'Mindless thugs' blasted by Keith chairman Andy Troup after vandalism at Kynoch Park
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Damage caused at the Highland League club's ground on the eve of last Saturday’s cup final has been described as “devastating”.
A window was broken inside the ground, leading to internal damage in office space and a potential bill of several hundreds of pounds for the club.
Kynoch Park was locked up at the time and the incident, which happened between 11pm on Friday night and 7am the following morning, has been reported to police.
Keith were set to host the Utilita Highland League Cup final between Buckie Thistle and Rothes, which was postponed on Saturday morning because of a waterlogged pitch.
The game was to be played behind closed doors due to the pandemic and supporters had been urged to stay away and watch the match at home via a pay-per-view live streaming service.
However, orange- coloured banners had been erected inside the ground around the same time as the vandalism took place.
Troup said he was sickened by the damage, highlighting all the work which had been carried out by club staff during the lockdown period to get Keith’s home ground in great condition for the return of football.
“I went over at 7am on Saturday to have a look at the pitch and see if it would be playable for the cup final,” said Troup.
“I discovered the window was smashed and with the heavy rain during the night, the computer inside was damaged and the plasterboard in the inside has been damaged with the water going in through the broken window.
“More than the actual cost of it, the disappointing thing is the fact that the committee members, the staff and all the people who do the tremendous work that they do voluntarily at the club, I had to call some of these people out on Saturday morning to temporarily fix it and tidy up.
“These people have put countless hours into the club and all they want back out of it is to see the team win on a Saturday.
“For mindless thugs to come in and do that to anybody’s property, it’s devastating.
“It would never cross your mind that type of thing would happen. We are trying to build Keith as a community club and for people to come and do this, it really is just sickening.”
It is understood that CCTV footage is being studied in the effort to identify the culprits.
Police will also be aware that flags and banners in the colours of Rothes were taken into the ground overnight.
Troup explained: “They were orange banners, and they had been there during the night.
“One of our directors was there at 11pm and nothing was there then, and I was there at seven the next morning and the banners were there, so they had broken in during the night because the gates were all locked, which was disappointing.”
The final has been rescheduled for this Saturday, but it won’t be held at Kynoch Park now. Instead it has been switched to Huntly’s Christie Park.
“We are disappointed that we have a prior engagement this Saturday so we can’t host the final,” said Troup.
“On Friday night, there seemed little chance of the game going ahead, but the wind got up during the night and when I looked at it at 7am, there was probably a decent chance of it going ahead.
“But then the heavy rain came on again and that was the end of it.”
