Andrew Barrowman admits he will be dining out for years to come on being part of the Ross County team who caused one of the biggest shocks in Scottish Cup history.
Celtic were odds-on favourites to win against the first division side in the semi-final at Hampden in 2010, but the Staggies were responsible for a huge upset, beating the Hoops 2-0.
Unfortunately for the thousands of County fans who made the long journey back to the National Stadium for the final, Dundee United proved just too strong on the day.
Now a Dunfermline player, Barrowman would like nothing better than to enjoy those heady highs once again and he hopes today’s Scottish Communities League Cup first round tie against Annan will be the initial stepping stone back on the road to Hampden with the Pars.
“When I was with Ross County, I think we started believing we could go all the way to the final after we beat Hibs in the quarter-final replay,” he said.
“We drew with them at Easter Road in the first game and everyone wrote us off thinking our chance had gone.”
He added, “They believed that Hibs couldn’t play as badly again when they came up to Dingwall. But I think it was less to do with them doing poorly and more with us playing well.
“Once we beat them, you couldn’t help but start to dream. The semi-final draw had been made before the Hibs game so we knew we would be playing Celtic and what was at stake.
“People still talk about our victory over Celtic. It was a great occasion and it has gone down in the history books.Dining out”It will always be remembered at Ross County for years and years to come. I will be dining out on it for a long time yet,” he said.
“Hopefully, we can replicate that sort of run at Dunfermline. It would be tremendous for everyone at the club and for the fans as well.”
Barrowman had to be content with a 35-minute cameo role on Monday night during the Pars’ SPL opener against St Mirren after starting on the bench.
The centre-forward hopes he did enough to convince manager Jim McIntyre he merits a starting place against third division Annan today, but he admits he is taking nothing for granted.
“It was a big occasion on Monday night and nerves played a part,” he said. “I do not think we got going playing the way we can, but we still managed to secure a point without playing particularly well which has to be a good sign.
“Like everyone else, I want to start a game but we have a good squad and there is a lot of competition for places. You just have to make sure that when you do get in the team, you keep your place.
“Competition is a good thing and keeps everyone on their toes.
“I hope I did enough when I came on to give the manager something to think about, but I do not think the gaffer will change things too much against Annan. It is a game he is taking very seriously and we want to get a bit of momentum going.”
Dunfermline’s long-term achilles injury victim Steven Bell will miss today’s game, as will Kevin Rutkiewicz with a hip problem and Nicky Phinn who has a hamstring strain.
Annan welcome SPL opposition to their Galabank ground for the first time since they were elected to the SFL three years ago, and manager Harry Cairney is hoping that the third division side’s pitch will help them pull off a major shock.
Cairney said, “We know that Dunfermline are heavy favourites to go through but we have more of a chance at Galabank.”