Kevin Kelbie celebrates his winner against Forfar (Photo via Sky Sports)
A firm doff of the cap is definitely due to Linlithgow Rose FC, who became the first ever junior team to reach the last 16 of the Scottish Cup on Tuesday evening.
Just to clarify, ‘junior’ football’ in Scotland is a reference to the level, not the age of the players involved. It’s basically the equivalent of the English non-league.
Anyway, a single goal from forward Kevin Kelbie in extra time was enough to see Linlithgow squeeze past League One side Forfar Athletic and into the last 16 – the very first time a team from the semi-pro divisions has managed the feat since they were first allowed to enter the tournament in 2007.
Despite the magnificent achievement, the win over Forfar proved to be a bitter-sweet evening for Linlithgow club captain Mark Tyrell, who was forced to miss the game after failing in his attempts to swap a shift at the sausage factory where he works. Ain’t life cruel sometimes?
Speaking after the game, match-winning goalscorer Kelbie told BBC Scotland that he’s refusing to get overly carried away ahead of Linlithgow’s last 16 clash against Premiership side Ross County:
Some of the boys haven’t played senior football so it should be happy days
We have just got to look forward to it… It’s just another game basically.
That’s the spirit! Live for every moment and all that jazz.