Latest news with #KeaniePark
Daily Record
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Johnstone Burgh chairman Brian Williams cried tears of joy after Junior Cup win
The Keanie Park supremo thought back to the days when the gates at the ground could have been padlocked for good. Brian Williams admitted he cried tears of joy after Johnstone Burgh lifted the Junior Cup. The Keanie Park chairman watched with pride from the main stand at Broadwood Stadium as the West of Scotland League Premier Division club's 57-year wait for the top prize in non-league football was brought to an end. Ciaran Diver grabbed a late equaliser to send Sunday's final to penalties after Lowland League opponents Tranent had taken a first-half lead through Harry Girdwood. Dean Brett missed Tranent's first kick and Burgh keeper Luke Scullion later denied Euan Bauld before former Rangers and Northern Ireland hero Kyle Lafferty stepped up to clinch the cup for Burgh. It was hugely emotional – and historical – for Williams who witnessed Burgh lose their previous cup final appearance on spot-kicks to Whitburn Juniors in 2000. 'This is phenomenal,' he said. 'I never thought we'd ever get back to this. These guys here will be spoken about now for the duration of the club's existence. Infinity, basically. 'Twenty-five years ago, I stood on the terrace and had tears in my eyes – but sad tears because obviously we got beat that day. It's tears again but tears of joy.' Almost 3,000 Burgh fans – in a crowd of 4,538 – made the pilgrimage to North Lanarkshire and it was party time when Lafferty confidently struck from 12 yards. Williams knows memories which will last a lifetime have been created with the squad given a heroes' welcome in Johnstone's Houstoun Square on Sunday night. He said: 'I think we've brought most of the town with us. We sold every single ticket we had and you can seen that. The amount of kids that came along as well was brilliant. That's our future.' Having to show resilience and come behind has been the Burgh mantra for most of the second part of the season. Despite starting the stronger side on Sunday, boss Murdo MacKinnon needed big characters to wipe out the deficit and Williams says a strong mentality has underlined their campaign. He added: 'If you look at it across the season, we tend to win 2-1 and always seem to come from behind. But even when we go one-nil down, there is always a team in there that wants to come back, and they did. 'Don't get me wrong, big Lafferty – he's always been that impact player for us. He's always the one that's been put on to the park to dig it back out for us. 'And, again, he's done it. He had a hand in the equaliser before big Diver's got the last touch to it. 'He has been unbelievable this season. He's 37 years old and might not last 90 minutes but he give him that 20 minutes at the end he always pulls it out of the hat for us.' Reflecting on how much the trophy meant to him, Williams said it shows how far the club have come in the last decade from when the gates were almost padlocked for good. 'I've said it umpteen times,' he explained. 'Eight years ago, I should have locked the doors and walked away as we were done. We held on. We did what we could and look at this. This is unbelievable. You know, it's a great day.'
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Johnstone Burgh Junior Cup glory would mean as much to me as Rangers medals insists Kyle Lafferty
Former Ibrox hitman is desperate to land silverware for the junior side two years after dropping down the ranks. Kyle Lafferty's trophy cabinet may be bulging with three Scottish Premiership gongs, a Scottish Cup winners' medal, two League Cups, Serie B and the Scottish Championship title. But the former Rangers striker and Northern Ireland legend insists adding a Junior Cup gold to the collection with Johnstone Burgh would mean as much as anything he's ever achieved. Few, if any, players as decorated at the top level as Lafferty have ever graced the stage which lies ahead at Broadwood Stadium this afternoon as Burgh tackle Tranent. It's been 57 years since the Keanie Park club last lifted the famous trophy - and 25 years since they were last in the final. But with 3000 fans set to follow them through to Cumbernauld, Lafferty feels the weight of expectation. And he's as hungry to deliver as he has been on any big occasion in a career that's taken him from Rangers, Burnley, Palermo, Norwich, Sunderland, Hearts and Kilmarnock. Not to mention 89 caps for his country and a run to the quarter finals of Euro 2016. But asked if winning in front of 4500 fans this afternoon would mean just as much, the 37-year-old said: 'Yeah, 100 per cent. It is another medal that will go in the cabinet. 'It might not be the biggest competition that I have played in, but it is a medal. I am playing for Johnstone Burgh and I have come here to win trophies and collect medals. 'There has been a lot (of finals) and I have been quite lucky to win the majority of them but I know how important the Scottish Junior Cup is for the club. 'That was one of the first things they said to me when I came here, that they were desperate to win it again.' Lafferty has come to the end of his second season at the West of Scotland Premier League side who finished third behind Clydebank and Auchinleck in the table. Swapping packed stadiums at Ibrox and Windsor Park for wide open terraces around the non-league level hasn't been an issue. There's been offers to return to the SPFL. But Lafferty is content. He said: 'I love it. It is a great club heading in the right direction. I get on really well with the two owners Scott and Jack. It is a proper family club who get the community involved with things. 'Obviously, the football is different. I am not turning out in front of tens of thousands of fans but it is a good group of lads. 'I said when I finished my career I did not want to do it with a clubs settling for mid table. 'I wanted a challenge, either a team that was fighting relegation or a team that was fighting for promotion and this is ideal for me. 'Even when I have been here there have been clubs speaking about me joining them. I have had two years here and I am happy here. I came here to win trophies and get to finals and Sunday is one of them.' Lafferty reckons he has one year left in his playing career. And he'd love to spend it at Keanie Park. He said: 'I would like to be. We have spoken so the conversation is there about next season. I know I am getting on and if I am here next year, it will probably be my last season. 'I'd like to go out leaving the club in the Lowland League. But even after I hang up my boots I would like to stay on as a coach at the club. 'It is something I have looked at, I have my own soccer academy as well so I think I can pass on my experience and hopefully bring the young lads on because I think we don't have a lot of lads from the 21s coming through. 'Hopefully that will be a side I can look after.'
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Murdo MacKinnon relishing pressure of Johnstone Burgh's Junior Cup final appearance
The West of Scotland League Premier Division outfit are going for glory this weekend. Murdo MacKinnon insists he welcomes the pressure that comes with Johnstone Burgh's first Junior Cup final appearance in 25 years tomorrow. The Keanie Park boss knows the full town is behind the team as they prepare to face Lowland League Tranent at Broadwood Stadium in North Lanarkshire. Buses will be packed with up to 3,000 Burgh fans expected to make the journey from Renfrewshire and hoping for a first cup triumph in 57 years. And gaffer MacKinnon is ready to embrace the moment. He said: 'It's all about pressure. It's a privilege, to be totally honest with you, it doesn't come round every day. 'I'm expecting the best part of 3,000 supporters there for Johnstone Burgh. It is 25 years from the last appearance in the cup final and the Burgh were a right good team at that point. They just couldn't get over of the line in penalties and we're now up against a right good team on Sunday. 'They've been successful, they've won trophies, they've got great experience about them. But I've got a top side. I know I've got top players there. So, we're in for a treat in a final.' MacKinnon continued: 'My focus is purely on the game, I'm not worrying about the pressure, I'm not worrying about anything else. 'And if there is to be any pressure around it, I would rather take it on my shoulders and alleviate that for the players because what they've done and what they've achieved to get there so far has been incredible. 'But they've got a determination about them to go and finish this job – and I think they can.' Burgh showed great resilence to get to the final after a nervy semi-final against fellow West of Scotland League Premier Division rivals Largs Thistle. After a 1-0 defeat at home to the Seasiders, it was win-or-bust at Barrfields in the second leg earlier this month. Goals from Ciaran Diver and Aaron Mason were enough to overturn the deficit and ensure Burgh's date with destiny. One player MacKinnon is hoping will play a huge part is former Northern Irish international Kyle Lafferty who the Burgh boss says is 'hungrier than ever'. He said: 'As a lad, he's really down to earth. He's one of the boys, one of the players. That's how he's treated. That's how he wants to be treated. He has had an unbelievable career. A career that only people can dream of. He's won every major title this country has to offer. 'He's played for some of the biggest clubs in the country. Some of the biggest games. He's played for his country nearly 90 times, and in major tournaments. 'To have somebody with that experience, and that help, within your group and being able to use that in big games like this is brilliant. It's outstanding for me. 'And it's great for the group as well. Obviously, Kyle's got great experience playing in big games. He knows what they're about. But one thing I can tell you all, he's as hungry to win on Sunday as he's ever been.'
