The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Buoyant Buckie getting ready to scale pyramid
Play-offs: Farquhar has every confidence for East Kilbride tie
Buckie Thistle president Garry Farquhar believes his side is ready for the challenge of the SPFL pyramid play-offs after winning the Highland League title in style on Saturday.
Bottom club Strathspey Thistle were swept away 9-0 at Victoria Park but the season goes on for Buckie, who will take on Lowland League champions East Kilbride in a two-leg playoff starting at home on Saturday for the right to face the side which finishes bottom of League 2.
Buckie got the chance to win the title when the Highland League’s management committee decided against punishing the club for listing midfielder Callum Murray against Formartine United the previous Saturday.
Farquhar said: “The importance of the game meant everything to us and we proved beyond doubt that we are more than worthy Highland League champions.
“It’s all about the points we win, the goals we score and the goals we don’t concede that wins titles – and we’ve done really well on all those fronts.
“I believe East Kilbride manager Martin Lauchlan was at the game on Saturday. I don’t know much about them, apart from the fact they won the title quite some time ago, and handsomely. “We have experience of playing against Lowland League sides as we played Edinburgh City a few seasons ago and we managed to get a win in that one. “We have a fantastic manager in Graeme Stewart and I am sure he has had someone keeping tabs on them.” East Kilbride have had more time to prepare for this weekend’s game, having wrapped up the Lowland League title with a 6-1 away victory against Gala Fairydean Rovers on April 1.
Manager Lauchlan is pleased he finally knows the identity of his side’s opponents and said: “We’ve had people watching both teams. We had someone up last week at Cove’s game against Turriff United and I had someone at Buckie on Saturday when they won comfortably.
“I’ll do a wee bit more in-depth research this week.
“Thursday’s decision about the ineligible player threw a bit of a spanner in the works.
“It affected our preparation a wee bit as well as we didn’t know where to book a hotel for Friday night. We didn’t know whether we would be at Buckie or Cove, so we booked right in the middle between both places.
“It doesn’t matter who we play, though, it was always going to be an extremely tough game.”
“Proved beyond doubt that we are more than worthy League champions”