They’ve played together since first year and know each other on the pitch inside out.
Now the strong bond of Perth High School’s senior football team is credited for earning them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Hampden Park.
Coach and PE teacher Ross Robinson reckons it is the boys’ enduring friendship that has got them to the final of the Scottish Schools’ Football Association Senior Shield.
Although they are focussed on the not-so-small matter of exams until the big match in three weeks, a couple of the boys took some time out to tell us about their road to Hampden.
Jack Milne, 18, is “buzzing” to have reached the final and said the moment the whistle blew on their semi-final victory over Dunfermline High School was incredible.
The S6 pupil, who is team captain, said: “To know we’ve gone through a whole year unbeaten and gotten ourselves to a final at Hampden Park is brilliant and I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet.”
A massive part of their success, he said, was their “togetherness as as a team”.
“We’ve all played together for years at school and many of the team play together out of school.
“We all work hard for each other and want to achieve something with our mates.”
Perth High School road to Hampden
Second round: Perth HS v. Inverkeithing HS 4-0
Third round: Perth HS v. Grove Ac. 5-0
Fourth round: Perth HS v. Cults Ac. 3-0
Fifth round: Bishopbriggs Ac. v. Perth HS 1-3
Sixth round: Robert Gordon’s College v. Perth HS 3-3 (5-6 pens)
Semi-final: Perth HS v. Dunfermline HS 3-1
Final: Perth HS v Holyrood Sec at Hampden on May 19
Vice-captain Connor Scott, 17, agreed that his teammates’ solidarity was the biggest reason for their success.
“We talk about the games long before them and get everyone hyped up together to go and win because we all know how big an achievement it would be to win the competition for both ourselves and the school,” he said.
It feels “surreal”, he said, to be preparing to play in a national final in an iconic stadium where so many legends of the game have played.
He said: “We all joked about it after the first game, saying we’re going to get there, but no one fully believed that we would because we knew how difficult it was going to be.”
Connor, also in S6, is going to America on a football scholarship in August but now is trying to focus on passing his Highers.
He said: “It’s difficult to only think about one or the other because they’re both on my mind but I’ll just have to do my best with both and after my last exam I can just focus 100% on Hampden.”
Perth High School Hampden team
- Bruno Nowrotek
- Connor Scott (vice-captain)
- Cole Dewar
- Jack Milne (captain)
- Charlie Scott
- Sam Currie
- Connell Clarke
- Adam Leese (vice-captain)
- Ethan Forber
- Aaron Flood
- Lewis Anderson
- Kacper Przeslica
- Jay Oosenbrugh
- Thomas Drysdale
- Finlay Jarvis
- Jameson Gahan
Ross has coached the boys – mostly S6 pupils with a few from S4 and S5 – since S1.
And he says it is their endurance as a team which has been their strength.
He said: “The camaraderie, the friendship within the group is massive. I haven’t seen or heard of a single disagreement, barring the odd one on the pitch; the team spirit they have is incredible.”
While at the start of the season he wouldn’t have predicted they would be bound for Hampden, he said he is not surprised.
The atmosphere back in the changing room when they beat Dunfermline to secure that place, he said, was “quite something”.
“It felt like it took the boys a few minutes to process the fact they had just qualified to play at Hampden.
“Once that sunk in it was raucous in there. It was noisy, there was singing, there was shouting, there was stuff being thrown all around the changing room!”
Coaches are being organised for Hampden, and Ross hopes they will have at least 200 supporters in the stands.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they have earned.”
Ross Robinson, coach and PE teacher
There is excitement and healthy respect among the players for the footsteps they will be following in when run out onto the hallowed turf.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they have earned,” said Ross.
“If we come home with that trophy that would be amazing but for me the real trophy is having the Hampden experience and living as a professional footballer would for a day.”
The team has had a pep talk from St Johnstone players and former High pupils, Liam Gordon and David Wotherspoon.
But until the big day the boys are trying to steer their minds from Hampden onto exams for National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers.
Ross said: “It’s a really, really strange time period they are in just now.
“The boys will have to put football to the back of their minds and focus on what’s arguably more important – but as the days go on and we get closer to the 19th that will be harder and harder!”
The final of the Scottish Schools Football Association Senior Shield will kick-off at Hampden Park at 7pm on Friday, May 19.
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