THE GREEN SMILE

Buckie's joy at landing the Hoops is a story even superfan King couldn't have written

- JIM BLACK

HORROR writer Stephen King couldn’t have penned the Buckie Thistle story that has unfolded in the past 48 hours. 

After all, the multi-million-selling author doesn’t do fairytales.

And that’s exactly what the fourth round Scottish Cup draw handed the Highland League outfit – who just happen to wear green and hoops – on Sunday night.

Buckie were paired with Celtic at Parkhead and superfan King, who mentioned the club in his 2020 No.1 best-selling book If It Bleeds, will be as delighted as the rest of the town as up to half of it evacuates to Glasgow on January 20.

King subsequently sent officials two signed copies of the book for auction as well as a photograph of himself wearing a Buckie strip in his hometown of Bangor, Maine.

Now Buckie are intent on inflicting Misery on Celtic when they travel to Parkhead. The odds are stacked against the part-timers inflicting a Highland horror story to top anything King has penned.

But the Moray-based Jags have history in the cup in Glasgow.

They became the first – and still only – non-league side to win a competitive match at Hampden when they sent Queen’s Park crashing out in the fourth round way back in 1954.

But that result would pale into insignificance if Buckie were to follow in the footsteps of Highland neighbours Inverness 23 years ago and rock Parkhead to its very foundations.

No matter what happens, it will be a day to remember for the Banffshire town with a population of fewer than 10,000 people.