ALL EYES ON THE PRIZE...
Rossvale get a close-up view of the famous old trophy as Scottish Junior Cup kicks off at New Petershill Park
IT sits in the heart of Springburn in all its glory. Bearing the marks of its illustrious career — etched with names and scarred by the odd chip — the Scottish Junior Cup has been contested since 1886 and age has not withered its beauty or diminished its significance.
At New Petershill Park, its presence signals another year of Scotland’s most romantic competition as Rossvale play Muirkirk in the first match of the first round of the Scottish Junior Cup of 2022-23.
The former are relieved to be taking part in a historic tournament rather than being a footnote in history.
‘Our sponsor pulled out in May,’ says Dom McInally, chairman, treasurer and ‘general dogsbody’ at Rossvale. ‘Twelve weeks ago, we lost all our players and our management team walked away. I do not blame them for that. The rug had been pulled from beneath them.’
The immediate thought was to revert to being an amateur team. McInally had a definite plan in the short term. ‘I went out and got slightly inebriated,’ he says, smiling.
This was Saturday, May 21, the day of the senior Scottish Cup final. He awoke on the Sunday to a ringing phone.
‘A fellow I know said he had heard our story and wanted to help. We met and put something in place. We have a three-year contract. The benefactors don’t want to be named and are just happy helping the club.’
McInally immediately went to work and recruited Kevin Kelly as head coach. He is now assisted by Scott Black and there is a squad of 20 players who all were recruited at breakneck speed.
It was a tough time for McInally, though his demeanour is upbeat. A product of Royston, he was a player and official in the amateur game before joining Rossvale nine years ago, two years after the club’s inception as a semi-professional club.
Asked what he receives in return for his efforts in the game, he replies: ‘I am not sure. It’s taken its toll recently. It’s been a hard year.’
He brightens when considering how far the club has come from its roots in Bishopbriggs. Now split from the Rossvale academy teams, McInally is determined to forge a path for the team.
‘It has been a torrid few months but I still see a bright future. I am like everyone else here. You don’t do this unless you love football. We have a great bunch of lads off and on the park. Let’s see where it takes us.’
IN the shadow of the cup, a group of men sit in a bar, chatting and sipping pints. They are members of Springburn Park Men’s Shed. ‘We’ll have to get our picture taken with that,’ says one.
The description would amuse them but they are heroes, understated, almost anonymous, but heroes. They have just finished a day’s work. ‘This is our reward,’ says Tom Bennett, grasping a pint glass.
The men’s shed movement has the aim of providing a connection for those seeking community, even just company. The Springburn Park branch has morphed into something even more impressive.
‘Yes, it was a social thing at first,’ says Bennett, ‘But we do work for the community. Metal work, woodwork... we do gardens, trim hedges.
‘It was supposed to be just in Springburn but we have moved further afield. We were working in Milton today. We will help out at primary schools, nursery schools ... cut grass, mend fences.’
The group started in 2019 with 25 members. It now has 86. ‘We get referrals from mental-health services in particular,’ says Bennett. Part of the ethos of the group is to imbue those coming with confidence and hone skills.
‘People can come at a low ebb,’ says Bennett. ‘But they can join in with us and that helps morale and confidence and helps them know they can get back to work.’
The range in the age of members is impressive. ‘The youngest is 18 and the oldest is 82,’ says Bennett.
He speaks quietly but movingly of the need for such a group. ‘We have had men come to us suffering from malnutrition. Often their partner has died and they can’t or won’t cook for themselves.
‘So we offer a free lunch service. There is no stigma. It is open to everybody to come along and get a hot meal and a talk with other people.’
Bennett adds: ‘I have had my issues and 25 years ago someone said to me it might be helpful to me if I volunteered to help others. I did and here I am.’
Much of his time is spent trying to find grants and other ways to support the club, but his core activity is to help his mates improve the lives of others.
‘We have had a hard but good day,’ he says, ‘so it is nice to relax here.’
Season tickets have been given free of charge to the shed club by McInally and his committee. ‘We
will be here on a Saturday,’ confirms Bennett. But now it is time for that picture with the cup.
THERE is history in the presence of the cup but also in the shape of Kevin Kelly, head coach of Rossvale. He laughs when I say he comes from Junior royalty. His father was Paul, manager of St Roch’s, Bellshill, Ashfield, and a stalwart of the game until his death in November last year.
The huge crowd at his funeral was a quiet testimony to his significance in the game. ‘Football was a religion in our home,’ says Kelly recalling his father. ‘It was just always around. I know it is a cliche but my dad was my hero growing up. Still is.
‘The Juniors were a big part of his life and mine. I grew up around the game.’
Has he taken any particular lessons from his dad into his job at Rossvale? ‘One of the major things my dad was able to do was to get his teams to compete. You have to be fit, you have to be organised. If you can do that, then you give yourself a chance.’
He is determined to take his opportunity in his first major role at the age of 30. A primary school support teacher, he knows the curriculum at the semi-pro school of hard knocks.
‘I will give it everything,’ he says. ‘We have a great group here and the committee is supportive. We have plans and will work hard to achieve them.’
Before the match, Alex McDowall, chief operating officer for the Scottish Junior Football Association, explains why he brought the cup to Springburn.
‘It’s impressive, isn’t it?’ he says, knowing there will be no dissent in those milling around the foyer.
‘This is the first tie of this season’s competition and it is all about publicising the tournament. There is this cliche of the romance of the cup but this is true for this competition. More than 100 clubs start out and there have been surprise winners down the years.’
He points out that few would have given Yoker a chance at the beginning of last season but they reached the final, narrowly losing out to Auchinleck Talbot, the veritable behemoths of the Scottish Cup who have won the tournament 14 times.
Talbot at home is the reward for Rossvale in round two after a close match was won in a penalty shoot-out.
‘The nerves were gripping me,’ admits a delighted Kelly post-match. Of the prospect of facing the Ayrshire giants, he says: ‘To be the best, you have to beat the best. We will be up for it. We will give our best.’
That is certain. It is the Junior way. It is the divine right of Junior royalty.