THE pre-match build-up was more like a matinee performance at the King’s Theatre such was the amount of pantomime booing and jeering.
It was, after all, the “wee team”, Hurlford United up against the giants of junior football, Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Junior Cup final. It was something of an Ayrshire derby and a crowd of 4874 at Rugby Park made for a thrilling atmosphere prior to kick-off.
Talbot were heavy favourites as they aimed for a record twelfth Cup win but Hurlford went into the game armed with a quiet confidence with thoughts of lifting the trophy for the first time in the club’s history in 2014 still fresh in their memory.
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A victory for Hurlford over league leaders Talbot in the West Super League just a few weeks ago only served to strengthen their resolve that they could upset the odds and on a scorching afternoon in Kilmarnock, they came out the blocks far quicker than Talbot.
They were rewarded for their attacking play almost immediately, with Talbot’s Neill McPherson bringing down striker Ross Robertson in the box within the first five minutes, who duly converted the spot kick.
Hurlford were on top for much of the first half but Auchinleck clawed their way back in with Dwayne Hyslop equalising as half-time approached.
The 11-time Cup winners remained in the ascendency as the second half began but, against the run of play, Hurlford once again snatched the lead. A delightful run inside the box from Paul McKenzie saw him find the net in impressive fashion just after the hour mark.
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With the game in stoppage time and Hurlford preparing their victory celebrations, Talbot equalised once again through Graham Wilson before Craig McCracken scored the winner with what was almost the last touch of the game.
And that goal was, said McCracken, the most important of his career to date.
“It was a great delivery by Mark Shankland,” he said of the cross he converted for the winner.
“It felt great to see it go in. I was surprised though - I wasn’t picked up.
“That’s the biggest goal I’ve ever scored. I scored the winner in the Ardagh Cup final earlier this season but that was nothing like this one. So two Cup finals, two goals. That was my first Scottish Cup appearance this year so it feels pretty good.”
For Hurlford boss Darren Henderson, to lose the match so late in the day was, he admitted, a bitter pill to swallow.
“We thought we had it at the end but we didn’t defend two set pieces in the last minutes of the game and that’s what happens,” he said.
“We were nearly there but it’s hard for me to fault the players because they gave everything.
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“We’re a small club, we were up against Auchinleck and so we were underdogs. We went 2-1 up and we thought that was the winner. I’d said to the players ahead of the game that they could beat the best team in the business and they knew that.
“We showed today that we’re a decent side and with the rub of the green, we could have won that.
“Going from thinking we were going to be celebrating what would probably be the best result in the club’s history to this, it’s tough. I played for 24 years and this is probably the biggest kick in the teeth I’ve had and I wasn’t even on the pitch.”
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