Highland League

Wednesday 6th October 2021

Kick Off 20.00. On Time !

Formartine United 4 Clachnacuddin 2, attendance 89

32’ 0-1

47’ 1-1

59’ 2-1

66’ 2-2

68’ 3-2

90’+ 4, 4-2

@ North Lodge Park

Oldmeldrum Road

Pitmedden

AB41 7PA

£10 Admission

No Programme.

Tonight, I finally completed a matchday visit at every ground in the Highland League, having started my quest at Inverness Thistle 1 Ross County 4, in a League Cup Preliminary Round match on 4th August 1993. I should have completed the league 10 years ago, at this very same ground. I came here on 17th September 2011, but Formartine United called their match off. Apparently the pitch was waterlogged, but it was a lovely dry, sunny day and it was the only game called off in the area. Luckily, having arrived in plenty of time, I was able to make it to the nearby town of Inverurie, where I saw Colony Park lose 1-2 to Whitehills in a S.J.F.A. North Region match. At least it wasn’t a wasted day, but to say I wasn’t impressed with Formartine is an understatement.

Anyway, having waited 10 years, where this has been the only ground needed for the duration, tonight was the ideal time to finally complete the league. If I wasn’t impressed with Formartine back then, I think even less of them now. The mobile phone contact number for the the club on their website didn’t reply to a text sent early this morning, enquiring as to whether the match was going ahead after the deluge yesterday. The phone wasn’t even answered on numerous attempts during the day. The ground phone number wasn’t answered either, despite phoning every hour from 12 o’clock right through to 7 o’clock. Their only mention of the game was on their Facebook page, which had been posted the day before, with heavy overnight rain falling in the meantime. They didn’t even bother replying on Twitter either, but neither did Clachnacuddin, although they did at least post a tweet early this morning saying that they were playing at Formartine tonight. In the end I had to take a chance, going on the assumption that ‘they haven’t said it’s off’, so ‘it must be on’? I actually had a back up game at Banks O’Dee tonight, in a S.J.F.A. North Region Super League match, but as it was kicking off half an hour earlier than the game here, then there was a chance I might not get a game at all after heading here.

I was convinced that the game would be off when I arrived, as the weather had been far worse than when I attempted to tick the ground off here before. As I headed towards Pitmedden I was losing hope of getting a game, but finally, with the SatNav showing just 50 seconds to arrival, the floodlights came into view. What a relief. It was on, or at least it would be in half an hours time.

I normally watch matches as a neutral, but this wasn’t the case tonight, as I would be hoping for a Clachnacuddin win. After all the stress of the day, caused by a lack of information from the hosts, it would certainly round off the day nicely, as far as I was concerned, to see them lose. It never happened though, despite Clachnacuddin opening the scoring and leading 0-1 at halftime. The second half saw Formartine level the scores within two minutes of the restart and they went 2-1 up before the hour mark. One of the Clachnacuddin coaches was yellow carded for dissent following the goal, but calm was restored and the visitors drew level seven minutes later, a blocked shot rebounding kindly for another striker to smash the ball in from 10 yards to make it 2-2.

Formartine regained the lead within two minutes. A quickly taken free kick, on the corner of the 18 yard box, found the bottom corner of the net as the ‘keeper was still setting his defensive wall. Once again the Clachnacuddin bench were not happy. This time one of their coaches was red carded. The visitors had chances to draw level, but Formartine added a fourth goal deep into stoppage time to round off a 4-2 win.

The quality of the Highland League has dropped considerably since I first did a game in it. It is hardly surprising though, as the league have lost Inverness Thistle, Caledonian, Ross County, Elgin City, Peterhead and Cove Rangers in that time, being replaced by clubs of much smaller stature, as far as support and resources go. With the introduction of the Lowland League, which is the equivalent Level 5 league in the southern regions of Scotland, it is debatable if the Highland League is even the best league at it’s level anymore.