I can’t mask the high being back
Some top-class sides have turned to the Oriam to train down the years. On Thursday night it was East Fife’s time to return.
On the standard of guest scale we may be just slightly above Hearts’ Under-14s that used to do sessions there before us.
But after five months in lockdown it would be fair to say the only reason we stunk the place out was because showers were off limits, although the boys were clearly taking advantage of being allowed to use a public toilet again because it was reeking by the time I visited it.
I hadn’t set a high bar for our reunion. But aside from the first four volleys coming off my shin and falling over my legs like Bambi near the end of a dribbling circuit, it was all right.
The same can’t be said for Brett Long’s patter, nor his leggings.
He’d been on social media gushing, “Oh my boy this, my boy that” after David Turnbull’s move to Celtic. I think they played together in the Motherwell Under-13s.
You can see Stewart Murdoch needs a 50-50 – he is still a caged animal.
Kyle Bell, just back from an ACL injury, was like a lamb to the slaughter, running side by side with him in a drill where I had to throw the ball up for a header.
I simply put it down the middle and saw the fury in Murdo’s eyes as he shoulder barged the young boy out of the way. Then there was poor Josh McConville, one of two promoted to the first team.
Clearly delighted to be part of the set-up, he put a video in our WhatsApp chat five minutes after we finished of him filming his boots saying, “First session done by Joshie boy”.
He quickly deleted it, having realised it was in our chat instead of one for family or friends. The boys terrorised him but I like the enthusiasm – he’s proud to be part of this team.
I’ve not had a feeling like the one I had driving back from Oriam in a long time. Something was lifted off my back, I had a sense of freedom. We even left with a little gift – an East Fife mask. Best of all, it’s a freebie and I can’t say no to a freebie.
I will wear it with pride if I have to as part of my day job as a PE primary school teacher.
I can regale the kids with the tale of scoring the last East Fife goal before lockdown. The ball hit off my head, then my shoulder, the Forfar keeper’s hand, back to me, off my a**e and trickled in.
In fact, it is probably one of the most positive things I have done in an East Fife jersey – which is worrying.