Paul Third: Patience pays off for League Two champions Peterhead
What a difference a year makes for Peterhead.
A year ago the Blue Toon were left to ponder what might have been after a season which had promised so much turned out to be a fruitless endeavour for the club.
A whirlwind start saw them surge clear at the top of League Two, only to finish runners-up to Stenhousemuir before exiting in meek fashion in the play-offs at the hands of Spartans following a 5-1 shellacking in the semi-final second leg at Balmoor.
The contrast of the scenes of devastation among the Blue Toon management, players and supporters in May 2024 with the spectacle of unbridled joy at Balmoor on Saturday was impossible to ignore.
Almost 2,000 fans packed out the place to watch Jordon Brown and Ryan Strachan guide their team to the championship with a 1-0 win against Dick Campbell's East Fife with a game to spare.
While it was dejection a year ago, this time it was sheer euphoria, and one which had been hard-earned by all concerned at the club.
Chairman Rodger Morrison and his board took a risk when they put the fate of the club in the hands of two untested rookie managers in 2023.
But not only did they hand the reins to the duo, they also backed them in reshaping the club.
Perhaps most important of all, the duo were given the chance to show what they had learned after coming up short in their first full season in charge last year.
That patience was rewarded on Saturday as the two youngsters held off the challenge of the wily old foxes of East Fife, Dick and Ian Campbell.
The champagne flowed all weekend and no doubt there will be a few sore heads among those attached to the club this week.
But the celebrations will soon be replaced by forward planning for the new challenges which lie ahead.
This season has shown they are everywhere you look.
The part-time game in Scotland is becoming an ultra-competitive, unforgiving playing field for clubs – and it's only getting tougher.
The days of clubs surviving by virtue of being in the senior leagues is no more. Those who can't keep up are being replaced by hungrier and stronger sides with fierce ambition.
Cove Rangers are fighting to get back to the Championship while Kelty Hearts will live to fight another day after securing their place in League One this season.
Peterhead are saying goodbye to League Two but Edinburgh City are in the play-off mix as they look to go back up to League One at the first attempt.
Elgin City have held off the late surge of Spartans to secure a play-off berth.
At the bottom of the table Bonnyrigg Rose have taken their fight for survival to the final day of the season as they try to catch Forfar and avoid a play-off.
Lowland League champions East Kilbride are the favourites to reach the final after beating Highland League counterparts Brora Rangers 4-1 in the first leg of Saturday's semi-final.
Getting into the SPFL is no mean feat and Cove remain the only Highland League champion to win a play-off final.
Add in the fact no club which has dropped out of League Two has made it back yet tells you how competitive it has become.
That's why days like Saturday at Balmoor should be celebrated by Peterhead.
They are hard-earned and richly deserved – just don't bask in the glow of success too long.
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