Raith Rovers’ Ramsdens Cup-winning skipper Jason Thomson hopes the class of 2014 will be just as revered as the last squad to bring cup silverware to Stark’s Park.
Pictures of Raith’s Coca-Cola Cup success against Celtic in 1994 still adorn the walls of the Kirkcaldy ground, so it was only natural that Sunday’s 1-0 win over Rangers in the Challenge Cup at Easter Road evoked memories of that day.
Nevertheless, almost two decades have passed since then, so Thomson is delighted to be at the forefront of the Fife club’s latest bit of folklore.
“It will be right up there (beside the League Cup win) and obviously for myself it’s a great honour to captain the club and lift that trophy,” he said.
“It’s up there with ’94 and will go down in the history books. Someone said to me afterwards that it’s only me and Gordon Dalziel who have lifted a cup for Raith Rovers, so it’s a great honour.
“It’s a great feeling. We knew we were capable of getting a win on the day. We showed a bit of guts and determination and we got the win.
“Performance-wise we might not have been great and it might not have been a great game to watch, but at the end of the day we don’t really care.
“Lee Robinson’s had a couple of good saves, but I think you expect your goalie is going to have to make a few decent saves if you’re going to win any cup final especially against Rangers.
“Lee did great to keep us in the game and we pushed on at the end to get the win. There was a lot said about how Rangers were favourites but we thought we could put in a performance and get a result and I think we did.”
Sunday’s goal-scorer John Baird hit the headlines for obvious reasons, although Thomson could not resist a jibe at the striker’s expense.
“I heard Bairdy getting a bit emotional and I had a bit of a joke with him that he’s taking all the glory just turning up for the final and scoring the winning goal,” he joked.
“But Bairdy’s been great since he’s signed. He’s scored some vital goals and he’s scored the winning goal to win us the cup.
“I think we’ve showed this season going into one-off games Hibs and whoever else that we can play with the best when it’s a one-off game.
“A cup final is certainly that, and we showed that again. I think Rangers had a couple of chances and we might not have had as many clear-cut ones as them, but we got the goal and that’s all that matters.”
Winning the cup was special enough but, given Thomson’s Hearts connections, doing it in Edinburgh and at Easter Road made it doubly significant.
“It’s a 100% record against the Old Firm in cup finals, and I’ve got an unbeaten record at Easter Road as well,” he concluded.
“I don’t know how many games it is, but I don’t think I’ve been beaten there, which is nice.”