael Selfridge drive was well parried by Rothes custodian Sean McCarthy in the 15th minute.
Within two minutes the Speysiders got their noses in front when ex-Maroon Craig Cormack scored a well taken goal from out wide right.
Although the impetus seemed to be with Keith for a large spell in the second half they couldn’t get the vital breakthrough.
A Michael Ironside effort flew just over the bar, then James Brownie wasn’t far away with a neat header.
The visitors did have a big let off midway through the second period though when a mis-hit Stewart Hutcheon pass back left Bal Demus stranded and luckily the ball screwed inches past the empty goal mouth.
Then with 75 minutes on the clock, Scott Gray couldn’t quite capitalise on a headed Selfridge pass.
Within four minutes, it was game over when Ross Gunn swept home at the back post.
Although that knocked the stuffing out of the Maroons a bit, they kept plugging away and Kieran Yeats was denied a late consolation when he turned and fired goalward only for McCarthy to dive and pull off a fine save.
Perhaps a glimmer of hope for next season is the fact that the Maroons finished the season with two away defeats against two of the top five sides in Brora and Rothes, but losing only three goals, whereas in the corresponding Kynoch Park fixtures earlier in the season saw 12 goals shipped.
To be perfectly honest nobody would have complained too much had Craig Ewen’s men shared the spoils in both away days.
Keith team: Demus, Hutcheon (Mooney 75), K Yeats, Thomas, Robertson, Yunus, Ironside (Andrews 89), Brownie, Nawrocki (Tough 75), Gray, Selfridge. Sub unused – Irvine.
Referee: S Leslie
