Gordon Herd ready to fire Rose to glory

May 20 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

GORDON HERD already has one Junior Scottish Cup winners medal in his collection but he is desperate to jet off into the sunset on Monday morning with a second.

The Linlithgow Rose striker was part of the squad who broke Kelty Hearts in 2007 to win junior football’s top prize and he is eyeing up a second glory day this Sunday when Rose meet Largs Thistle at Rugby Park.

A friend’s wedding means Herd is due to fly off to the sunkissed island of Cyprus the very next day but he admits he is desperate to board with a second gong and an almighty celebratory hangover.

“I’m flying away on Monday to Cyprus to a friends wedding so hopefully I’ll have a winners medal to show off over there and a hangover from a party as well on the flight,” said Herd.

“Ex-Rose player Marc Whyte (who scored the winning goal in extra-time in the 2007 final) will also be going to the same wedding and it’d be nice to show him my winners medal after he played such a big part in our win the last time.”

Herd is one of NINE Linlithgow stars who won the cup at East End Park three years ago but he has mixed memories of the occasion.

He said: “I don't think the younger boys at the club will appreciate it just yet or be aware of what could happen if we win.

“I loved the open top bus parade through the town after we won it and that put the whole thing into perspective and showed what it means for the town and the club.

“But the game itself passed me by and I think I was caught up a bit by the occasion and because I had so many friends and family in the stadium which was full. I came off injured with about 20 minutes to go.

“I was a bit disappointed with how I played as I feel I didn’t play to my potential but I’m determined to put that right this weekend.

“The game passed me by a bit but now I know what to expect and I’ll be fully focussed on the game itself and putting everything else to the back of my mind.

“I am definitely excited about the final now and it seems like a long time since we won the semi-final.

“All this week though the build-up has been great and we all know the final is now just around the corner.”

Rose’s road to the final has not been an easy ride and they have had to negotiate safe passage past three Superleague sides.

And in both their quarter-final and semi-final clashes they looked to be crashing out of the cup.

But the gallant Rosey Posey dug deep to book their final place which Herd reckons speaks volumes about the side.

“We have had a tough run to the final where we’ve had to play three Superleague sides in Kelty, Bathgate and Lochee,” explained Herd.

“In the quarter-final we were out on our ear against Bathgate when they scored six minutes from time but we managed to get a draw in the last minute before winning the replay.

“And the semi-final against Lochee was another amazing achievement as we lost the first-leg 1-0 then went 1-0 down in the second-leg just before half-time.

“I scored myself but we were then reduced to ten men. But we showed great fighting spirit to win the match and we know we have a lot of match winners in the squad.

“This Sunday we know Largs will be a tough side to beat and they have put out a lot of good sides themselves on the way to the final.

“On the day it is about more than the football on the pitch and one side could have 11 better players than the other but still lose.

“It depends on who handles the occasion better, who is more determined and focussed.”

The last time Linlithgow had their name etched on the precious trophy they were also handed a dream ticket into the Senior Scottish Cup.

They surpassed all expectations by marching to the fourth round before coming unstuck against the eventual finalists, Queen of the South.

Herd admits a place in the senior cup is another massive motivation for Rose.

“The senior Scottish Cup is also a huge incentive and I remember when we entered in 2007 we did really well,” he continued.

“We made it to the fourth round where we were beaten by Queen of the South who people sometimes forget reached the final that year.

“I felt we gave a good account of ourselves in that match and we hit the bar and had one cleared off the line and we did well for a junior club.

“This season Irvine Meadow showed when they played Hibs that if you can get past the first three rounds you can get a dream tie.

“It is a lottery after that and if you’re lucky you could play a Rangers, Celtic or a Hearts or Hibs.”

It will be a day to remember for everyone in the Rose camp and the Linlithgow goal-grabber has revealed he will have an army of pals and family members in the Rugby Park stand cheering him on.

He added: “I’ve got a 52-seater bus coming from Denny with all my friends and family while Danny has a 35-seater coming from Denny as well.

“So the town will be deserted on the day.”