ARCHIE’S UPS AND DOWNS Mixed bag for Darvel hitman McPherson
STRIKERS are renowned as being born with a sixth sense for anticipating the bounce of the ball but there’s no way Ross McPherson could possibly have envisaged his fortunes since returning to the Junior football scene with ambitious Darvel during the close season.
At first everything went swimmingly for the 31 year old nicknamed Archie and a personal haul of seven goals had been accumulated as his new club stormed out of the blocks to top the Championship pile prior to an away clash against Gartcairn in early October that left him saddled with a grade-two tear to his medial ligament that sidelined the hitman until just recently.
A long road on the comeback trail has been his lot ever since and Archie has cut a frustrated figure in some 20plus Saturdays.
Yet hardly had he uttered the words “It’s good to be back” after his fleeting substitute’s appearance in the Ayrshire outfit’s 2-2 Macron Scottish Junior Cup quarter-final encounter against Broughty Athletic at the start of this month than all football in Scotland was placed in Covid-19 imposed cold storage for the foreseeable future.
This latest crossroads has brought a mixed bag of emotions for Archie, whose day job as a P.E. Teacher is also at a lockdown phase as of yesterday.
He said: “Getting the last 10 minutes in the Broughty game after being out for so long was a terrific boost and I found myself looking forward to the replay even though the likelihood was our gaffer Mick Kennedy would again go with David Grant and Alan McKenzie as his first choice pairing up front.
“The two of them have been playing exceptionally well and while I’m up to scratch in terms of general fitness, there’s no denying the key element of match sharpness is lacking, so I had resigned myself to waiting for a chance to impress.
“But now this enforced layoff, which prevents training sessions as well as games and is set to stretch into May and possibly beyond, could work to my advantage because it puts everyone in the same boat and is more or less the same as starting the season all over again.”
This week’s Macron semifinal draw gave Archie further motivation to win back his attacking spurs after the winners of Darvel v Broughy were paired against his former club Beith while this other half of the draw has Pollok taking on whoever emerges from the last-eight clash between reigning holders Auchinleck Talbot and Hurlford United.
He insisted: “I had an inkling we would come out of the hat alongside Beith where I spent three and a bit seasons, winning the Premier League title and memorably playing in the big Scottish Cup against Morton in a side containing the likes of Darren Christie, Big Shez [John Sheridan], Jamie Wilson and Paul Frize who are all still on the books at Bellsdale.
“No doubt they will strongly fancy their chances after knocking Darvel out of the Ardagh West of Scotland Cup earlier this season but a lot of changes have occurred, not least my former gaffer Johnny Millar quitting his post while Sean McIlroy and Joe Bradley are no longer in favour and are transfer listed.
“But the least said about a revenge clash with Beith the better as it would be extremely disrespectful to a very good Broughty Athletic side awaiting us in our quarterfinal replay and right now our entire focus is on them and nothing else”
Darvel in keeping with all other Junior clubs have been unable to book training facilities and their players have resorted to “doing their own thing” to keep themselves ticking over while also using social media group chats to stay in touch with each other and of course team manager Mick Kennedy.
Archie added:“The gaffer is in constant touch about discussions at club level regarding whether the season will resume or not and it’s of great concern to all of us given we are on the very brink of promotion into the Premiership so being kept fully informed is a godsend.
“From day one he has set his stall out to create a togetherness running through the whole club as well as the local community and everyone in the dressing room has certainly bought into it.
“Outsiders have a misconception that we as a group of players are only at Darvel for the financial rewards, but nothing could be further from the truth and quite honestly I have never been part of a closer-knit dressing room.
“Money, wages, contracts are never discussed and our only over-riding worry going forward is whether the Macron Scottish Junior Cup and more importantly the Championship title race might be declared null and void meaning all our efforts to put Darvel back on the Junior map have been in vain.”
Archie who stepped up into the Junior ranks from Knightswood Juveniles as a 20 year old and boasts Clydebank and Irvine Meadow along with Beith as his former clubs fears the death knell might soon be sounding for Junior football with an array of clubs expressing an interest to join the SPFL Pyramid System and form a West of Scotland Division.
He added: “There are people more informed than me able to comment on the pros and cons of the proposed set-up.
“But what is patently clear in the current Coronavirus climate is that these are unknown times and nobody knows for certain how the Junior game as we know it will come out at the other end.”
I had an inkling we would draw Beith