Ryan is my best pal but that won’t matter at Hampden
SAYS FRASER FYVIE
FIVE years after leaving Aberdeen, Fraser Fyvie’s first match against the club still lodged in his affections could hardly take place on a more prominent stage.
A Scottish Cup semi-final would be a landmark event for the Hibernian midfielder in any case. But Saturday at Hampden will present some unique personal circumstances.
Never before in his career will the 24-year-old have had most of his extended family lending their vocal support to the opposition. Were that not enough, there is also the small matter of being pitched into direct competition against his best friend in football.
Fyvie has known Aberdeen captain Ryan Jack since they were both in primary school, rising as twin tyros through the ranks at Pittodrie.
Thirteen months younger, Fyvie won the race for a first-team debut aged just 16 before exiting to Wigan Athletic three years later. Jack has shown far more longevity as a hometown hero, yet is now approaching a career crossroads of his own, with his contract set to expire this summer.
For both, the desire to reach the final will be undimmed by a close relationship maintained for the best part of two decades.
‘I played alongside Ryan since I was seven years old,’ reflected Fyvie. ‘We came all the way through together and he is my best pal.
‘I spoke to him just the other day. We have had a bit of banter between us.
‘He wants to win the Scottish Cup. I want to win it, too, and come Saturday, both teams will be right at it.
‘It will be a case of: “See you after the match”. We will see how it goes and, hopefully, we can come out winners on the day and get ourselves to another final. That is what we want to do.
‘How highly do I rate Ryan? He is the Aberdeen captain and that speaks for itself.
‘He has done fantastically well in the last few seasons and is highly regarded in Scotland.
‘I think he is a fantastic player and we can all see the game that he produces week-to-week.
‘Ryan is one of the first names on the Aberdeen team-sheet and everything goes through him. He is a top player.’
Jack’s playing style means he is unlikely to shirk an aggressive challenge on his pal. ‘He’s from Tillydrone, isn’t he?’ grinned Fyvie in response.
‘I look back on my time at Aberdeen as being part of a fantastic football club. There are some great people at the club who I still speak to. It is a team that I actually still support.’
Those loyalties will obviously be set aside this weekend. Fyvie’s aim is to extend Hibernian’s grip on the trophy — and the feelgood factor created by last weekend’s clinching of promotion from the Championship.
For many of his nearest and dearest, however, there will no such considerations. They want nothing other than to see Aberdeen in a second major final of the season.
‘I’ve not played against them since I’ve been away, so I’m looking forward to it,’ added Fyvie. ‘Pretty much all my family will be in the Aberdeen end, bar my mum and dad, who’ll be in the Hibs end.
‘My uncle did say: “I’m getting to a final either way”. But I think he’d rather Aberdeen got there.
‘All my family came to watch me in last year’s final. They’ve experienced that and they were also at Aberdeen’s League Cup win over Inverness in 2014, so they’ve enjoyed a bit of success in the last few years.
‘I don’t think it’ll be that odd for me — it’s a football match. I’ll be looking to get my name on the team-sheet, but we’ve got a great group, so the gaffer will have his hands full picking a team.’
But what if Hibernian fail to overcome the second-placed team in the Premiership? Would Fyvie join his family in backing Aberdeen at the final?
‘I probably would, aye,’ he said. ‘But hopefully it is going to be us and not them.’
While Fyvie’s career may not have soared in the spectacular manner predicted when he was a teenager, he can claim membership of an exclusive club.
At Wigan, he was a substitute preparing to be introduced at Wembley just before Ben Watson scored his historic injury-time winner to defeat Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup Final.
Three years later, that medal was accompanied by its Scottish equivalent. He played the full 90 minutes of last May’s dramatic 3-2 success over Rangers as Hibs ended a 114-year wait for the nation’s oldest prize.
‘I’m proud to have those on the CV,’ said Fyvie. ‘To get to another final and get another winner’s medal would be nice.
‘I was waiting to come on when Wigan beat Man City in the FA Cup Final. I was only 19 at the time and it was great to be a part of that.
‘Winning the Scottish Cup with Hibs last season was brilliant. I don’t think we could have written that a better way with David Gray popping up with the winner in the last minute.
‘It was a great occasion. Now, the players and the staff want to see if we can get to another final.
‘It’s 50-50. Aberdeen are having a great season. They’ve got a great squad, good players and a good manager, so it’ll be a very difficult game for us. We’ll have to be at our best to beat them.
‘But we go there full of confidence after winning the title. We’re going back up to the Premiership, which is fantastic.’