Great reception for Scottish champions

Jun 26 2008 by Andrew McGilvray

Great reception for Scottish champions

SCOTTISH Amateur Cup winners Eddlewood AFC were on Monday given a civic reception by South Lanarkshire Council to mark their magnificent achievement.

On Sunday, May 25, the Hamilton side defeated Queen’s Park Under-19s 1-0 in front of hundreds of supporters at Hampden, with Mark Brown scoring the winner.

Brown has since signed for First Division side Clyde.

Provost Russell Clearie led the celebrations by saying: “I believe a team called the Accies has done quite well this year, but for my money Eddlewood bringing home the cup is a much greater achievement – after all, the win ranks them ahead of more than 600 other amateur clubs.

“To reach the final for the first time in their history must have been a fantastic feeling, but to bring home the silverware as an amateur team - there is no higher reward and I’m sure that no matter how well they do in their future footballing careers, winning the cup will remain as one of their most treasured memories.”

Manager Paul Brogan said: “It was fantastic and just an absolutely superb night.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet that we won the Scottish Cup, because it’s been one thing after another – on Friday at Colville Park we won three awards at the Central Scottish AFL awards; club of the month for May, Mark Brown won Player of the Year for the First Division, and Kevin McCrumb won Young Player of the Year.

“To win the Scottish Cup over 600 other teams you need to be half-decent, but also have a rub of the green, so this might not be something we ever achieve again – and I think that hit home a bit for some of them on Monday night.

“Taking Eddlewood Amateurs to Hampden was certainly the highlight of my career and I had never been there before, so to walk out with them was excellent.”

Treasurer Jim Laird added: “The night was superb, lovely, and it was great to get that type of recognition.”