Beating Killie would top the night super Caley went ballistic
HE WAS part of the Inverness Caley Thistle team that famously went ‘ballistic’ at Celtic Park.
But Ross Tokely believes the greatest feat of his playing career would be firmly set in the shade if Brora Rangers could win at Kilmarnock today.
Steve Paterson’s then First Division team triumphed 3-1 on February 8, 2000, bringing down John Barnes’ managerial career and sending shockwaves throughout the game.
The victory remains the stuff of legend in the Highlands and is often cited as the greatest upset of all time.
Just a couple of days past the 18th anniversary of that slaying of Mark Viduka, Lubo Moravcik and Co, Tokely is emphatic — Brora beating Killie today would be bigger.
The Brora boss said: ‘After we won at East Fife, I said it was the biggest achievement I’d been part of, but I meant as a manager. I didn’t really mean that to include my playing days.
‘Certainly, it felt like it was up there and close to the famous Celtic win with Caley Thistle because I’d picked the team and set out the tactics. But if we could win at Kilmarnock, it would definitely be bigger than February 2000.
‘Probably the quality in the Celtic team under John Barnes that day was better than what Killie will have, but we had a good team under Steve Paterson and were just one league below.
‘Given the gulf in league placings between Brora, in the Highland League, and Kilmarnock in the Premiership, I think it would probably be one of the biggest shocks of all time.
‘We’re realistic. We’ve probably advanced a round further than I thought we could. The chairman said to me at the outset: “Be in the Scottish Cup after Christmas”. That’s where we are.
‘It’s now February and the fifth round, so it’s all a bonus. We’ve had a good journey so far but we want to put on a good show and make it difficult. It’s the national trophy and a lot of people will be watching.
Brora village has a population of just over 1,000 people, but close to 400 are expected to make the trip to Rugby Park. The Cattachs are yet to lose a goal in the competition, having set the ball rolling with a 5-0 first-round rout of Girvan at home.
Since then, they have journeyed 1,428 miles in the cup. Brora made a 418-mile round trip to Edinburgh where they thrashed Civil Service Strollers 5-0.
There then followed 1-0 away victories over Stranraer (618 miles) and East Fife (392 miles).
Every arduous trip has been worth it for Tokely, who is thrilled to pit his mix of young talents and experienced former SPFL pros against Steve Clarke’s in-form side.
He said. ‘We’re massive underdogs but things have happened in the cups before that nobody expects, so we have a chance.
‘I’m not saying we’re going to win but we’re going to make it as difficult as we can for them.
‘A lot of our boys haven’t played at a Premiership ground before, so it’s a great one to be involved in. Killie have certainly improved under Steve Clarke.
‘They beat the champions of Scotland last Saturday, so we know the task in hand. We do have players with experience and a bit of quality. It’s just a case of trying to keep it tight. If we can keep it at 0-0 for the first halfhour, we can build from there.’
Clarke, still bouyant after last week’s victory over Celtic, says his players’ attitude has to remain the same regardless of the opposition.
‘The message is to respect your opponents,’ he said. ‘They have had some great results to get here. We showed Celtic the respect they deserved. We will show Brora the same respect.
‘If the players go in with the same confidence and the same ability, and we play to a similar level, hopefully we can get a good result.’