The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Broch boss Cowie delighted with his team’s fighting spirit
Fraserburgh manager Mark Cowie praised his players for taking the game to Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in the pyramid play-off semi-final.
The Broch’s 1-0 win in the second leg at Bellslea wasn’t enough to reach the final as they lost 3-2 on aggregate to the Lowland League champions.
But boss Cowie was proud of his Breedon Highland League winners.
He said: “I said to the guys before the game that we didn’t show Fraserburgh and what we were about last week.
“I take a lot of that on the chin, I had sleepless nights about how I set up the team and how I went about it for that game.
“This week I just asked the players to put on a show, get the crowd behind us and create chances.
“I think we did that, the wind played a massive part in the game and 0-0 at half-time was a good score for us. In the second half the whole game was in their half which was credit to my players.
“Their back three were immense and so was their keeper, but I think we definitely had them rattled when we scored.
“We needed a wee break but over the two games we didn’t quite get it.”
Despite the disappointment of not reaching the pyramid play-off final against Cowdenbeath, Cowie was taking the positives.
He added: “I said to the players to remember what we’ve done this season. They’re all gutted because the goal was to have a crack at getting into League Two.
“But we’re not finishing the season with a downbeat changing room.
“We’ve had a really good season with the teams we’ve competed against and the games we’ve been involved in. The way we finished winning 10 league games on the bounce to win the title was great and we need to go again.”
Bonnyrigg boss Robbie Horn said: “In the first half we were in control and had a couple of opportunities to score.
“But second half we really had to dig in and defend. Fraserburgh put us under a massive amount of pressure.
“Mark Weir made a really good save and there were lots of blocks and clearances around the box.
“We expected that and we knew it would come from Fraserburgh. It was an onslaught which we stood up to and I’m really proud of my players.
“I’m gutted for Fraserburgh they’ve had a fantastic season and they can be very proud of the season they have had winning the league.”