Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter | Sport | JUNIORS ARE READY FOR RANGERS

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Tuesday, 17th July, 2007 10:14

JUNIORS ARE READY FOR RANGERS

By Kirsteen Paterson

VALE of Leven Juniors are to relive history in honour of today's top star.

Club captain Alex Lacy has become the backbone of the side and his on-pitch prowess has cemented his place in the heart of the community.

Now he and his side will square up to Rangers for a testimonial match more than 100 years after the Alexandria team hammered them into submission to win the Scottish Cup.

The Dark Blues, as they were then called, battered Rangers 3-2 to lift the country's top trophy in 1877.

The following season they thumped the Govan squad 5-0, knocking them out of the fourth round before again lifting the cup.

And in 1879 they drew Rangers in the final again. The match ended in a one-all tie, and Vale were awarded the win after Rangers refused a replay.

Now the sides will meet again to celebrate Lacy's contribution to the Vale.

The commanding force first pulled on a jersey with the Millburn Park side in 1996, and since then has run out for them 354 times.

Team coach Scott McKernan, organising the fixture, says the defender's contributions have been priceless.

He said: `He's really influential in the dressing room and he's a fantastic character. He's the club joker and he keeps everybody going.

`He's a real club captain through and through.

`We have been working really hard on this because he really does deserve it.`

Rangers under-19s and reserves will travel to the Vale's Millburn Park for the fixture on July 21, fresh from their triple prize-winning season.

During the first half, Lacy will be joined by playing pals past and present, and in the second half the first team will meet the Glasgow side.

Scott, who will lace his boots for the first half, said: `We have big links with Rangers in our history, but our cup wins were well before my time.

`We want to remind everybody of how strong the links are. We've got a lot of new young players coming through, and if we gel together we'll make a good account of ourselves.

`We want everybody in the community to come out.`

Tickets for the match, priced £4 for adults and £2 for kids, will be on sale at the gate.

Social Bookmarking What are these?