A great three points and a bit more.

Yesterday at Victoria Park Innerleithen the Edinburgh University students fluffed their “starter for ten” and my lot reading “hard work pays off” at the Open Football University eventually prevailed. But who knows how the game would have panned out had Andy McQueen not saved Jan Maelger’s penalty in the opening minutes. The Uni coach Dorian Ogunro, my old pal Dr Ian Smith and I agreed in the Union club after the game that psychologically the save/miss will have lifted the Vale players and dented the confidence of the students. Remember “football’s played between the ears”.  

To be fair the spot miss didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the Uni side as they had the majority of the ball in the first half and we had to change our shape at least twice in an attempt to get a foothold in the game. As it often happens though, we scored in the middle of all that student possession and as they say “goals win games”. Over the 90 minutes our opponents continued to have the lion’s share of the football but they ran out of ideas before the end and resorted to long range shooting which big Andy dealt with comfortably. Edinburgh University are still a mightily impressive passing side but yesterday it just wasn’t their day.

What about us? Before the game I feared against such a fit side the loss of two of our more athletic players, Ross Brady (work commitments) and Liam McIntosh (holiday) could cost us dear. I needn’t have worried as Brad Rixon and Sean Elliot came into the side and both put in a shift Ross or Liam would have been proud of. The one other change from the Pennypit on Wednesday was Shaun Stevens coming in for David Gallacher. We know Shaun can score goals and it’s up to me to find the right formation and mix to allow him to do that. As for Gall, it’s a big step up to Lowland League level for him but he’s an athletic big lad and once he finds the net he’ll show everyone at the club what I know he possesses.

After the game Davey Watkins of Border Radio was ribbing me about our “Dad’s Army” up front. I told him that still being in his 20’s Robbie Ross might want to take umbrage with that moniker and if you have as much energy and desire as Keith McLeod it doesn’t matter a hoot what it says on your birth certificate. It may take Cloudie a couple of days to recover from a game but he’s shown everyone in Lowland League football he can still handle two ninety minutes in four days. “Sign the laddie Lammy”, well try to 🙂

I set myself and the players two targets when I took on the manager’s job at the Vale just over a month ago. The first was to get off the bottom of the table and the second was to be the “best” Border club by the end of the season. The first we’ve achieved but we know how competitive the Lowland League is this season and with every point being a prisoner we’ll have to keep working our proverbial’s off to stay in the pack. And with Skin having taken over at Threave everyone knows they’ll soon be picking up more points to add to the three they picked up on the first day of the season at Ferguson Park. The second looked a more difficult task a few weeks back but we’ve now got ourselves in a position to attain that goal. With Edinburgh City and Spartans both away next up it will be difficult to maintain the momentum we are building but we have to remain positive and anyway there’s a lot of football to be played between now and next May.

And now for something completely different. I met Jock Stein a couple of times. Well that’s a lie really but my first manager at Stirling Albion was Bob Shankly and he and Jock were great pals so I was “around” Jock a few times. We played a couple of friendlies and close door games against Celtic at Annfield and we drew Celtic in the Scottish Cup so I knew who he was and he knew me (obviously). And I actually shook hands with him once and spoke to him. It was in Aviemore after St Johnstone had won a 5-a-side competition sponsored by Access and Jock presented me with the winning trophy. It was a two day pre-season competition (Sat/Sun) with four senior sides and twelve Highland League outfits. I was player manager of the Saints team (don’t ask me how or why by the way) and I shoved all the younger players in a couple of rooms and got my two mates Tom and Dick in with me (that’s Ian Thomson and Alex Dickson) all in the Post House hotel.

The competition took place two years in a row and I remember Rangers, Celtic, Hibs, Dundee (?) and Coventry (with their chocolate strips) as well as Saint Johnstone taking part but I can’t remember the four senior sides the year we won. The games were played on the (covered) Ice Rink which was a big area and having partaken of a few pints in the hotel the night before I decided after one game to play in goal during the rest of the tournament. Now around this time my mate Murray Georgeson (Roddie’s wee brother) had a pub beside the Culloden Battle field (the Keppoch Inn) and we drove up there on the Saturday evening and a good time we had.

We won our last section game on the Sunday morning and I asked referee Brian McGinlay (yes Brian McGinlay) when our semi was. “Not til 2.30” he said and being the back of eleven we decided to nip up to the Keppoch Inn for a few pints of Guinness with me still in my goalie gear of course. To cut a long story short we got delayed on the way back (a crash ahead of us) and the Saint’s semi was about to start when I rushed back into the Ice Rink. “Stop that game” I shouted (or something like that) and anyway I took my place between the sticks and only let one goal in during the semi and the final. It was actually a shot from John Hazel (remember him?) which missed the post but bounced back off the wall and hit the diving Lawson on the back and ended up in the net. Anyway we won and Jock presented me with the trophy. “Well done” said the great man as he shook my hand and handed the cup over and as he was the Scotland manager at the time I said “Thanks Jock, and if you’re ever looking for a subbutoe goalie, I’m your man”.

That’s a completely true story and to this day I don’t know how I was in charge of the squad and how I just did what I wanted with the team on and off the park. “Did you take all the gear up Mike?” I don’t have a clue. “Did you bump a young goalie to play between the sticks?” Again I can’t remember. “And the drinking before and during the competition!!!! not a good example pal” I have to agree, but was a different era back then or at least I think it was. One thing I do remember was the  incredulous look I guy gave me in the Keppoch on the Sunday when he turned round at the bar to see me drinking a pint of Guinness with my goalie gear on, boots, shin guards, gloves (for effect) the lot.

Lastly for now a grump but also a serious point. I took in the Edinburgh City v BSC Glasgow Under 20 game on the 3G at Meadowbank on Friday evening and for most of the game we (the crowd) were locked in. Seemingly the complex should close at 8.00 but three guys (out the kindness of their hearts they explained after the final whistle) hung about to cater for the game. As well as putting the lights out at half-time (in error I presume) they locked the exit to the car park and any access to the building (and toilets) while they were inside no doubt drinking tea and reading the papers. Now the mum of one of the Glasgow boys needed to go shortly into the second half (I B S) but no amount of banging on the doors by her and her husband could get one of the three amigos attention. They appeared after the final whistle and took a bit of stick from a good few of us which they just brushed off. What if someone had collapsed or had a heart attack just after half-time? A health and safety nightmare.