Brora Rangers relief as manager Steven Mackay’s bizarre Highland League red card for berating a fan is mysteriously rescinded
Steven Mackay is free to occupy the Brora Rangers dug-out tomorrow after last weekend’s post-match red card was mysteriously rescinded.
In a bizarre twist after victory at Fraserburgh, Mackay was sent off after the final whistle when he took issue with a Brora fan for shouting abuse at his own team’s players.
It seems the match referee later had a change of heart and the supposed offence was not processed by the powers that be.
Mackay had been “disappointed” by the behaviour of a minority of the Brora support in Buchan, particularly as they targeted younger players.
Brora, second in the league, now refocus on the Highland League Cup and begin their trophy defence at home to Turriff United.
“No report was sent by the officials, so there must have been a change of heart,” Mackay said.
“We didn’t receive anything, although (assistant manager) David Hind did for his red card during the game. I think the compliance officer has seen how it played out and decided there was nothing to it.
“I gave the fan a bit of a hard time as I think he was out of order, shouting at me to take young players off as they were ‘hopeless’, when in fact they were doing well.
“Some of the stuff these lads were hearing was pretty horrendous.”
Some of Mackay’s annoyance stems from a sense that the scale of squad change at Brora this summer has not been fully appreciated.
Proven winners like Joe Malin, Martin McLean, Dale Gillespie and ex-player boss Ally MacDonald all packed their bags in the summer.
“It has gone under the radar a little bit,” Mackay said. “We lost eight players, of which four or five were fundamental to Brora’s success over the last 10 years, mainstays of that whole era.
“Trying to replace that is not easy and I’m really happy with the contribution of the players coming in.
“We’re still a bit light as a squad and I’m still looking to add to it if we can.
“But what the boys have given us so far has been really pleasing. They have all fitted in really well and made significant contributions.”
Brora beat Turriff United 5-0 early in the campaign and, as Highland League Cup holders after defeating the Broch on penalties last March, Mackay is eager for another strong display.
“We’ve not shied away from saying the league is a huge priority for us this year, but we want to do well in all the cups we’re involved in,” he said.
“We want to get off to a good, positive start at home against a Turriff side that has had a bit of a rollercoaster start to the season, with some really positive results and, equally, some games where (manager) Warren (Cummings) probably felt they could have been better.”
Jordan MacRae is set to miss out as he contemplates a shoulder operation after repeated dislocations.
