Nestled between the River Dee and the disused Deeside railway line, sits Milton Park, home of Banchory St Ternan F.C. In what could be their final home game of the calendar year, Banchory welcome fellow Deeside team Banks o’ Dee Juniors in the first round of the John Reilly Memorial Trophy sponsored by Quest Engineering.

Banchory have had a successful start to the season, losing just two games (against Culter in the Grill Cup and Stoneywood-Parkvale in the league). They sit at the top of the McBookie North Region Championship, and will look to return to the Premier League since their relegation in 2022-23. Banks o’ Dee sit mid-table in the Premier League, with 5 wins from a possible 12.

Striker Blair Duthie is on fine form this season for Banchory, with 11 goals in all competitions with winger Yassine Laksir close behind on 10. Both start against a strike pairing of Scott Coull and Fraser Reid for Banks o’ Dee.

Referee Mark Bolton signalled the start of the game, with Banks o’ Dee getting the match underway. Despite a couple early flashes of danger from the away side, the teams were fairly matched in the opening quarter, with neither keeper called into serious action. Robbie Campbell and Reid linked up well on the Banks o’ Dee right wing, delivering a few unanswered crosses into the Banchory box. Banks o’ Dee right back Flynn Clark fancied his chances from outside the box on the 17th minute, and saw his strike narrowly sail over the bar.

The game burst into life on the half hour mark, with two goals in as many minutes. The first gave the away side a momentarily lead, when a low curled cross from Clark bounced past everyone and in to the bottom right corner. The second would be an equaliser for Banchory, courtesy of Blair Duthie. After collecting the ball in the middle of the park, he drove goal-wards and neatly placed the ball beyond the encroaching keeper.

Both sides quickly settled after the goals and finished the half on level terms, with the scoreline reflecting a closely fought opening 45.

Duthie restarted the match as the wind picked up at Milton Park. Banchory managed some early shots through Charlie Nicol and Brett Findlay, with neither testing Banks o’ Dee keeper Callum Gibson. Flynn Clark succumbs to his first half injury in the 55th minute, forcing the first change for Banks o’ Dee. Leon Etko replaces him. The next few minutes saw a dominating spell for Banks o’ Dee, resulting in their second goal of the game. Reid and Connor Osprey came close before Osprey again took the ball in from the left wing, danced past the Banchory defender before drilling the ball home.

Banchory came close to a second swift equaliser, through Nicol. His header from close range was tipped over by the keeper, in perhaps the save of the game. More substitutions changed the complexity of the game, with Banks o’ Dee looking more settled with time ticking away for Banchory to force penalties.

An acrobatic effort from Banchory’s Aidan Galashan almost gave the home side a spectacular equaliser, but the ball just fell wide of the post. From there, Banks o’ Dee ran the ball to the opposite box, where a miss-timed challenge on Ebube Anyaegbunam gave the away side a golden opportunity to kill the game off. Despite Aidan Linton saving the initial penalty from Robbie Campbell, Scott Coull was on hand to blast the ball in, giving Banks o’ Dee a 3-1 lead with 4 minutes to play.

That would be the final meaningful moment of the game, with the referee signalling the end of play after 93 minutes. A solid performance from Banchory in the end, who were ultimately outclassed by a team in a higher league. Banks o’ Dee can look forward to the second round draw, where another win will award them a tie against a Midlands League team. For Banchory, they have three successive away games to conclude their 2024.

Match Facts

Goals:

Banchory	Banks o’ Dee
31′ Duthie	29′ Clark
	60′ Osprey
	87′ Coull

With thanks to Daniel and Alberto.