The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Raithstar Bairdmoved totearsafter lastcup final
JOHN BAIRD has revealed that the last time he was involved in a cup final, he was moved to tears by a team-mate’s selfless gesture.
It was back in 2005 when the then teenage striker was left out of the St Mirren squad for the Challenge Cup Final against Hamilton which the Buddies won thanks to goals by Simon Lappin and John Sutton.
Baird, who had played a part in the earlier rounds, accepted his omission with good grace as there was such a great team spirit at the club.
There is little chance he will be left out by Raith Rovers boss Grant Murray for this Sunday’s Ramsdens Cup Final against Rangers. However, back in 2005, a veteran team-mate felt he was deserving of recognition for the part he had played in St Mirren’s run.
He said: “I was at the Challenge Cup Final with St Mirren, but I wasn’t stripped and was in the stand atAirdrie that day.
“Mark ‘Mavis’ Reilly gave me his medal after that game. I was probably 17th man and there were 16 stripped but I knew I wouldn’t line up with the boys available.
“I was on the pitch and Mavis asked how many games I had been involved in before the final and I think I played them all, certainly three out of the four anyway.
“I told him and he said: ‘Right, take this’, and gave me his medal.
“I was crying, I was only 19 and he didn’t need to do that. He was 35 years old and it was his last season and his last cup final.
“For him to make that gesture meant a lot to me. I still have the medal in a cabinet at home.
“He played in the Scottish Cup final for Kilmarnock and it meant a lot him giving it to me because it showed you what he thought of me. I know how Mavis is and he wouldn’t have given it to just anyone so that medal means more because of that.”
When asked if he had tried to give the medal back, Baird replied: “For a second, than I ran up the stand and gave it to my mum.
“I didn’t feel I earned it, definitely, because I wasn’t playing and you don’t feel you deserve it but for Mavis to give it to me was a big thing.”
Baird also admitted that his watching brief at that cup final wasn’t a difficult one as the St Mirren squad were a close-knit group, similar to the one he is now part of at Stark’s Park.
He added: “It was one of the best dressingrooms I’ve been in and Raith Rovers is up there too. You just felt so together and you’d need to speak to the boys after the cup final this weekend who aren’t involved, but you get that impression in here too. Everyone is together.”
Sunday’s venue of Easter Road is one that will always hold happy memories for Baird as it was there that all the years of toiling away in the lower leagues finally paid off as he notched his first SPL goal.
That was on January 19 last year while playing for Dundee against Hibs, a feat witnessed by the player’s family.
And he revealed his nearest and dearest will be in attendance again this weekend — in big numbers.
He said: “My happiest memory is probably scoring my first SPL goal at Easter Road. My family were at that game and I knew how much it would mean to them.
“Over the years, my aim was always to play at the highest level possible in Scotland. There were a few times I was close and the moves didn’t happen. Sometimes I felt like I would never get there. I know that day means a lot to my family.
“I have a ‘few’ coming through. I’ve got a minibus! My wife Natalie’s side and my side are coming — just the close family… about 20 of my closest family, brothers and brother-in-laws.”
Raith may be huge underdogs for Sunday’s final but Baird reflected on the club’s record in various cups over the years with the Coca Cola Cup win over Celtic in 1994 being a particular highlight.
Photos of the heroes of that memorable victory have pride of place on the walls at Stark’s Park— but Baird is determined there will be some new faces in the frames after Sunday.
He said: “I think over the years, Raith Rovers have always proved to be a good cup side. We reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup in 2010 and the Coca Cola Cup final back in 1994 where they beat Celtic. There is plenty of history there.
“But I spoke to our club photographer and he says if he gets new pictures to put up on the walls around the ground he’ll be happy, to get the old boys off and the new ones on.