Ross County Assistant Manager, Craig Brewster, returns to Forfar Athletic’s Station Park for the first time on competitive duty in 19 years on Saturday as the Staggies meet the Loons on ALBA Challenge Cup Quarter Final duty. A quarter of a century has passed since the 43-year-old first wore sky blue colours and whilst much has changed, a few things in Angus have stayed the same.
Brewster joked, “I have been back to Station Park for a few friendlies and I always get a fantastic reception although it may be different this time in a competitive game.
“There will be some old friends waiting for me, David McGregor was the Secretary then and he still is, Martin the Groundsman was a schoolboy in those days and would clean my boots, and Linda, who was the tea girl, is still there though she is probably now the tea lady!”
The Dundonian was a youth player at Dundee United before dropping down to the Junior ranks with Dundee Stobswell where Forfar picked him up at the start of season 1985/86.
Brewster said, “I spent about 18 months at Stobswell before joining Forfar and at the end of my first season, we nearly made it to the Premier Division.
“Station Park was a place to be feared at that time and we were right in there fighting with Falkirk and Dunfermline and if we had won the last two games, we would have been promoted but we lost at Morton and drew at Alloa and that was that.
“I spent six and a half seasons there and I remember the guys that were about then really fondly.”
Brewster added, “Dougie Houston was the Manager that took me there and I played with some great players. I found myself joining a side full of good experienced professionals.
“Goalkeeper Stewart Kennedy had played with Rangers and Scotland and he was a great character. Ray Farningham was there, as was Billy Bennett, Alex Brash, Ian McPhee, Kenny Brown, Rab Morris and Billy Gallacher, who we called ‘Seagull’, bossed the middle of the park.
“There was a striker called Jimmy Liddle, who ran a hotel in Penicuik, and he ended up at a club in Belgium.
“They were seasoned campaigners and it was a really good team that I found myself joining. We were two games away from being promoted to the Premier Division……that is how good we were.
“We took Rangers to a penalty shoot-out in a League Cup game that season and three years before that, Rangers required a replay to see Forfar off after a goalless first game in a Scottish Cup Semi-Final at Hampden.”
Brewster went off to join Jimmy Nicholl at Raith Rovers and nine years after starting his senior career at Forfar, Brewster scored the winning goal for Dundee United at Hampden in the Scottish Cup Final against Rangers.
His close range strike into an unguarded net topped off a fine season at his first club with Brewster saying, “That was goal number twenty of the season and it was a great one to get as it was as close to an impossible miss as you can get.”
The following season was a poor one for the Tannadice side and they were relegated just 12 months after their success in the Glasgow sun.
“We bounced straight back up the following season,” advises Brewster although he does not recall the events in the Challenge Cup Final of that season with as much joy
United had a host of big names in their side when they met Stenhousemuir at McDiarmid Park. However, Maurice Malpas, Steven Pressley, Christian Dailly, Robbie Winters, Owen Coyle and Brewster were stunned as they lost a Cup Final they had dominated 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after a goalless 120 minutes.
Brewster said, “I don’t remember too much about that game. All I do remember is that McDiarmid Park was not a great place for me to go before and after that.”
“I might have even missed a penalty in the shoot-out!” admitted Brewster.
He did although he does remember one bright spot from the game as he came across a United legend in that game in the Maroon colours of the Warriors.
Brewster explained “I missed out on playing with Eamonn Bannon at Dundee United as he was in the great United side of the early eighties before I went there. He played for Stenhousemuir that day so it was very ironic.”
Brewster will not be gracing the Station Park surface he one patrolled as he has not registered himself as a player this season although he will be warning Derek Adams’ players that they are in for a hard time.
He said, “I am sure Dick Campbell will have Forfar fired up especially as he used to be the Manager at Ross County.
“This game will be getting our full attention and we will be going all out to keep Ross County’s good record in the Challenge Cup going. It will be great to see some old friends but even better to win.”
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