Leslie backs Clach to live the dream in Scottish Cup
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
CUP football is built on tales of the little guy seizing his chance to shine.
Opportunities to seal hero worship are rare in life and cannot be passed up. Stuart Leslie sees no reason why Clach cannot start a fabled cup story of their own.
This community club, like so many up and down the country, is adored by the many unsung heroes that work behind the scenes to keep it going. Cup success is their reward.
Clach secured silverware two years ago in the Highland League Cup, with the throngs of white shirts at Kynoch Park that day bearing witness to one of the greatest cup finals in recent memory.
It is too early to be talking about giant-killings but ahead of Clach’s Scottish Cup first round tie with Stirling University tomorrow, Leslie needs no reminding of what cup football can do.
"You get a big buzz from it. Every club hopes to get a cup run going and to create a bit of revenue, which is vital to clubs like us," said Leslie. "I’m sure we’ll get a decent crowd down there and it’ll be a massive day for the players and management. You could tell at training this week that there’s a real buzz about the place.
"If you get on a cup run it can kick-start your season. You might get one of the big fish in the coming rounds, which is what you hope for. You want to play against the best teams in the country. It’s such a nice occasion to be involved in."
The attention may well be on this tie in particular, given that in the opposition dugout stands Shelley Kerr, the first female coach in charge of a men’s football team in the United Kingdom. Kerr, a former Scottish international defender, joined Stirling in 2014 after spells coaching Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Spartans and Arsenal’s ladies’ sides.
Results for the university side have been mixed this season; they sit 10th in the Lowland League with 11 points from eight games, with a 3-0 win last weekend against phoenix club Gretna 2008.
On the pitch is where the Lilywhites’ attention will be, rather than who is in the dugout.
"I was watching Scotland’s Game the other night and was made aware of the fact (Kerr being the first female manager) but it’s nothing to do with us really," said Leslie. "I’m sure she will have them organised and will have notes on us, much the same as our gaffer will have notes on them.
"It’s nice to play a team outwith your league and test yourself against other club. You can focus on your own gameplan – if you’re playing teams and players your familiar with, you can sometimes worry too much about what they’re going to do.
"They’re relatively unknown to most of us and will probably fancy themselves coming up here. But we’ve got to keep positive and focus on what we’re doing."
That positivity is slowly starting to seep its way around Grant Street Park again. After a rocky start to the season, Clach are now unbeaten in five games, which has included a derby win over Nairn and taking a point against champions Cove Rangers.
This is Leslie’s first full season back with the Merkinchers, having re-joined from Deveronvale mid-way through the last campaign.
The former Caley Thistle youngster is well-versed in all things Lilywhite, however. Clach manager Iain Polworth, who coached Leslie in the Caley Jags’ youth teams, brought him to Grant Street Park in 2009.
After a two-year spell he took the opportunity to step up to senior football, joining League Two side Elgin City. His next move came when Nairn County came calling in 2013 and he was part of the Wee County side that finished second in the Highland League in 2014.
Time spent working off-shore curtailed his career at Station Park and he made the decision to join Deveronvale, then managed by former Nairn assistant manager Ally MacLeod.
However, travelling from his home in Inverness through to Banff-shire for training and matches was proving too much and towards the ends of last year, he submitted a transfer request.
‘Vale rebuffed Clach’s initial interest but they were persistent, eventually securing Leslie’s services before the turn of the year.
He is optimistic of what the future holds for the Merkinch club and wants it to build on a solid foundation this campaign.
"We’re unbeaten in five games and that’s a positive," he said. "We’ve been unlucky against Formartine, Keith and Rothes, where we should have taken more out of the games, but I’m sure that will come.
"I’m just glad to be back involved. I’m working on my sharpness, which I feel is getting there. We’ve got a tight-knit squad everyone gets on; we’ve had some experienced guys missing in the last few games, but young boys like Matty Grant and Aidan Macdonald have come in and been great.
"Having Struan Scott-Woodhouse back has been massive too. You can see what a difference he makes. I know him from when we were at Caley Thistle together and to have a tenacious defender of his experience is massive. He has to be careful not to pick up niggles but he looks after himself. He’s a great professional.
"We’re not getting carried away – the league position and points tally isn’t great but we’ll keep taking the positives. Hopefully we keep progressing and you never know how far we can go."
The Lilywhites will be without a number of first-team players ahead of Stirling’s visit tomorrow.
Duncan Jones (back), Blair Lawrie (hamstring) and Scott Maclean (groin) all miss out through injury, while David McGurk is on holiday and Struan Scott-Woodhouse has work commitments.
There is some good news, however, with veteran goalkeeper John Campbell returning to the side after holiday.
*** Clach are hosting a community gala fun day at Grant Street Park on Sunday at noon. A P2-P3 tournament, Beat-the-Goalie contest, stalls and local club displays will all feature.
