Vale’s very own Dynamic Duo of Ian Murray and Mark Chisholm struck again with a goal in either half to help keep hold of the Qualifying Cup in a hard fought match against local rivals Buckie at a windswept Princess Royal Park.
More importantly for the Banff Club though it ensured that the name of Deveronvale F.C. would be put into the hat for the draw of the Scottish Cup for the third year in a row.

A large crowd turned out to watch last years Qualifying Cup finalists battle it out for a place in the Scottish Cup proper in a game that could only be described as “not for the purists”. In such a crucial game in such windy conditions it was always going to be difficult for both teams to serve up a soccer spectacular but at least Vale’s Mark Chisholm provided a storybook ending!

Visitors Buckie kicked off the first half but it was Vale who posed any early threats with a Chisholm header falling just short of an incoming Ian Murray following some good play by Mike McKenzie. Vale continued to press, this time Chisholm failing to meet a deep cross from Matt Kinghorn.
With only 15 minutes gone and in Buckie’s first real attack the holders soon found themselves one goal down. Following a hesitant clearance by Scott Anderson, Vale keeper Speirs found himself pushing a Buckie strike round his post. From the resultant corner Scott Taylor out jumped the home defence to nod in the opener from 6 yards.
5 minutes later and Vale had their first real strike at goal. Defender Bryan Duglonski found himself with a bit of space in the middle of the park an unleashed a spectacular 25-yard drive just wide of the Buckie post.This seemed to inspire the home side with Chisholm being denied minutes later as his header crashed off the crossbar.
The Vale’s second top scorer should really have added to his tally 2 minutes later when a cut back from Steve Dolan on the left fell right for Chisholm but somehow he pushed the ball wide. A similar situation was to befall the League’s top scorer on the half hour mark when the ball landed right at Ian Murray’s feet 8 yards out. In a position where it looked easier to score, the wee man looked on in disbelief as his shot trundled wide of the left hand post.
With 35 minutes played the home crowd finally got something to cheer about. Steve Dolan sent in a perfect cross from the left which was met even more perfectly by MURRAY who watched in delight this time as his looping header sailed over the Buckie keeper an into the net for a well earned equaliser.
Vale were given the chance to extend their lead 6 minutes later when they were given an indirect free kick inside the visitors box following a pass back by a Buckie defender. With the Visitors packing their goalmouth, shots by both Murray and Chisholm were well blocked and the teams went in at Half time on level terms.

The second half was slow to start with both teams looking to protect rather than progress and the fans had to wait until the hour mark for the first real incident. Following some good midfield play Vale’s Paul Urquhart broke through into the box and was clearly sandwiched between two Buckie defenders. With screams from both players and fans alike referee Cheyne turned a blind eye and awarded a consolation corner. Two minutes later though and he was to witness a great goal with a superb story!
Previous to this game Vale’s Mark Chisholm had never scored against only one club in the Highland League, namely Buckie Thistle. With 67minutes played he was given the opportunity to complete his collection following some magnificent play by Mike McKenzie who released the fresh legs of Darren McAllister down the right wing. The young sub sent in a pinpoint drive across goal which was met eagerly by an on running CHISHOLM to side foot into the Buckie net. The crowd went wild, as did the Vale number 4 running topless up the side of the pitch into the arms of an elated home bench.
If this was the games highpoint then the remaining 28minutes was certainly a low point for the home fans as they watched on in anguish as Vale fought hard to keep their slender lead. In desperation the Cup holders picked up two costly bookings to McAllister and Anderson as the nerves began to jangle as the time ran out. With 7 minutes left Vale looked to bolster their defence bringing on Montgomery for 'Man of The Match' Mike McKenzie. A final substitution with Brown coming on for Urquhart looked to have killed enough time right at the death and eventually the ref’s whistle sounded amid scenes of total delight and utter relief by the fans and a number of players !

One player however could not believe his luck and could not wait to get home to celebrate……….only one problem though, Mark Chisholm lives 20 miles up the road from Banff in a quiet little town called…BUCKIE !!