Stranraer striker Craig Malcolm got his hands on the IRN-BRU Cup Golden Balls Award after scoring four goals in the 7-1 win against Spartans in the second round.
As well as helping his club secure a third-round tie at home to Dumbarton on Saturday, his goals capped an all-round ballsy performance from the No 9, which saw him draw level with club legend Michael Moore as Stranraer’s second-highest goalscorer of all time with 94 goals.
As the football sponsor with balls, IRN-BRU created the Golden Balls Award to recognise impressive performances during each round of the revamped Scottish Challenge Cup.
Stranraer’s cup hero beat off stiff competition from Andy Jackson from Brechin City, Josh Peters from Forfar Athletic and Alan Cook from Stenhousemuir, securing 35% of the votes in a poll held on IRN-BRU’s official Twitter channel (@IrnBruFootball) to bag the award.
Blues supporters were encouraged to vote for their star striker, through a club-led social media campaign, urging them to ‘Vote for Malky’ on Twitter.
Craig said: “It was great to see the team win so convincingly against a decent side like Spartans. Hitting four goals to equal a club record is a proud achievement for me personally and I’m delighted to win the Golden Balls Award.”
Adrian Troy, Head of Marketing at IRN-BRU, said: “There were lots of ballsy performances on show in the second round of the IRN-BRU Cup. Craig thoroughly deserves to get his hands on the Golden Balls Award after bagging four goals to make a bit of club history.”
