THE HOLLOW CELEBRATION
No joy, no champers, no mass pitch invasion and no winners’ podium as Brora become Highland League kingpins again
THERE was no outpouring of joy as a shrill blast of the referee’s whistle signalled the crossing of the finish line. No champagne corks were popped. There was no pitch invasion, no need to assemble a winners’ podium and no dignitaries were in town to hand over the trophy. However, the players, staff and directors of Brora Rangers may have imagined the clinching of their third Highland League title, absolutely no one could have foreseen it like this. ‘It’s surreal, to be honest,’ said manager Steven Mackay. ‘There was a meeting on Saturday with all the Highland League representatives. The chairman (Willie Powrie) then phoned me to let me know that they’d made the brave decision to make us champions. ‘Due to social distancing, we weren’t even able to meet with the players and break it to them that way. So they were told through our WhatsApp group chat. It’s a bit of a strange one.’ These are, however, the very strangest of times. Days that must feel like a crazy dream to even the most senior of supporters at Dudgeon Park. Even the moment of triumph, like pretty much everything in life at the moment, had a curiously empty feel to it. Teams have won titles before without kicking a ball. But invariably impromptu parties are thrown before the players and fans celebrate in unison at the next opportunity. With the season cut short, Brora, like every other club, simply do not know when that day will dawn. ‘No matter what level you play at, you always go into a league campaign hoping you can win the title but you want to play all your games, so you feel you have earned it,’ added Mackay. Some 13 points ahead with just six games left to play, it would have taken a disaster of Devon Loch proportions for Brora to be denied. That not one of their rivals believed this to be possible makes this title every bit as authentic as those of 2014 and 2015. But while the coronavirus pandemic might well see the game mothballed for months, it’s tempting to suggest the league may have held off for a month for completion’s sake. ‘Maybe we have been a wee bit early (in coming to the decision),’ said Mackay. ‘But It doesn’t look like this situation is going to relax any time soon. ‘They’ve taken the view that there isn’t going to be any football played for a few months, so have made the decision based on that.’ Unlike at the top end of the senior game, where Celtic, Rangers and Hearts have all moved to make their respective positions on the completion or otherwise of the season clear, the
declaration of Brora as champions was harmonious. ‘I think it is a brave decision to come out first and say this, albeit our league doesn’t have the complexities of the senior leagues,’ added Mackay. ‘It’s was unanimous between all the clubs, which is great. There was no bickering about it — that gives us a little bit of comfort. Yes, we didn’t finish the campaign but we’d six games left and needed ten points to make certain of it. ‘We lost two games all season and had won 16 in a row. So it would have been catastrophic if we hadn’t accrued enough points to win it. It’s the right decision and a fair one. It would have been a travesty if it had been declared void.’ What’s less clear is what happens next. Entitled to a crack at the Lowland League champions — a scrap between Kelty Hearts and Bonnyrigg Rose when the pause button was pressed — the prize for the winner ought to have been a joust with, in all probability,
Brechin City for a cherished place in League Two. Understanding the bigger picture, Mackay says this isn’t the time for anyone to be stamping their feet to ensure they get their way. ‘Our ambition is to get into League Two,’ he stated. ‘That’s been our goal since the start of the season — by winning the Highland League, then trying to get up via the play-offs. ‘That decision is now outwith our control. We need to wait and see what the SFA decide. ‘Ideally, we’d like to play against the Lowland League champions, which looks like being Kelty. ‘And the winner of that would then play the side at the bottom of League Two which, at the moment, is Brechin. ‘There is a proposal that ourselves and Kelty would get automatic promotion which we’d take, no doubt about it. ‘But if the SFA decide that none of those options are on the table, we’ll have to accept that we are in a situation where football takes a back seat.’