Boss hails Nairn County heroes after beating Ross County to win trophy
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MANAGER Steven Mackay hailed his cup winning heroes as Nairn County came from behind to defeat Ross County and win the North of Scotland Cup final.
In an incredible match, Nairn County came from 2-0 down to win 5-4 after extra time and win their first piece of silverware in 11 years.
Hundreds of fans travelled from Nairn to Grant Street Park in Inverness to witness arguably the best cup final in the competition’s history.
Mackay says it was a heroic performance from all of his players to defeat Ross County and lift the trophy.
Mackay said: “It was a thrilling cup final that is for sure.
“The character from the boys was incredible, but they have shown that in the last few weeks.
“It has been a long time since we’ve won a trophy, and we spoke about how this club needs to be competing for trophies.
“We identified this competition as potential where we looked at trying to get to the final and lift the trophy.
“I am so proud of the character of the boys because there was so many setbacks during the match that happened.
“We were 2-0 down and then they scored an equaliser in injury time.
“Then they pegged us back in extra time, but we just kept going and we got what we deserved.”
Mackay has experienced cup and league success as manager of Brora Rangers.
But he said winning the North of Scotland Cup with Nairn is up there with any of his managerial achievements.
“It means everything, I was delighted we got to the final and beat Inverness and did it the hard way.
“We had a tough run of games to get to this stage and to go one step further and beat an impressive strong Ross County team.
“It has been a long time coming.”
Aaron Nicolson was the hat-trick hero for Nairn County with Ben Kelly and Sam Gordon scoring in extra time to secure Nairn County victory.
Mackay was full of praise for Nicolson, who signed a one-year deal with Nairn in the summer after previously being at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
“Aaron had an illness which put his progress back a bit, but he has been working hard and showing that type of form.
“He got his first goal last weekend which boosted his confidence and then took his goals really well.
He is showing what he is capable of.
“He has been working hard in the last few weeks and I am delighted with his goals.”
Mackay is now hoping Nairn County can use winning the North of Scotland Cup to achieving further success in the future.
“That is what it is all about,” said Mackay.
“We want to be challenging and not just for North of Scotland Cups.
“We want to be challenging for the Highland League Cup and Highland League.
“That is the pressure we put on ourselves and the expectations we have which is fine. We want to be challenging for leagues and trophies.”
