Hampden daze for Docherty
Former Glencairn star Ryan Docherty described walking out at Hampden Park as‘a bit bizarre’but was delighted to have completed his move to Queen’s Park.
The 30-year-old defender left the Celsius Stadium outfit at the end of the season to join up with Spiders boss Gus MacPherson in the SPFL League One.
Selected as the starting centre-half for the club’s opening Betfred Cup group game against Motherwell, Ryan admitted he wasn’t nervous at taking the step up to senior level.
And although the 5-1 defeat, which was broadcasted live on BT Sport, was disappointing to take, the former Glens man says he is looking forward to his first season at Queen’s.
He told the Reformer: “It is a bit bizarre. My last game was away at Cumbernauld on a wet and rainy Monday night and then I was playing in front of BT on Saturday.
“Saturday was a huge jump, it was a bit surreal but it was exciting. I just wanted to get out there
and play. We competed well in the first half. They had a lot of the ball and you’d expect that from a full-time team playing in the Premiership.
“Going into the second half, I played a part in their second goal, I had a mix-up with one of the other boys but you need to stay positive and kick on.”
Ryan moved to Dundee United aged 17 and played for the Tangerines for two seasons before an injury setback.
Junior side Lanark United came calling before a stint at Lesmahagow led Glens boss Willie Harvey to snap up the defender for a season and a half.
Clydebank and Kilsyth Rangers were keen to nab Ryan’s signature for next season but the lure of senior football and playing at Hampden was too much to turn down.
“They had been watching me for a while,”he said.“We [Glencairn] had a good end to the season from about Christmas so we finished really well.
“Then they [Queen’s} invited me in for pre-season and a few pre-season games and offered me a deal.
“It’s a big transition, you need to get used to the new players and how they play.”
Boxingdate
A date has been confirmed for Castlemilk boxer Ross Murray’s next fight.
The 35-year-old flyweight will prepare for a possible title showdown next season by entering the ring on September 15 at the Crown Plaza in Glasgow.
Ross, who is awaiting the news of his opponent, told the Reformer previously he was hoping to compete in an eight-round fight which will enable him to qualify and fight for a title.
He recently defeated Hungary’s Gyula Dodu to extend his unbeaten run to six straight wins.
The six-round fight however, was changed from an eight late on to put him a bout behind in his quest for a belt.
Tickets are available from Ross or by emailing info@ mtkscotland.com
Openwoes
Former Cambuslang man Marc Warren finished 77th on the leaderboard and failed to make the cut for the Scottish Open.
The 36-year-old scored par with two rounds of a score of 72 in the event eventually won by Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello.
Meanwhile, Cathkin Braes golfer Scott Jamieson was another Scot who had a disappointing time at Dundonald Links. He finished +5 after scoring 76 and 73 in his two rounds.
There were three places at The Open at Royal Birkdale available for the top three players who were not already exempt as long as they finished in the top 10.
Callum Shinkwin claimed one of them with the other two going to Matthieu Pavon and Andrew Dodt.