Cup tie evokes memories of Kirkwood’s Raith glory days
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THERE aren’t many Scottish sides that can claim to have taken a one-goal lead at half time against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich at the Olympia Stadion.
But in 1995, Raith Rovers were half way to achieving the impossible of clawing back a two goal deficit after losing the first leg of their UEFA cup encounter.
Seventeen years on, the glory days must seem like a lifetime ago for the Kirkcaldy side after dropping from the top flight to the second division, only returning to the first division in recent years and being pipped to a place in the SPL by Dunfermline Athletic in 2011.
For Davie Kirkwood, the visit of his former employers to Harmsworth Park tomorrow will bring back some good memories but he is intent on getting the better of them in the first round of the Scottish Challenge Cup.
The Wick Academy manager spent six years at Stark’s Park after signing from Airdrieonians in 1994 – two of the five clubs he played for during his career as a midfielder.
In his first season, he was part of the side which famously beat Celtic on penalties to win the Scottish League Cup in 1994 and earn qualification to the UEFA Cup.
After trips to the Faroe Islands and Iceland to dispose of GI Gøta and IA Akranes respectively, Raith were forced to play the home leg against the German giants at Easter Road in Edinburgh as Stark’s Park did not meet UEFA standards.
Jurgen Klinsmann scored twice in the 2-0 win and the Bavarian side thought the job was done as Kirkwood and his team-mates headed to the continent.
But the Scottish side’s hopes were raised when Danny Lennon scored with a free kick from outside the box to beat Oliver Kahn in goal but Kirkwood said that the goal was not as magnificent as was written in the press.
"Danny’s shot went into the back of the net because it took a wicked deflection of Andreas Herzog," he said.
"I remember reading in the newspapers after the game how his shot was described as a screamer and to this day, Danny will still claim that it was but it took a huge touch off the Austrian defender.
"It could have been even better after half time when Tony Rougier had a great chance from six yards to level the tie but he blasted over the bar.
"It was one of the biggest European games I had been in and played against some world-class players such as Klinsmann, Kahn, Jean Pierre-Papin, Markus Babbel, Christian Ziege, Thomas Helmer and Emil Kostadinov.
"It wasn’t a bad side we were up against and the games were a bit one-sided but we gave it everything we had."
Two second half goals from Klinsmann and Babbel resulted in a 4-1 aggregate win for the Germans but Kirkwood returned back with his team-mates to a tumultuous welcome in Fife.
Harmsworth Park may not have the prestigious background that the Olympia Stadion had but Kirkwood is intent on making some new history by becoming the first Scorries manager to lead a Wick team to victory over an SFL side in a competitive match.
Going into the game as huge underdogs, the manager has reminded his players that participating in the Challenge Cup is a fairytale for the club and said that fairytales usually finish with happy endings.
"I am not the sentimental sort of kind as before every game I am only concentrating on an Academy win.
"I know a lot of the board members from Raith who will be coming up to Caithness and it will be good to see a few old faces.
"But we have a chance as they are coming into the unknown, we are playing on our own pitch and if we are at our best, we can cause a huge upset."
