Colville Park start hot favourites to lift Scottish Amateur Cup once again

Only a newly promoted club stands between Premier Division champions Colville Park AFC and their second consecutive Scottish Amateur Cup triumph at Hampden Park.
The triumphant Colville Park AFC squad celebrate after beating Leven United 2-1 in last years Scottish Amateur Cup Final at Hampden Park (Pic by Alan Watson)The triumphant Colville Park AFC squad celebrate after beating Leven United 2-1 in last years Scottish Amateur Cup Final at Hampden Park (Pic by Alan Watson)
The triumphant Colville Park AFC squad celebrate after beating Leven United 2-1 in last years Scottish Amateur Cup Final at Hampden Park (Pic by Alan Watson)

The Motherwell team – managed by Michael Kennedy – will take on underdogs Southside in the showpiece this Sunday, one year on from Colville’s fantastic 2-1 success at exactly the same stage against Fife team Leven United.And, although Southside have just gone up to the Central Scottish Amateur Football League Premier Division that their opponents have just won, Colville Park secretary Andy Williamson is taking nothing for granted.Andy said: “Let’s not be under any illusions, we can’t just expect to turn up and win.“We won’t underestimate Southside because they’ve been fantastic in winning the first division and have only lost once in 10 months.“But winning last year massively whets our appetite for this final.“It is every player’s ambition to play at Hampden. We are desperate to go back and repeat last year’s victory.”Other than their 2016 triumph, Colville Park AFC’s only other Scottish Amateur Cup success came way back in season 1975-76.“I think there’s a 50/50 chance of us winning it again this year,” added Andy, who captained the cup winning Colville Park team 41 years ago.“Southside are a decent side who are not in the final by accident. They are there entirely on merit.“It will be a tough game. We are looking forward to it but it will be a challenge.“We still have two thirds of the squad who won the Scottish Cup last year, but I don’t think that will really count for anything come Sunday.“Our players and Southside players are experienced and have all played at a decent level.”Colville Park will be going into Sunday’s final buoyed by their latest Premier Division title success, which was sealed courtesy of last week’s 2-0 win over Eastfield at Cumbernauld.“We have won the league two years running now and we want to do the same in the Scottish Amateur Cup,” Andy added.“It would be a great double. Winning our Premier League is probably as tough as winning the cup.“Although you need to win a total of 10 rounds to win the cup, you play teams which are much weaker in the early rounds.”An added carrot for Sunday’s cup winners is that they will automatically gain a place in a preliminary round of the senior William Hill Scottish Cup.This would bring further joy for Colville gaffer Kennedy, ahead of him getting married a week on Friday.