The bitterly cold wind was biting hard when strolling up to a small group of newspaper journalists, which included myself, came a wee lad who had just scored his first goal for Dundee United.
The date was January 11 2009 and the match was a Scottish Cup tie against East Stirling, played up the road at Ochilview, the home of Shire’s near neighbours Stenhousemuir, because their own Firs Park was under repair.
The result was routine enough a 4-0 victory for the Tangerines against the club widely regarded as the worst in Scotland at the time.
The scoreline may have been expected but a second-half penalty scored by the aforementioned 18-year-old was to prove significant.
For the young player in question was Johnny Russell, who is now on the verge of heading to the bright lights of England and the Championship with Derby County.
Wherever he finally signs, he is getting the move he deserves now and with it a big boost in earnings but Russell can at least look back at his humble beginnings and say he has worked for it.
The cup tie against Shire immediately followed his return from a loan spell at Forfar Athletic, with then United boss Craig Levein deciding to give his talented teenager a grounding in the lower leagues.
Despite breaking into the Tannadice first team at such a tender age, Levein subsequently decided that Russell would benefit from another loan, this time a hugely successful spell at Raith Rovers in Division One.
The apprenticeship duly served, Russell gradually became a regular pick at SPL level and learned all the time from Levein, Peter Houston and latterly Jackie McNamara.
It is a refreshingly traditional some would even say old school way for a player to come to prominence and now he is absolutely ready to step up to the next level.
Derby County appear to be the favourites to secure his signature and for some younger United supporters, used to watching wall-to-wall Premiership games on TV, a move to the Rams may not sound too exciting.
Older fans will recall Brian Clough and the league title wins of the 1970s but in general we often make the mistake on this side of the border of underestimating the size and tradition of clubs like County.
For example, last season they attracted an average attendance of over 23,000.
They are a club that can justifiably harbour ambitions of making it to the top flight and wouldn’t it be nice to see Russell trotting out at Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium just a few short years after scoring that all-important penalty at the rather more modest Ochilview?UPDATE: Johnny Russell signs four-year deal with Derby County