Brora Rangers winning promotion to League Two would boost reputation of Highland League says Highland News and Media sport editor Will Clark
THE Highland League is getting a reputation for the title being decided on the final day of the season. For the third year in-a-row, the championship went down to the last day as Brora Rangers won the league for the fifth time in their history.
Despite falling behind early in the match, they regained their composure to thrash Rothes 7-2 to take the title on goal difference from Brechin City.
I will apologise to all my friends at Wick Academy, who I spent covering for years during my younger days at the John O’Groat Journal. But it was a privilege being at Dudgeon Park on Saturday and seeing what the Cattachs winning the league meant not just to Brora Rangers, but also the village and the county of Sutherland.
For a club based in a county which is sparsely populated, the success they have managed to achieve for over a decade has been no mean feat. Since 2013, Brora have won five league titles, seven North of Scotland Cups and three Highland League Cups. Possibly a fourth on Saturday if they beat Fraserburgh in the final to land a treble.
They have also had memorable Scottish Cup runs, none bigger than causing one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history when they beat Hearts 2-1 at Dudgeon Park in 2021.
Now, after achieving the SFA bronze licence which will avoid the Buckie Thistle scenario from last season, they are eligible to play in the SPFL League Two play-off.
They take on Lowland League champions East Kilbride in the semi final with the first leg away on Saturday, April 26 and the second leg at Brora on Saturday, May 3. The winners will then play the team that finishes bottom of League Two in a two-legged play-off final.
Brora Rangers have come close to promotion to League Two in the past. In 2015, the first year the play-offs were introduced, they reached the final after beating Edinburgh City in the semi final and won the final’s first leg against Montrose 1-0.
But a 3-1 defeat to Montrose at Links Parks in the second leg denied the Cattachs a place in League Two. They were in the play-offs again in 2021 but proved no match for Kelty Hearts in a 6-1 aggregate defeat in the semi finals.
Only one club has ever been promoted from the Highland League, with Cove Rangers reaching as high as the Championship since entering the SPFL in 2019. Lowland League clubs have had more success being promoted. Bonnyrigg Rose, Edinburgh City, Kelty Hearts and Spartans have all managed to stay in the SPFL since coming up. No team who have been relegated from the SPFL has managed to get promotion back to League Two yet.
The success of Lowland League teams compared to the Highland League is maybe a source of disappointment to fans in the north. If Brora Rangers were to be successful in being promoted to the SPFL, it would perhaps strengthen the reputation of the division. Traditionalists would perhaps be sad to see Brora Rangers leave the Highland League. But those who are against the pyramid system need to accept it is part of the game now and deservedly allows ambitious clubs to move up to another level. Another team from the north playing in the SPFL would provide welcome opportunities for aspiring footballers in the region.