Kemnay Academy came out on top in a pulsating North Of Scotland Cup Final against Mintlaw Academy winning the game 5-3 with both teams scoring against each other before Kemnay pushed on in the final 20 minutes to come out on top. The game was played at Balmoor Stadium, Peterhead FC and both teams put on a blockbuster of a show on an SPFL surface.

Both teams had a statement of intent straight from the off, the clock had only gone past the first minute mark when Kemnay had their first chance on goal, Lucas Whyte finding Callum Duncan with the latters effort crashing off the bar and cleared by the Mintlaw backline, Kemnay continued to threaten and had the ball into the net after three minutes through Craig Beverley however he was deemed offside by referee Gary Duncan.

Kemnay took the lead after 10 minutes after a long ball down the park by Mackenzie Taylor, the ball ended up into the feet of Taylor Mason who then squared the ball across goal which was met by Lucas Whyte who struck home from close range to give Kemnay the perfect start.

Mintlaw then levelled after a ball from Aidan Barrow found Joe Selman who despite having a lot of Kemnay traffic, managed to get past it before striking home a fine finish past Owen Forsyth to level matters up for the Buchan side, this came straight after the centre and full credit for showing their intent immediately and seeking a response which they achieved.

On 30 minutes, Kemnay re-took the lead after Josh Buchan played a good ball into Taylor Mason from his own area with Mason getting on the end of the ball before breaking free with only Harvey Whyte to beat and the forward delivered a composed finish to guide his side a goal ahead once again, it must be said and it hasn't gone unnoticed that Buchan delivered a class step over before his good delivery into Mason.

Mintlaw were back on level terms just before half time however after a fantastic pass by Jake Innes found Selman who guided home another fine effort beyond Forsyth in the Kemnay goal to make sure it was 2-2 heading into half time, Josh Buchan admitted in his post-match interview that Kemnay was slack at times within the game and there was times where Mintlaw were breaking free without a source of pressure.

Kemnay re-took the lead just a couple of minutes after the interval with the smallest player on the park but a player with an unbelieveable ability - Craig Beverley played the ball into the feet of Taylor Mason who then found the talented Anton Chauvin who found the net from close range to give Kemnay the lead once again in the game.

Joe Selman continued to be an asset for Mintlaw and Selman was to get his hat-trick after beating Liam Duthie before finding the net once again with a good finish past Forsyth, the forward who clearly knows where the goal is rounded Forsyth before putting the ball into the back of the net to make it a good contest in the business end of the game.

Kemnay re-took the lead again on 58 minutes in what was to be a valuable goal in the complexion of this cup final contest with Lucas Whyte finding Chauvin who got his second goal of the game and undoubtedly the goal of the game after the forward found the top right hand corner with a fantastic finish past Harvey Whyte to give Kemnay the lead.

Mason already had one goal to his name and he added another one in the dying stages of the game after a good assist by Callum Duncan found the tall striker and he struck home a fine finish beyond Whyte to complete the game as a contest and ensure Kemnay kept their momentum up from winning the AFC Trophy recently beating Portlethen in that game.

What a smashing cup final that was with Kemnay doing enough to come out on top to grab another trophy however fair play to Mintlaw for playing their part in making sure the cup final was played at a high intensity on a pitch that can only be described as prestine for this time of the season. Congratulations to Kemnay Academy and commiserations to Mintlaw Academy.