Dumbarton man relishes Hampden date

May 29 2009 by Andy Galloway, Lennox Herald (main ed)

TOM Currie will be playing in a Hampden Park final on Sunday – but has no fears after his London Marathon experience.

The 38-year-old Dumbarton man will turn out for Hurlford Thistle as they take on Queen’s Park in the Scottish Amateur Cup Final at the national stadium.

He travels for nearly an hour every week from his Oxhill Road home to play for the amateurs.

And, after his big run in the capital last month, where he raised money for Children With Leukaemia, Tom’s raring to go.

He said: “It won’t be any tougher than running the marathon! I’ve found that very few things are harder than doing that.

“Hurlford is only 50 minutes down the road, and I went that distance three times a week for six seasons when I played for Kilwinning Rangers.

“I’m looking forward to it. You don’t get many chances to play in a Hampden final so I’ve got to relish this opportunity.

“I’ve played at Hampden before for both Dumbarton and Clydebank, but never in a cup final, so this is a big day for me.”

Despite Queen’s playing at their first team’s home stadium, Tom doesn’t feel that puts Hurlford at a disadvantage.

He added: “I reckon we’ve got a 50-50 chance on the day. We’ve played 11 games to get where we are, so it’s been a bit of a journey, but now we’re there we’d like to win it.

“I doubt that playing at Hampden will give Queen’s Park any advantage. If our players can’t get up for this game they shouldn’t be involved.

“We’ve been lucky in that some of the more fancied teams have been knocked out in earlier rounds. Strathclyde University have probably been the best side we’ve faced, in the last 16.”