66 EXCLUSIVE
Matt McGinley Scott Stevenson Bernard Coll Craig Howie Barry Russell Gavin Lachlan Frazer Johnstone Martin McBride Jack Smith Anton Brady Craig Hastings
Subs:
Liam Gormley MarcTempleton Gavin Millar Michael Morris Jordan Craig Lewis MacDonald Jacob Kean
Manager:
Billy Ogilvie Logan Bailly Efe Ambrose Erik Sviatchenko Dedryk Boyata KieranTierney Gary Mackay-Steven Scott Brown Charlie Mulgrew James Forrest Leigh Griffiths Colin Kazim-Richards
Subs:
Emilio Izaguirre Nir Biton Stuart Armstrong Ryan Christie Scott Allan Mikael Lustig Leonardo Fasan
Manager:
Ronny Deila game was no different. “It didn’t work out how we’d hoped, but our discipline was fantastic and every player did us proud. “They stuck to the game plan and I couldn’t have asked for more. “It put the club on the map and we’ll see the benefits of that for years to come.” A media frenzy surrounded the build-up to the game – and for East Kilbride it was a crazy few weeks. Bad weather forced their clash at home to Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale in the previous round to be postponed and with the Scottish Cup draw being held days later, it meant both sides knew playing Celtic would be the reward for making the last 16. Indeed, Ogilvie gave a stirring war cry through the EK News on the day of the game, asking his players to“make this the night they became legends in our town”. He said:“The Lothian Thistle match was the bigger game because we knew the reward. “A televised game against Celtic with the money that would come with it – that’s where the pressure was really on. “The Celtic game we just enjoyed but the stakes were so high against Lothian.
“A capacity crowd, Scotland manager Gordon Strachan in the stand, Leigh Griffiths and other top players were there watching as well.
“That was the biggest match of my career.”
Goals from Jack Smith and Sean Winter earned Kilby a 2-0 win that night and after the jubilant scenes at K-Park, the attention only intensified.
Everyone wanted a piece of Ogilvie and his players. He’s still astonished by how well they handled it and praised the backing his team received not just from the club itself but from football fans in general.
Ogilvie said:“The build-up to the Celtic game was incredible. Sky, Football Focus, BBC, STV, newspapers – the coverage was phenomenal.
“But through all of that, what I really remember is how focused every single one of our players were.
“All that coverage could have affected them but there was such a determination and a desire to be in that team for the Celtic game.
“They were so focused on helping their mates out. It was a real team effort and there was real togetherness in that squad.
“And the club’s preparation was first class. We had 18 stars that day and they