Ayr United Assistant Manager Scott MacKenzie was the perfect person to turn for a guide to the Falkirk and Hamilton Academical players who will take part in this Sunday’s Ramsdens Cup Final as he has seen both sides in action plenty of times this season.
As well as this detailed knowledge, MacKenzie knows what it is like to feature in a Challenge Cup Final as he has played in three – two with Falkirk and one with Hamilton.
The defender or midfielder was with Falkirk for nine seasons from season1991/92 before joining St. Mirren for a couple of seasons and then returning to being a Bairn before becoming an Accie and then a Queen of the South player.
MacKenzie missed out on playing against St. Mirren 3-0 at Fir Park in the December, 1993 Challenge Cup Final for Falkirk although his club gave him a winners' medal due to his efforts earlier in the competition.
The Bairns reached the Challenge Cup Final again in November, 1997 and MacKenzie was involved as Queen of the South were defeated 1-0, the Cup Final being once again played at Fir Park.
Seven years later, he won again as Falkirk came from behind to defeat Ross County 2-1, this time at McDiarmid Park, to pick up his third winners' medal. That particular win came at a special time as MacKenzie had his Testimonial Dinner on the evening after the Dingwall men were defeated.
A further Challenge Cup Final appearance and a first one as a Hamilton player followed in season 2005/06 however, his former St. Mirren side won 2-1 and after bringing the curtain down on his playing career, MacKenzie joined up with another former Bairn, Brian Reid, as the management team at Ayr United.
The duo have been together since the autumn of 2007 and MacKenzie has seen Falkirk four times this season and Hamilton on three occasions and he was delighted to pass on his detailed knowledge of both sides.
Here is Scott's analysis of the players playing with both finalists:–
FALKIRK FC
Michael McGowan – A very good shot-stopper who organises his defence well which is a great help to a team with young defenders. He is the starting off point of an experienced core down the spine of the Falkirk team.
Rhys Bennett – Rhys is on-loan form Bolton and is a defender who is a good footballer. Falkirk probably play more football out of defence than Hamilton do and he suits their style well.
Tom Scobie – Tom was a youngster when I was still at Falkirk and he has always had an old head on young shoulders. You know what you are going to get from him and he is a big part of the Falkirk side.
Darren Dods – a big, big player for Falkirk. He has great experience and is the second part of the experienced spine that Falkirk have. Another very good organiser and talker on the pitch.
Kieran Duffie – Kieran is a player that I really rate. He has a fantastic engine on him and is dangerous going forward from defence. His battle with Hamilton’s Jim McAlister will be a great one in the Final.
Murray Wallace – Huddersfield Town saw something in him fairly quickly and have snapped him up for next season before loaning him back. For a young player, he is a really good defender and he has learned a lot from playing alongside Darren Dods.
Jay Fulton – I played with his dad, Stevie, at Falkirk and it was good to see his old man celebrating his goal against Celtic at Hampden in The Scottish Communities League Cup Semi-Final. He could have scored again that day and he is a very mature player for a teenager. He has certainly benefited from the coaching he has received at the Falkirk Academy. It is a great way of bringing through players, in fact both Falkirk and Hamilton bring through some great youngsters.
Mark Millar – You can tell he had a good scholarship at Celtic when he was a younger player. He is a good player who looks to control things from the middle of the park. The way Falkirk plays suits him and he is a big player for them and builds on the experience of McGovern and Dods.
Willie Gibson – On his day, Willie Gibson can be unplayable but he can be temperamental and players will try and talk him off his game. He tortured us in the first half of our recent Scottish Cup tie and we had to change things around to handle him. He could be a matchwinner on Sunday.
Farid El Alagui – Another player who has given us problems this season. He has scored 20 goals this season and he will be determined to mark his first year at Falkirk with a winners’ medal. He completes the strong backbone that Falkirk have but I reckon that he misses Kallum Higginbotham more than any other player since he joined Huddersfield Town. Farid remains a real danger all the same.
David Weatherston – A very, very quick player and that pace can give any defence problems. His directness is a brilliant opportunity to take the game to the opposition.
Graham Bowman – Young goalkeeper that came on against Ross County recently when Michael McGovern was sent off. He got 90 minutes under his belt against Livingston last weekend and despite losing that game, he will be better prepared to take part in first team games in the future.
Blair Alston – Has played against Ayr United and like a lot of Falkirk youngsters, is a good footballer.
Craig Sibbald – Another youngster that I rate really highly. A great prospect when you consider he has a full season of football behind him and he is only 16.
Jordan White – Jordan is a big, tall striker who could get a chance in the absence of Higginbotham. He gave us a lot of problems when Willie Gibson was getting crosses into him recently as he offers that target man option.
Kris Faulds – Another youngster from the Falkirk Academy and not one I have seen a lot of. A versatile midfielder who has been included in a few games recently and that may lead to a Cup Final appearance.
HAMILTON ACADEMICAL FC
David Hutton – A good steady goalkeeper who has been in the senior game for a number of years now. He started the season as number two to Tomas Cerny but he is back at the business end of games now after Tomas left the club.
Martin Canning – a very experienced defender who will be missed due to his suspension. He has combined well with both Mark McLaughlin and Simon Mensing this season but thankfully for Hamilton, they are quite well served for experienced defenders.
Mark McLaughlin – If Mark plays, he is really a big player for Hamilton. He has a great physical presence and great height that helps Accies at both ends of the park. McLaughlin is a player that needs watched very carefully when he comes up for set pieces as his winning goal in the Semi-Final against Livingston proved.
Lee Kilday – A home grown promising youngster who can play in a number of positions at the back.
Simon Mensing – Another big guy to have in your side and a very good honest professional. A really physical player and the biggest compliment I can give him is that I can see him playing an Andy Millen role at the club by passing on his experience to the rest of his team-mates.
Stephen Hendrie – Very promising youngster who has caught a lot of people’s eye this season. Stephen is a cultured player on the left hand side of the park who is back in the squad after a stint with Scotland’s Under-17 side.
Danny Redmond – Up on loan from Wigan and has shone brightly for Hamilton recently. You must be a good player to be in at a Premiership side and he is showing that with some fine displays from midfield.
Alex Neil – A massive, massive player for Hamilton and a real motivator for them on the park. He is the spirit of their team and they have a better chance of winning if he plays.
Jon Routledge – another boy up on loan from England however, he also has SPL experience after being at Hamilton last season before going to Stockport County. He scored a couple of goals at Livingston recently and looks like another promising youngster that will be on display.
Jim McAlister – Former Morton man can be a really tricky winger although he can also do a good job at left back as well. Good left foot on him and another guy who can set up a match winning goal.
Andy Ryan – four goals recently sums up the threat this kid has. He is only 17 and in the first team regularly now and the last players to do that at Hamilton were James McArthur and James McCarthy and they have done pretty well for themselves.
Jon McShane – Jon is a big striker on loan from St. Mirren and I know he is a player that Brian Reid had a look at to bring to Ayr. Can play the target man role well if Hamilton decide they need an out ball.
Blair Currie – young on-loan goalkeeper who has been in at Rangers for a few years now. He will be benefiting from being involved in a first team environment this season.
Mark Stewart – On-loan striker who used to be at Falkirk before going down to Bradford City last summer. He must have quality to get a chance down in England and I would imagine that he will be desperate to do well against his old club.
Greig Spence – I remember Greig causing Ayr problems when he was just 16 and playing for Alloa. He scored against us at Somerset Park and looked a real prospect back then. Celtic took a chance on him and he has scored goals for them at youth level. It is great for him to get the experience of playing at Hamilton especially in a Cup Final and he will be a better player for it.
Grant Gillespie - Youngster when I was at the club and working hard to make the breakthrough into the starting eleven.
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