Fraserburgh captain Russell McBride led by example in Saturday’s 3-2 Aberdeenshire Cup final win over Buckie Thistle.
But the 36-year-old central defender almost never made it into the second half.
He said: “My stomach was in bits and after about 20 minutes I asked my team-mate Mark Cowie to tell our manager Kris Hunter I was really struggling. When I got into the dressing-room at half-time I threw up but, give Kris his due, he decided to keep me on. He said I would still be able to talk the younger lads through the game.”
The former Elgin City player, who recovered from testicular cancer two years ago, added: “Apart from the birth of my daughter, and the day I got married, Saturday was the best day of my life. When I lifted the cup the noise from our supporters was amazing.
“Even when we were behind I was still in no doubt we would still go on and win the game.
“It isn’t the first time I’ve been in a Broch team that came back from the dead. It happened 20 years ago when I first played for them alongside the likes of Michael Stephen, Derek Milne and our manager Kris Hunter. We never knew when we were beaten. I sometimes think that our players don’t know how good they are, but you can never knock their determination and effort every week.”