BATTLE CRY
Friends will become foes on Saturday when East Kilbride pair Sean Winter and Barry Russell aim to deliver a knockout blow to Stranraer pals Craig Malcolm and Mark McGuigan in the Scottish Cup.
The quartet have grown up together, played against each other and been team-mates during their careers, both at boys club and senior level.
But none of that will compare to this weekend as Malcolm and McGuigan aim to send their hometown team crashing out.
If that wasn’t enough to whet the appetite, Winter and Russell used to ply their trade at Stair Park and they would love nothing more than getting one over on their old side.
Winter told the News: “It’s all been very friendly so far but football does weird things to you. It will change us on Saturday and for 90 minutes we’ll be desperate to beat one another.
“After the match it will be fine but once the whistle goes Barry and I won’t be afraid to put a tackle in on Malky or Mark.
“We certainly won’t be holding back and I’ll be giving everything to make sure East Kilbride come out on top.
“We’ve been playing against each other for about 20 years now.
“I remember playing against Malky when I was eight or nine and Barry and I were team-mates at Westwood Rovers when we were seven. I played against Mark as well, even although he was a bit younger.
“So we are all close friends – but this will be a good grudge match between us.”
It will be a special day for Winter, in particular, given he played over 200 games for the Blues between 2010-15.
The 29-year-old said: “I got on really well with everyone down there and I had a great five years with the club, so I’ve got nothing but good things to say about them.
“I’m really looking forward to it but it will be weird going into the away changing room.”
Meanwhile, Russell, who played 20 games for the Blues during the 2014/15 season, is relishing his contest with Stranraer striker Craig Malcolm.
They have had their fair share of
tussles over the years with Malcolm coming out on top in their most recent game, when he hit a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Russell’s Albion Rovers three years ago.
But the Kilby skipper is looking to his success with Albion Rovers over Stranraer in 2012 to inspire him.
The 27-year-old, from Westwood, helped relegate the Blues to the old Second Division after a penalty shootout win in which another East Kilbride man Ciaran Donnelly hit the winning spot-kick.
He said: “I know Malky will talk about his hattrick game but the one I remember is when I was at Rovers and
we relegated Stranraer. They were so confident they had their party booked to celebrate and we beat them, so I know that still hurts him.
“Malky broke his leg in that game as well.
“It was a terrible day for him, so I got one over on him then and, hopefully, I can do that with East Kilbride this time.
“It’s always a battle when the two of us play, but I won’t be losing the head or anything.
“I will be strong and fair with the challenges when I need to be.
“We are going into this game with nothing to lose and I don’t see why we can’t go for it against them.”