Day with hero Winters sends Brann fans home happy

Nov 19 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

KENT RABBEN was one of the eight fans who made the long haul from Bergen to Almondvale only to see Livingston’s match with Albion Rovers called off.

Rabben and seven fellow SK Brann supporters had jetted into Aberdeen and driven all the way to West Lothian to cheer on Lions striker Robbie Winters, who had been a hero during a six-year spell with their club.

But the game fell victim to the wet West Lothian weather and failed a pitch inspection but it proved to be far from a wasted trip for the Scandinavian visitors who were joined in a day-long get together by their hero who they presented with gifts.

Rabben and his fellow fans presented the striker with an SK Brann shirt, complete with signatures of all eight of the travelling fans, and also Christmas gifts for his children as he enjoyed a beer with the fans of his former club.

Rabben admitted that getting the chance to sit and enjoy a drink and a chat with their former goal-hero more than made up for the disappointment of the match being called off.

“This is my first time in Scotland and we were desperate to see Robbie play today,” he said.

“It is the first chance we’ve had to come over as it is the end of our season in Norway now.

“Robbie was a great striker for us, very quick – and he scored a lot of important goals as well.

“We know he is doing well with Livingston now who are at the top of the league and we can follow his progress on the internet too.”

After flying into Aberdeen on Friday night the Norwegians hired a nine-seater car to make the drive down to Livingston before flying home again on Sunday.