Dufftown all set for their biggest game
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THE uncertainty over which league Dufftown will play in next season has given manager Fraser Bremner a real headache.
But this Friday’s play-off match with a place at North junior football’s top table at stake will finally determine the Toonsers’ fate.
Dufftown finished second in Division 1 West last term after champions Grantown overturned a points deduction by appeal to claim the title.
However, the champions’ Nethybridge home park was deemed unsuitable for Superleague status, meaning runners-up Dufftown were handed a play-off chance against relegated Cruden Bay to win a berth in the top tier.
That play-off will be contested tonight (Friday) at Colony Park, Inverurie, and the winners will be playing in the elite division over the coming campaign.
The delays and U-turns have disrupted Bremner’s efforts to attract players, and he will line up with a weakened squad against their Buchan opponents.
“Through no fault of our own it has been a bit of a nightmare couple of months,” he said.
“It has affected everything and we have found it a real struggle to sign any players this summer. When you ask someone to sign the first question they ask is ‘what league are you in’ and I don’t have an answer for them.
“We’ve also had to cancel pre-season games because of this play-off coming so early.”
However, Bremner says his team will be ready for possibly the biggest match in the club’s history.
Dufftown have never played in the top junior league before and Bremner admits it was not a prospect he was prepared for when he first took over at the helm of the club.
“I have to be honest, when I took over I said that if we ever got to the Superleague, I wouldn’t have any real interest in going there.
“But your ambitions change as time goes on, and it’s certainly now where I want us to be.
“This club has the infrastructure to play there, and the people who run the club are ambitious and ready to go up, if we can manage it.
“We’ve got this chance to take Dufftown into the Superleague for the first time ever.”
The Westburn Park outfit lost striker Scott Johnston to Highland League Keith earlier this month, though they have recruited defender Dale Wood on a permanent basis from Elgin City and signed Daryl Tippings from Portgordon Vics and Lachlan Robertson – brother of current Dufftown player Finlay – also from Elgin.
Bremner admits he knows little about Cruden Bay, who finished second bottom above New Elgin in last year’s Superleague.
But New Elgin defeated the Buchan team four times last term, while current Dufftown player Marc Connolly was on their books.
He and his father Seamus, who coached at New Elgin, will be passing on any information on Cruden Bay they can to help the Dufftown cause.
Dufftown are without some key players for the game with David Mackie away working and both Kelvin Main and Ruari Watt on holiday.
Tonight’s match will go straight to penalties if it is level after 90 minutes, and kicks off at 7.15pm.
