A Steve Bruce first-half double took the 100 year old Aberdeenshire Cup back to Victoria Park, Buckie.

Thistle's cup triumph against Cove Rangers gave Gregg Carrol his first trophy as Jags manager and he was delighted with the success.

He said: "It was always going to be a hard cup final against Cove but we got the goals at the right time.

"The first one was a tremendous strike from Steve Bruce and then he scored again quarter-of-an-hour later with a superb header.  He has scored some important goals for us in both the semi-final and now the final of this competition.

"I am delighted for my players as they worked tremendously hard and not to lose a goal in a cup final against Cove is tremendous."

Man of the match Bruce said: "Scoring a couple of goals in a cup final for Buckie is just a dream come true for myself.

"The opening goal could have gone anywhere.  I just twisted and hit it in mid-air and, thankfully, it went looping over the Cove keeper into the roof of the net.  The second one was similar to the goal I scored in the semi-final against Keith, again from a great Paul Napier cross."

Buckie opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a 30 yard wonderstrike from Bruce, who took a long ball from Bob Duncan on the volley and hammered it up and over the stranded Stuart McKenzie into the roof of the net.  The second Jags goal 16 minutes later was almost as good.  Paul Napier's inch perfect cross picked out Bruce eight yards out and his bullet header into the bottom corner gave the Cove keeper no chance.

Hopes of a Cove comeback were dashed just after the hour mark when Paul Tosh was sent off.

Tosh had picked up a booking seven minutes after the inverval and received a second yellow card and subsequently a red one for a scything tackle on Craig Macmillan.

Report by Dave Edwards for the Press & Journal