42

Borough Briggs

Saturday 15^th August 2026

The quest to complete the 42 enters season two today. It’s not my first game of the 2026 / 27 season but it is my first new SPFL ground. After a couple of very busy weeks at work and a very frustrating game of cricket last weekend I decided that I couldn’t manage another game this weekend and started looking at options for new grounds instead. With no Premiership or Championship games this weekend it gave me a chance to focus on Leagues One and Two and I was immediately drawn to a couple of options in the latter.

I had hoped to get to Dumbarton last season but a changed kick-off time meant that wasn’t possible in the end and I had considered a trip down to them today. It’s a long day and three trains in each direction though and I didn’t fancy leaving Naomi for that long so my eyes turned closer to home instead.

The other option was Elgin City and the remaining question was whether to get the train or to drive. The timings of the trains weren’t ideal and driving would mean I was away for around two hours less. That also meant an opportunity to take the new wheels for a decent spin and so (without wanting to sound too Alan Partridge) I mentally prepared myself for two journeys on Britain’s worst road, the A96.

In all honesty the drive wasn’t too bad and the new car meant it was much more comfortable than I have been used to. Other than a couple of sets of completely unmanned roadworks I made good time and arrived at Borough Briggs shortly after 2pm. Immediately I got the feeling I would like the ground. I popped into the club shop to pick up a pin badge and overheard the woman on the desk asking her boss if she could claim for her broken nail on expenses. He refused this but generously offered to work on it himself for her. Strangely she wasn’t keen…

Once inside the ground my expectations were comfortably surpassed. A small main stand hanging off the back of the main club building held the only seats with the other three ends of the ground made up of terracing. Behind the goals this consisted of a few concrete steps and then a shallow grassy hill. This proved popular with families especially those with young children who took advantage of the five-a-side goals that had been set up to play football before, during, and after the game. The ground is also in a great location, surrounded by woodland and with the river Lossie running just behind the covered terracing.

The other popular feature was the pie shop. I’d eaten before I arrived at the ground so didn’t pick up any food but as usual fancied a cup of tea. I think Elgin currently lead the SPFL on the best priced cup of tea at just £1.30. Considering some grounds charge almost three times as much this was a very pleasant surprise and it was really nice to see a small, community club not taking advantage of a captive audience. I’m sure the long queue was in part linked to the good value on offer.

Hot drink in hand I headed back towards the pitch to watch the warm-ups and have a flick through the programme. The highlight of the warm-ups was the Elgin City keeper chatting with a fan and telling him he’d been practicing a deeper voice to make himself heard when coming for the ball at corners. If you’ve read any other entries on this blog though you’ll know that I’m a sucker for a mascot. As the players were put through their paces I spotted what appeared to be an absolute gem of a mascot. He strolled round the side of the pitch and made a beeline for me in search of a high five. I was only too happy to oblige and made sure that Briggsy the badger then posed for a photo for me.

Realising my day had probably peaked I headed to the main stand to find my seat for the game. I’d managed to get a set just about as high up as it is possible to be in a stand that only has eight rows of seats and it was also almost directly in line with the middle of the pitch. On top of this I then discovered that the seat was padded and remarkably comfortable, clubs at even Premiership level could learn lessons from Elgin on this front.

The stand projects directly out the back of the building at the front of Borough Briggs and has a low roof that keeps the noise in and gave the stand a great atmosphere. It was pretty much full before the game and the hubbub from the crowd sounded great. Also great was the playing surface. Given the long, hot summer we have had I was partly expecting the pitch to be looking a little the worse for wear but my fears were completely unfounded. I’m sure the recent rain had helped but the grass looked lush and fresh and offered the hope of a good game.

Both teams seemed to settle quickly and the opening ten minutes were an open but even contest. Elgin were clearly looking to use their wide players to stretch Kelty. Directly in front of me Jack MacIver pulled off a brilliant turn and found himself in acres of space but his crossfield ball was overhit and the chance slipped away. On the other side of the pitch Matthew Grant was adventurous and looking to take on his man at every opportunity.

The best chances of the early stages fell to Kelty though. Jamie Hislop, on loan from Ayr United, looks like a very decent prospect and a lot of Kelty’s creativity seemed to go through him. His best chance was from a freekick on the edge of the Elgin box but he wasn’t able to keep the ball down. The lack of a killer instinct was frustrating Kelty manager Tam O’Ware and increasingly bothering his players too. At one point Kallum Higginbotham literally beat his fist against the pitch when his pass to Ryan Shanley was too heavy and rolled out for an Elgin goalkick.

Kelty’s profligacy in front of goal was punished by Elgin on the half hour mark. They broke forward in front of me down their left hand side with a series of neat passes into space for each player to run on to. This eventually resulted in Kane Hester being played through by Russell Dingwall and he drilled the ball across Jamie Smith in the Kelty goal and into the bottom corner.

The goal gave Elgin the confidence to play the ball around at will and they had Kelty chasing shadows for the next 15 minutes. Another quick counter attack just before halftime saw MacIver try to catch Smith napping at his near post but it was well saved and the resulting corner easily defended. As Elgin came off at half time their fans were oddly frustrated. The team had had most of the possession, all of the territory, and had the lead but all I could hear around me were complaints and moaning. I thought they had looked comfortably the better side.

Kelty came out first for the second half and started on the front foot. They were taking the game to Elgin in search of an equaliser and were unlucky when a bizarre passage of play resulted in the ball being scrambled onto the post of the Elgin goal before being cleared away. Minutes later the referee came to Elgin’s rescue when a low cross ended up being headed away by the man in black.

Whilst still pushing for their first goal Kelty saw a corner claimed by Elgin keeper Tom Ritchie who turned defence into attack with a long ball towards Hester. This wasn’t well dealt with by the Kelty defenders and the ball broke to Oliver Colloty. His effort was cleared off the line but the rebound fell to Lewis MacKay who watched and waited for the ball to drop before volleying it home.

The second goal brought about changes to both sides. Elgin manager Stefan Laird looked to change to a more defensive formation but this seemed to give Kelty confidence that the game was still there to be fought for. O’Ware turned to his bench and made a double change himself. This worked instantly as one of the substitutes, Robert Cole, scored just two minutes later with his first touch.

The pessimism that the Elgin fans had shown at halftime was back, now with renewed feeling, and for a while Kelty were completely in charge. Elgin still looked to counter attack though and with ten minutes remaining their captain, Dingwall, settled the home nerves with a third goal. The pressure now released Elgin looked composed and confident on the ball again and a few minutes later MacIver wrapped it up with a fourth.

The Elgin fan next to me commented that it hadn’t felt like a 4 – 1 game and he was right. If anything it probably felt more like a 4 – 3 game but Elgin were good value for their win. It was a really enjoyable start to the new season, both teams were keen to attack and played attractive one-touch football that you don’t often see at this level. If the games this season are half as entertaining as this one then I’m in for a good year.

The Facts

• Ground
  • Borough Briggs
• Home
  • Elgin City
• Away
  • Kelty Hearts
• Competition
  • Scottish League Two
• Result
  • 4 – 1
• Scorers
  • Kane Hester, Lewis MacKay, Russell Dingwall, Jack MacIver | Robert Cole
• Attendance
  • 524
• Cost
  • £19
• Total distance travelled
  • 130 miles
• Transport
  • Car
• My MotM
  • Russell Dingwall, there were quite a few contenders but Dingwall was marshalling the midfield from the first whistle and added a goal and an assist to ensure that he stood out above the others.