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Curtailed Highland League season gives Deveronvale scope for optimism


By Craig Christie

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DEVERONVALE’S curtailed Highland League season offered enough evidence to suggest that good progress is being made at Princess Royal Park.

Deveronvale’s Colin Charlesworth (front) enjoys the glory of this season’s stoppage time winner at Huntly with team-mate Harry Noble.Picture: Eric Cormack
Deveronvale’s Colin Charlesworth (front) enjoys the glory of this season’s stoppage time winner at Huntly with team-mate Harry Noble.Picture: Eric Cormack

’Vale were sitting 11th in the league when the plug was pulled on their term of action on March 21 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

League table P W D L F A Pts

Brora Rangers 26 24 0 2 96 14 72

Inverurie Locos 28 19 2 7 80 40 59

Fraserburgh 23 17 4 2 79 23 55

Rothes 23 17 2 4 53 22 53

Buckie Thistle 24 17 2 5 64 35 53

Formartine Utd 23 14 2 7 62 21 44

Forres Mechanics 27 13 4 10 67 49 43

Nairn County 22 12 3 7 39 41 39

Keith 27 10 4 13 50 65 34

Wick Academy 25 9 5 11 38 47 32

Deveronvale 27 9 4 14 42 56 31

Huntly 27 6 6 15 35 73 24

Strathspey Thistle 22 6 1 15 29 54 19

Turriff United 27 5 3 19 33 83 18

Clachnacuddin 27 4 4 19 27 63 16

Lossiemouth 28 4 1 23 22 87 13

Fort William 20 3 1 16 18 61 10

The Banff side were on course to finish higher than their 12th-placed ranking in 2018-19, with plenty scope for optimism for manager Steve Dolan to take into the next season – whenever that may get under way.

Perhaps the biggest positive for ’Vale was the return to the field of star striker Dane Ballard in February, after 18 months out due to a knee injury.

Ballard’s goals have been badly missed but there’s every indication that the Buchan-based player can return to his best this year.

Ballard signed a two-year contract extension last summer, at a time when boss Dolan brought in new signings Courtney Cooper from Maud juniors and Ross Archibald from Lossiemouth.

Another attacker, Scott Dunn was to arrive in September to join his brother Michael at the club.

Before the season got under way, there was reward for goalkeeper James Blanchard’s long service to ’Vale in the form of a testimonial match against a young Aberdeen side at PRP in July.

Grant Noble fired ’Vale in front before Banff boy Bruce Anderson levelled for the Dons in a 1-1 draw watched by a healthy Banff crowd.

The campaign officially got under way with a home league match against Nairn County, not the best of starts for ’Vale as they lost 2-0.

Aberdeen returned to Banff four days later, this time on competitive duty with an Aberdeenshire Cup tie which the Granite City men won through two late goals.

’Vale’s first away trip in the league garnered a first point, as Colin Charlesworth’s stoppage time strike rescued a 2-2 draw at Wick Academy, with ’Vale down to 10 men after Ross Aitken was sent off.

Dolan was delighted when his men thumped Huntly 4-0 in their next league outing.

A tough run of ’Vale fixtures brought about a sticky spell of seven games without victory. League losses to Formartine and Rothes were followed by a 1-0 derby defeat to Buckie and a battling effort in a 2-0 loss to leaders Brora Rangers.

Luck wasn’t on ’Vale’s side when they began their Scottish Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw in Edinburgh against Spartans, losing the replay in Banff to a stoppage time heartbreaker.

It needed another derby clash to trigger a Deveronvale revival, as a sparkling show at Turriff earned a 3-0 triumph.

’Vale went on to make it four wins in a row, seeing off Strathspey Thistle, Lossiemouth then bogey team Forres Mechanics, who they hadn’t beaten for more than a decade at Mosset Park but ended their barren run with a fine 2-0 success.

Dolan’s boys tumbled out of two more cups as Formartine forced an Aberdeenshire Shield exit while another injury time sickener took coast rivals Buckie through in a League Cup derby tie.

Attacker Ryan Sargent arrived on loan from Fraserburgh to great effect, going on to score seven times in a ’Vale shirt.

A real low point arrived in November with a 7-2 league crushing at Nairn, but this was followed by a five-game undefeated sequence with three wins.

This run included an amazing win at Huntly when ’Vale trailed going into time added on but netted twice to plunder all three points.

Beating Formartine 3-0 at home four days before Christmas gave ’Vale fans plenty festive cheer, and the Pitmedden club loaned defender Michael Clark to ’Vale a few weeks later.

Another derby win over Turriff was followed by a 3-1 home loss to Forres which proved to be ’Vale’s final outing before the coronavirus outbreak prematurely brought the curtain down on a promising campaign.


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