THIS is the moment Brora Rangers’ players celebrated one of the biggest giant killings in Scottish Cup history.
The semi-pro Highland League outfit sensationally knocked out last season’s cup runners up on Tuesday evening with a stunning 2-1 win.
Robbie Neilson’s Hearts – who had been to the last two finals – trailed early through Jordan MacRae, but they seemed to have averted the crisis when they pulled level through a Christophe Berra volley.
But the Highland outfit weren’t finished there – not by a long chalk.
Within five minutes they swept back up the park and got their noses back in front through Martin McLean.
Despite late pressure from the Jambos, Brora held on for one of the most famous victories in the history of the competition.
Hearts are currently top of the Scottish second tier while Brora have not played since January as their league is suspended because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
In fact, Brora – a village approximately 200 miles north of Glasgow – have managed just three games all season and are a semi-professional side in the fifth tier of Scottish football.
And in true giant killing spirit, the Brora players rightly celebrated in raucous dressing room scenes that were captured on camera.
A video has emerged of the full squad jumping and dancing around the home changing room, singing along to Mark McCabe and Sunset Bros’ ‘I’m Feeling It’.
The clip was posted online by the club’s assistant manager Craig Campbell.
It was all the more remarkable considering they hadn’t played since the first week of January.
Brora boss Steven MacKay said: “In a normal season this would be an astronomical result but you throw into the mix the circumstances which surrounded this game.
“We haven’t played a game since the first week of January, we’ve had 5 training sessions and one friendly and that is it.
“We had no right to win this game but the character of this group of players is unbelievable. I am so privileged to be manager of this incredible team.”
“It’s the single biggest feeling in my football career as player or manager.
“We gave an incredible account of ourselves and I don’t think anybody who watched that game would have grudged us the win.
“We said we wanted to bed into the game in the first 10-15 minutes.
“We got through that 20 minute spell then Jordan has popped up with an unbelieveable strike.
“I said to the boys they had the knack of producing when the odds were against them.
“This will come as a surprise to most people but internally we are not really.
“To be honest with you they got their goal back and it was a bit of a scrappy goal but these players have got unbelievable character and I wasn’t surprised we went up the park and scored again.”
Hearts boss Robbie Neilson admitted the result was an embarrassment to the football club – and said it proved he still had to clear out the dead wood from the club’s relegation campaign.
He said: “We have remnants of the relegation season still there. We need to deal with it and get it moved out.
“We can’t deal with that tonight. It is an embarrassment, an embarrassment for the football club.
“I knew when I came in here that I was turning round a ship that was heading in the wrong direction.
“We have turned it round in areas but there is still work to do here. This should stay in the memory of everyone involved.
“It is something we can always go back to – if things aren’t good enough, this is what happens.”
Brora will play Stranraer in the fourth round, due to be played on April 3.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
