Tollcross Thistle aiming to ‘put on a show’ in Scottish Amateur Cup final at Hampden

LEAFA’s Tollcross are bidding to become the first Edinburgh-based club to lift the national trophy since Liberton Royal Mail WBM in May 2000 when they take on Drumchapel in the delayed 2019/20 competition.

“It’s the club’s biggest ever game and the fact an Edinburgh team hasn’t won it in 22 years adds more pressure to it as well,” said McKay.

“It’s been a long time coming since we booked our place in the final and it will probably be a weight off the shoulders once the game is done and dusted. We are looking forward to it and with the game being at Hampden it just adds to the occasion.

“There is an element of excitement and a wee bit of nervousness. There is no doubt about it, we are going there to win the game and that’s our priority, but the players want to put on a good show as well. They’ll have lots of friends and family coming to watch them so they want to show up well.

“In terms of preparation, it’s been exactly the same and we aren’t treating it any differently, training has been the exact same. People were asking if they were to wear shirt and tie, but nope, we are sticking to our normal tracksuits like we would for any other game.”

Tollcross and Drumchapel, of the Central Scottish AFL, have never faced each other before, but players from both clubs are familiar with each other due to their representation in the Scottish Amateur Select.

Tollcross’ Stewart O’Neill, Michael Yuill, Scott Millar and Chris Cairns are all currently part of the Scotland squad.

McKay continued: “I know a few of the guys that play with them just from being in amateur football for quite some time. They are a good side and they deserve to be there. They are having a good season; they are sitting top of their league at the moment so they have that momentum as well. They run their club properly and are always trying to improve on and off the pitch.

“A few of the players know each other through the Scotland set-up, which adds that wee bit of competitiveness.”

Reaching their first ever Scottish Cup final marks a stark rise for the club who were only founded in 2005, with McKay one of their first-ever players who helped in their formation.

“I started playing and when the injuries kicked in just as our manager left [Dean Beaton], I took over, it was the natural thing to do, to run the team. The club has come a long way since then, it’s easy to say this, but it’s not just the Scottish Cup, it’s getting to the East of Scotland final and doing well in LEAFA, not just in the league, but in the cups as well.

“There is a sense of achievement of when we first started the team wasn’t great – it was a good group of guys but ability level wise it maybe wasn’t now the best – and now we have progressed to being recognised as one of the better teams in Edinburgh which is a real compliment to everybody who has played their part.”

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