WILL CLARK: Given Clachnacuddin will have home advantage in North of Scotland Cup final against Brora Rangers in Inverness, do cup finals need to be played at neutral venues?
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The North of Scotland Cup final between Brora Rangers and Clachnacuddin has now been moved from Lossiemouth to Clach’s Grant Street Park due to transport issues.
Traditionally, finals are at neutral venues, usually at a ground located halfway between the finalists.
In the case of this year’s final, there are no Highland League grounds between Inverness and Brora, but I still thought it was a bit of a trek asking both teams to head east to the Moray coast, bypassing Nairn and Forres.
So the announcement the final has been moved to Grant Street Park should ensure the match attracts a bigger crowd and possibly a more partisan atmosphere.
Neither team had any problem with the decision for next month’s clash and credit has to go to everyone for making a sensible decision.
It begs the question whether – for competitions at a certain level anyway – it is really necessary for finals to be played at a neutral venue.
Last Saturday, I was on shinty duty as I covered the Camanachd Cup final at Kingussie, who in front of 3000 fans, defeated Lovat 3–1 at The Dell as they lifted the trophy for the 24th time.
Now, the venue for the Camanachd Cup final was chosen before the tournament had even began, but Kingussie deservedly earned their place in the final by progressing through the early stages before lifting the trophy.
I’m not sure the final would have attracted such a huge crowd if Kingussie had not been there as it was an incredible atmosphere.
At a lower league level in football, looking at giving home advantage to one of the participating teams in a cup final would result in bigger crowds and be more financially viable.
How it would be decided which team would host a final could be a discussion, the toss of coin, an arm wrestle, writing a poem, even scissors, paper, stone.
But I reckon it is worth considering and organisers of the North of Scotland Cup should look at how big a crowd Grant Street Park draws on Saturday, October 1, especially if the final will involve teams which traditionally do not have a big away support.
I remember covering the 2015 Highland League Cup final between Cove Rangers and Wick Academy, which was also held at Grant Street Park.
To be fair, Wick Academy brought a huge travelling support of around 1000 fans, which packed the Merkinch ground.
Cove Rangers brought their boardroom and a minibus of fans which would have done well to have reached 30 in total.
Cove Rangers ran riot in the final battering the Scorries 4–0, but at full time, their players raised the silverware to a whimper.
There would have been an argument to have played the final up in Caithness, where it could have been an even bigger crowd and the chance for teams to make even more money.
Even in the 2019 final, when Brora Rangers beat Caley Thistle 3–2 at Mosset Park in Forres, the ground was what I could only describe as hauntingly hollow.
We’re not talking about the Scottish Cup final where teams get the chance to play at Hampden and heading to Mount Florida is part of the experience.
I’m not sure Celtic would be keen on playing a final at Ibrox against Rangers, or vice versa, but I’m unconvinced a neutral venue is needed at all levels.
Let’s see the crowd at Merkinch next weekend and take things from there.
