A sudden realisation he needed to keep his Brora Rangers kit denied Andy Macrae a memento from Wednesday’s game against Hibernian at Easter Road.
Attacker Macrae had been keen to swap shirts with Hibs midfielder Stevie Mallan, who netted a double in the Premiership side’s 3-1 Betfred Cup victory.
Macrae quickly stopped himself in his tracks however, when he remembered he had been instructed to keep hold of his Cattachs jersey for tomorrow’s game against Dundee at Dudgeon Park, with a batch of new home kits still to arrive.
The former Caley Thistle and Forres Mechanics player reflected fondly on the experience nevertheless, and he said: “I enjoyed testing myself against players like that, it shows you where you are as a footballer.
“After the Hibs game I was going to ask for Stevie Mallan’s shirt, but in my head I thought I couldn’t do that because I need it for Saturday.
“We were wearing our old home strips. If we were getting our new home strip in time for Saturday I would have just swapped it, but it wasn’t to be.
“I could do it all over again – it was a great feeling. It’s probably the best stadium I will ever play at. I wish I could do it every week.
“I’ve never really tested myself against a team like that before but I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Brora were playing their first competitive action since March 7, having only played two friendlies against Elgin
City and an Orkney select, along with an internal squad bounce game.
Macrae was proud of the way his side conducted themselves against Jack Ross’ high-flying Hibs side, who are third in the Premiership.
The 22-year-old added: “In games like that there is no point in hiding. You are as well just going for it, and if you lose the ball so be it.
“When you play in stadiums like that, and a pitch that is so flat, it sounds stupid but it makes it a lot easier.
“When you’re playing a pass to someone you know it’s going to go there.
“I think every one of us showed we can test ourselves to that level, obviously not week-in week-out, but we can certainly take on these teams with a bit of belief.
“Although they were sharp, I didn’t think they created that much in the second half.
“I know we got beaten 3-1 in the end but we are four leagues below them, and they are full-time.
“There are probably some Premiership teams that will go there and get beaten by more than we did.”
Dundee manager James McPake’s headline summer signing was 26-times capped Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam, who has previous English Premier League experience with Liverpool, Blackpool and Stoke City.
Although Brora have home advantage over tomorrow’s Championship opponents, Macrae expects just as difficult a test as they faced against Hibs.
He added: “Dundee are in the same boat as us, they are playing their first competitive game in seven months.
“Something tells me it will be harder, I’ve just got a feeling they will be up for it after seeing us perform against Hibs.
“It will be good to play against the likes of Charlie Adam who has played in the Premier League for Liverpool. From all the players I’ve come up against he will probably be the one to have played at the highest level.”
