Scottish Cup triumph shows North of Scotland Schools’ Football Association ‘back with a bang’ after years of building back to prominence
The North of Scotland Schools’ Football Association can be proud of becoming Scottish Cup winners just a few years after the body was “on its knees”, according to head coach Kevin McKie.
The trophy triumph did not come the way they would have wanted this week, winning the final by forfeit when Paisley could not raise a team to play the match.
However, having scored 23 goals across their four games on the way to the scheduled showcase, and having secured the cup for the first time since 1978, McKie says there is still plenty of positivity among the squad.
“It’s a shame that the boys haven’t had the occasion of a cup final but it shouldn’t take anything away from the achievement of winning it,” he said.
“We’ve had four results to get to this point, scoring 23 goals by beating Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Glasgow and Fife, so we would have fancied our chances in the final but it wasn’t to be.
“It has been a bit of a comeback for the North as an association. A few years ago after Covid we were on our knees really.
“We didn’t have much financial support, and it needed a few of us to come in and get it running again. Guys like Ben Bruce has come in as secretary, and Angus Dey at Grantown takes the team with me.
“We got a select squad running again, and the under-15s got to a final last year before we got to the final this year and won it. We’ve got sponsorship from Strath Civil Engineering that helps us get new strips, and there’s a bit of a bounce in the association again which is good to see.
“It’s a huge commitment, and not just from the island boys. We had over 60 boys attending trials at the start of the year, and then we had games away in Aberdeen. They really have played like a team, so it’s good for them to have a Scottish Cup winners’ medal on the CV, even if it wasn’t in the circumstances we wanted.”
The North of Scotland squad have logistical challenges that other parts of the country can only dream of. While some associations cover a 10-span radius, the North of Scotland boasts players from Stornoway and Thurso all the way down to Kingussie.
With many of the squad coming to the end of their sixth years and about to leave school, they have signed off with a winners’ medal – and McKie will be left to guide a new generation of the team in the new academic year.
“There’s probably going to be a mass exodus now of sixth years who are leaving school and moving on,” he added.
“It’s a fitting end to a lot of the boys’ school football careers, winning a Scottish Cup. The final didn’t materialise the way we wanted it to, but that’s life, we can’t change that.
“On Wednesday, we’re going to be presented with the trophy, and we have new kits that we were going to use for the first time in the final. I’m trying to make it a special thing, but we’re always limited with options and timeframes.
“In the past we’ve had players who have gone full time with Ross County or Caley Thistle a bit younger, so it can be a bit pot luck. Some of the current fourth and fifth years we’ve got might still get offered something, so we won’t know what the team looks like for next year until after the summer.
“It has been encouraging to see that there are lots of guys who have wanted to play and be involved, and the North has come back with a bit of a bang in the last few years which is good to see.”