The last fraction hero
Truesdale top of the class as maths teacher and mates find magic formula to stun Dons
MATHS teacher Chris Truesdale could barely concentrate in the classroom.
But, when it got going, the goalkeeping star ensured it all added up to a harsh education for Aberdeen and Darvel’s biggestever night.
Truesdale spends his work days at Lenzie Academy explaining the formulas. Having chosen a path away from full-time football earlier in his career, the talented No.1 now combines his school days with his match days.
Truesdale’s decision to step away from a full-time contract at Hamilton to go to Glasgow University and study as a teenager was a massive decision.
He’d been on the books at Celtic and captained Scotland’s Under-18 schoolboys. His talent was clear.
However, the 26-year-old is now part of Darvel’s rise up the Scottish football ladder and was a hero against the Dons.
Truesdale was fired up to make the big moment happen as he said: “It was really difficult not to think of the game.
“I couldn’t concentrate on Monday. Thankfully I managed to get away a wee bit early and I’m thankful for that.
“All the pupils would have been watching me and I know they will be buzzing as well. When I go back I’m sure everyone will be delighted.
“I was at Hamilton up until Under17s. I got offered a full-time deal there but I decided to go to uni instead.
“That’s basically how I’ve fallen back down the leagues and away from the full-time environment as I decided to go down the academic route.
“It was a very hard decision but I just felt at the time, being a goalkeeper, that it was going to be very difficult to make it.
“I felt it was more beneficial to go to uni. I did aero engineering and now I’m a maths teacher.”
Brains in the classroom but also brilliance on the pitch.
Jordan Kirkpatrick may have scored the goal which will go down in folklore in Ayrshire and infamy in Aberdeen but it was Mick Kennedy’s keeper who saw it through.
Truesdale was impregnable after the interval as the West of Scotland League side had a lead to hold.
Point-blank saves from Ryan Duncan and two from Duk were of a high-class standard.
Darvel were hardly hanging on and relying on their keeper. But, when he was called upon, Truesdale produced magnificent moments.
Modestly, he said: “The boys put in some performance. To get through the game, we knew we’d have to ride our luck a wee bit and, thankfully, I was there to make the saves when it mattered.
“I’m buzzing. The way we started the game gave us confidence. We knew going into it that we could cause them problems.
“When we managed to get the goal, it gave us a bit more belief. I’m obviously delighted at the way we hung on to get through to the next round.
“You see some cup shocks where a team is hanging on but it wasn’t like that. We tried to keep a high line.”
Naturally, the immediate reaction at full-time was to quickly consider whether or not Darvel had indeed secured the biggest shock in Scottish Cup history.
Being sixth-tier against a top-flight side, it was difficult to make a case for one bigger and Truesdale had a firm opinion. He said: “It’s probably the biggest Scottish Cup shock of all time.
“Not many folk gave us a chance going into this as we were playing one of the biggest teams in the country. But we always had the belief.”
Although the players did the damage, manager Kennedy played a massive role off it.
The manager’s rousing pre-match team-talk from inside the dressing room that was beamed across TV channels inspired.
Truesdale said: “They are like that every single week. Different occasions need different team talks but that’s the kind of thing he does all the time.”