Hutchison Vale won this year’s Craig Gowans’ Memorial Trophy beating a strong Celtic / Rangers select 6-5 in a hard fought and entertaining game in front of a large crowd at Saughton Enclosure on Sunday.
The day started with an under 10s six a side round robin tournament which was won by Currie Star, before the main event kicked off at 2pm. Spectators were treated to the unusual sight of three sets of strips on the pitch, as the former old firm players wore either Rangers or Celtic strips, depending on who they played for.
The Select were managed by former Celt Darren Jackson, who also played for both Edinburgh teams in a long and eventful career. His team included John ‘Yogi’ Hughes, Jackie MacNamara, the current Dundee United manager, Bobby Petta, and Mark Burchill from Celtic and Dave McPherson, Scott Nisbet, Alex Rae, Ronnie Yule and John Macdonald from Rangers.
Hutchie Vale also included former MSP Tommy Sheridan who played for Ducla Pumpherston in the tournament three years ago.
Alex Rae opened the scoring, before Hutchie Vale fought back and equalised before half time. Hutchie Vale made two popular substitutions after the break, with Craig’s brothers Dean and Darren making an appearance in the famous black and gold strip their brother wore with such distinction. Both however admitted that they were nervous as they are more at home on the rugby field, but despite their apprehension both performed well.
Hutchie then took a deserved lead, and Mark Burchill equalised, before three second half goals in the space of five minutes, including a spectacular 25 yard effort from John McNally looked to have sealed the victory, however, the Old Firm ‘never say die’ attitude saw them pull three back to level the score.
With time running out, it looked as though a penalty shoot-out was on the cards, but a last minute Hutchie Vale goal saw the game end 6-5 in their favour.
The result however was not the most important aspect of the day, and once again, a large turnout ensured a significant sum raised for the worthy cause.
The Edinburgh Reporter caught up with former Hibs captain and manager John Hughes who was the Falkirk boss when Craig was killed during a training ground accident.
John is a great supporter of the Memorial Fund set upon Craig’s name and was keen to speak of his memories of the teenager who still inspired him to this day. The interview can be heard here.
Also in attendance was Andrew Dickson, who last year cycled across Australia raising money for the fund, and Hibs star Leigh Griffiths along with former Hearts defender Darren Barr who was a team mate of Craig’s at Falkirk. Unfortunately, Celtic skipper Scott Brown and Grant Stott had to call off at the last minute.
Lord Provost Donald Wilson also made an appearance along with Maureen Harrison, the Chief Executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation who said:-“Although I never had the privilege of meeting Craig, I always feel like I knew him, as so many people have told me so much about him. It is clear that he was a wonderful young man indeed and I am sure he would have been very proud to know that the gifts made in his memory are helping children in the Lothians.
On behalf of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, I would like to thank the clubs, the celebrities, the sponsors and players, referees and everyone who made this event possible and such good fun! We can never thank Sheila, John, Dean, Darren and Lyndsay enough for their incredible inspiration which leads to the involvement of so many generous people.”
After the game, a number of donated items were raffled for the fund, including a signed Falkirk strip and ball, a £50 bouquet of flowers, a golf putter, a night at the Minto Hotel, a camping kit, two gym memberships at Edinburgh Leisure, a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label whisky, Go-Car racing and many more.
The Fund was established in April 2007, the motivation at the heart of this venture was to ensure that the memory of Craig would be used as a driving force for good.
To launch the fund, seven of Craig’s closest friends ran the Edinburgh marathon. Following the success of that venture, a 5-a-side tournament was held with 32 teams from across Scotland competing.
Many other charity events have been organised in support of the fund, including a sportsman’s brunch, a Disney themed fancy dress 10k run, and a gruelling cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
In addition, four charity football matches have taken place. In 2009, Hutchison Vale played Tynecastle, in 2010, they played Ducla Pumpherston, in 2011 they played a Scotland Select and last year they played a Hibs/Hearts select.
The fund to date has raised in excess of £44,000 and has funded projects through the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, Children 1stm CHAS and various others. More specifically, money has helped toward new community projects which aim to offer help and support for children from deprived areas of Edinburgh and the Lothians out with hospital settings. The fund has also contributed toward state of the art educational facilities and two minibuses for disabled children, which were parked behind the goals as a reminder to everyone of the fantastic work done by the fund.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
