After more than a year out of football, Brechin midfielder Marc Scott is looking to finish where he left off against Darvel in the Scottish Cup.
Due to the Covid football shutdown the 25-year-old took a break from the game, focusing on work commitments.
A surprise call from former Scotland boss Craig Levein was answered, and now Scott finds himself back at the ground where his footballing career came to a sudden halt.
Broughty Athletic
It was Saturday March 7 2020, Scott had played his part with an assist in Broughty Athletic’s comeback from to goals down to draw 2-2 against Darvel in the Junior Scottish Cup.
A replay at Whitton Park was scheduled for the following week. But the game never took place. The entire season abandoned as the Covid pandemic ground Scottish football to a halt.
Ex Forfar Athletic man Scott admits he never thought he’d play anywhere above junior level again.
But in a strange twist of fate, he will now find himself at the ground where he played his last game before his break, but this time in the Scottish Cup proper.
Being no stranger to the East Ayrshire outfit, he knows what’s in store for the Glebe Park men.
“My last game for Broughty Athletic was against Darvel for the quarter-final of the Junior Scottish Cup,” he said.
“That was the first time I’ve played against them.
“There were about 600 fans there and they make it quite a hostile environment.
“It’s what you have to expect going to teams down there so we’re just got to get on with it and be at our best.”
Another chance to beat Darvel
The chance of another shot at Darvel in the Scottish Cup came as a real surprise to Scott. Not least because he hadn’t kicked a ball in anger since that game, prior to that call from Levein and joining up with Brechin.
“If I was getting back into football, I thought it would be more at junior level. I got the phone call from Craig Levein and it was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down,” Scott explains.
“I was shocked, I don’t think I kicked a ball, then I randomly got a phone call asking if I could come for a friendly.
“I was a bit worried about my fitness as I hadn’t done too much, maybe just playing a bit of golf, so I was a bit taken aback.
“I’m just lucky enough that I could get myself fit reasonably quickly then into the team.”
‘Get in their faces’
Scott knows his Brechin side will have to be on top of their game if they are to overcome their West of Scotland Premier Division rivals.
He feels if his team can put in the same level of intensity as their final 45 at Glebe Park on Monday night they could come out victorious.
“If we start the game like we did in the second half it will give us the best opportunity to win it,” he said.
“We got caught a bit naively in the first half, we weren’t really doing much with the ball and were a bit frantic.
“In the second half we calmed down and tried to move the play and get in their faces and made it difficult for them.
“If we start with that sort of mentality, we’re going to give ourselves a fighting chance.”
