East Kilbride 0 Bonnyrigg 0 (East Kilbride win 3-1 on aggregate)
There was a sprinkling of stardust on the edges of New Dundas Park as we took our places to watch the second leg of the League Two play-off final.
Gary Locke, Hearts legend, had turned up to watch his hometown team. Neil Lennon, Treble winner as player and manager for Celtic, was there to support his son, Gallagher, who was on the bench for the Rosey Posey. And John Hartson, in his role as honorary president of the club, was there to witness East Kilbride make history.
In the dust of a frenetic, almost chaotic game, however, it was true grit that made the difference rather than star quality.
It was exemplified in the performance of the East Kilbride players who adapted from their usual possession-based football to head everything in the air, tackle anything that moved and propel the ball forward as if it was a grenade that was just about to go off. It worked.
This grit was more subtly revealed in the conversations with those who have followed the club since their inception in 2010.
The celebrations begin for East Kilbride as they earn promotion to League Two
Fans can’t contain their excitement at prospect of New Dundas Park club making the big time
The East Kilbride players bask in their achievement in the sunshine at New Dundas Park
This was the fourth play-off tie in the club’s history, with three dispiriting failures. The desire to make the senior leagues has consumed a dozen managers. But the club have persevered.
‘I have been here from the start,’ said match secretary and director Peter Hickey. ‘It’s been a long time coming but it’s absolutely brilliant.
‘We have a busy summer now. We are all volunteers, so our workload will increase quite a bit.’
Hickey came to the club through family ties. ‘I was involved with younger teams when my boys were playing and we moved under the umbrella of East Kilbride.
‘I was asked to get involved and I did. This is the greatest day of my footballing life. I am pleased for all the guys behind the scenes and the supporters. Our fan base is growing and this will help.’
Hartson, the Welsh international who enjoyed many celebrations as a Celtic player, has also been involved with the club since the beginning. He helped launch them in 2010 and is a friend of Paul and James Kean, the businessmen who have driven East Kilbride forward.
Saturday, of course, was not the end of the story, merely a thrilling chapter.
‘You will see a real difference in the club,’ said Hartson. ‘They are ambitious. I know their ambition one day is to play in the Scottish Premiership. They are serious.
‘They have appointed a real good manager in Mick Kennedy and his assistant, Simon Ferry. It’s all small steps but they are going in the right direction.’
There was massive relief in the East Kilbride celebrations. Last season they lost in the play-off to Stranraer and the nervous tension in both sets of support on Saturday was obvious.
The players, and the firm surface, ensured a game where the ball was treated as if it was a radioactive object and two touches ensured a debilitating sickness. It was a sign of the pragmatism of East Kilbride who are known as a team that values possession.
‘You will see a big push from them in League Two,’ added Hartson. ‘They will not be bullied in that league. Things take time. They have slowly done it and got decent players in. I am not really that surprised.
‘I know James and Paul (Kean) well, they are my best friends, really. Paul puts his life and soul into this. He is down at the training ground all the time.
‘They are not just people with property, building houses … this is big for Paul. He gets right behind it. It means a lot to everybody in East Kilbride but particularly for Paul because he is football daft.’
Former Celtic stars John Hartson and Neil Lennon share a few words before the game
The match itself finished in a goalless draw but was a typically pulsating affair
The tension of the occasion was obvious on the sidelines as East Kilbride won on aggregate
The crowd are clearly engrossed in the action with so much at at stake for both clubs
It meant much to everybody inside New Dundas Park. The significance was obvious to those of an East Kilbride persuasion. But the blow was severe for the Rosey Posey.
One talks of small margins in football but one can measure them precisely at Bonnyrigg. A slant of 14cm in the pitch, in contravention of the regulations, cost them six points. This condemned them to a play-off. They now fall into the Lowland League.
It’s almost showtime. Two hours before kick-off Simon Ferry treads the pitch, greets well-wishers and contemplates the most important match of his life. The admission is surprising. Ferry, after all, has played at Wembley.
‘This is the biggest game of my career, playing or coaching,’ said Ferry, who played for Celtic, Swindon Town and Dundee. ‘I don’t think I have ever wanted to win a game of football so much.’
Ferry was part of the Swindon team who lost to Millwall in the play-off to make the English Championship in 2010 in front of 70,000 fans at Wembley.
‘That was a big game and it would have meant so much to me,’ he said. ‘But you take on different thinking when you are a coach. I am obviously very close to the manager and the owners. I get involved in so much with Mick and Paul and James.
‘I know how much it means to the fans. The big part of why you want to do it is for them. You see how much people put into this club and their hopes rest on your shoulders.’
The nerves were already kicking in. ‘I got to that play-off final at Wembley so I know how the boys will be feeling.
‘I was a 21-year-old boy back then and you don’t really appreciate its significance. Now, you get to know the boys, their lives and what it means to them.’
There was a distinct feeling, even before kick-off, that East Kilbride had to fulfil a destiny.
‘This is what I love about being at East Kilbride,’ added Ferry. ‘Everyone is so ambitious. Now, you can get ambitious people but they are not willing to put the work in. It’s not like that here. Everyone is on the same page, everyone has the determination to do well.’
Ferry is also the host of the Open Goal podcast that attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers and has sold out the SEC. How does he manage to fit it all in?
‘It is full on,’ he admitted. ‘But I know what it feels like on the other side. I know how it feels to do jobs you don’t like just to get by.
‘I get to do football six days a week. I know how lucky I am. One of the best things in life is to enjoy your job and I love mine.’
East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy, right, and assistant Simon Ferry share a hug after triumph
East Kilbride’s achievement is clear to see in the relieved faces of the supporters
The players kick off the celebrations in the dressing room before a night of sheer jubilation
It was a tough day for the Bonnyrigg Rose players who now drop out of League Two
What a glorious day in the sunshine for East Kilbride as they plan for life in senior set-up
Standing in the shade of a dressing room but in the full glare of the celebrations, Mick Kennedy was also enjoying his job.
This is just as well as the work now starts for senior league football.
‘I need to build a squad and go into the community and build the fanbase,’ he said. ‘This is just the start.’
He had no hesitation in naming his immediate ambition as winning League Two. ‘That is just who I am,’ he said.
However, there is also a longer-term strategy for the club. Ground has been secured and planning permission granted for a new stadium, although work on that is unlikely to start before next season.
The joy for Kennedy was obviously communal. Players and volunteers swirled around him in loud celebration. But there must have been a moment of quiet, personal reflection.
As a player, Kennedy was paid £10 a week to participate in amateur football. His early life as a manager was at Colville Park, an amateur side. A successful businessman, he does not take a wage at East Kilbride. ‘I have always been obsessed with football,’ he once told me.
He now joins the big leagues. One dream has been realised. The obsession continues.
