THERE’S nothing quite like a pair of lucky socks to signify a wee team getting to a Cup Final.
Tomorrow, Hurlford United will take on the giants of junior football, Auchinleck Talbot, in the Scottish Junior Cup final at Rugby Park. And Hurlford president, John Sibbald, will be sporting the socks that he swears - or at least hopes - will bring his team luck.
In 2014, Hurlford reached their first-ever Scottish Junior Cup final and were far from over-awed by the occasion, defeating Glenafton Athletic in the final and Sibbald is hopeful that tomorrow will produce a repeat result, with the help of his now four-year-old socks.
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“I’m going to be wearing the same red socks that I wore the last time - four years on, they’re a wee bit pinky now but I’ll still be wearing them,” he admitted.
“It feels pretty good being the underdogs. We were underdogs as well when we won it and we’ve got the same away dressing room, the same stand and so everything is the same as last time so hopefully that bodes well.
“Nobody can ever bet against Talbot - they’re a fantastic team and a great club and they’re favourites for everything but we feel confident.”
The past half-decade has seen a remarkable resurgence for Hurlford. Sibbald openly admits that when he joined the club fourteen years ago, they were in the doldrums but in recent years, helped by the appointment of current manager Darren Henderson in 2013, the club has turned around in a manner that Sibbald admits he could barely have dreamt of.
“When I first became involved in the club, we only had about 20 folk coming through the gate,” he recalls.
“Now, it’s so, so different. Back then, the park looked like grass but really, it was just weeds whereas now, the pitch is like a bowling green, the ground staff are fantastic. We’ve got hospitality and everything - the entire club is so much more professional now.
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“So our progress is remarkable - we’ve come from absolutely nowhere to now, I’d say, being one of the top five teams in Scotland.”
While Sibbald himself describes Hurlford as a “wee team”, he admits that their recent performances have increased expectations within the Ayrshire town considerably. Talbot may be currently sitting top of the West Super League, nine places and 23 points better off that Hurlford, but a recent victory over their final rivals, as well as their 2014 Cup win still fresh in the memory of Hurlford’s fans, has made sure that no longer are the Hurlford supporters content with merely making up the numbers.
“Four years ago when we got to the final, it was the first time ever and the entire town was covered in red and white,” Sibbald said.
“This year, it’s slightly different and there’s a sense that yes, we should be there.
“We’ll have approximately 2900 supporters in the main stand and for a club like us, that’s huge. We have a supporter who comes from Larkhall to every one of our games - he gets four or five buses to get here, it’s unbelievable how he’s attached himself us to him, we just love him.
“It’ll be a great atmosphere; junior football has great banter - you’ll roar and shout at each other across the park and then at full-time, you’ll shake hands and everything’s fine. Tomorrow though, I’ll be sitting in the director’s box so I’ll have to try to remain calm.”
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There has been noises from a number of junior clubs about potentially moving into the senior set-up within Scottish football but there are few within Hurlford, including Sibbald himself, who harbour those ambitions to move up the ranks.
But contentment with remaining in the current system does not indicate a lack of quality within junior set-up and Hurlford, who only lost 13-12 on penalties to Stirling Albion in the Scottish Cup third round following their Junior Cup win, have, believes Sibbald, the quality to compete with many of the senior teams in Scotland.
“Stirling couldn’t beat us in normal play and it goes to show that the gulf really isn’t that big,” he said.
“It was fantastic for us to see just how bad senior football in the lower leagues is, for junior teams to be competing like that.
“We wouldn’t want to move into the senior set-up though, we’re happy where we are. Who wants to travel to places as far away as the likes of Hawick on a Wednesday night in November? Supporters don’t want it and that’s the main thing. But we don’t want it either - these guys are working all day so it’s not a good idea.
“And we’d miss out on occasions like tomorrow.”
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