The secret of Fort William’s historic winning run has been revealed – lucky charm David Osborne.
The 39-year-old goalkeeper’s arrival at Claggan Park has coincided with a remarkable surge in form for the Highland League club.
The traditional fight at the bottom of the table has been blown away by a four-game winning streak, the first time the club has managed the feat, and Osborne has played in all four matches.
Osborne is the son of former Partick Thistle goalkeeper, Brian, who at one time kept Scotland’s second highest capped goalkeeper, Alan Rough, out of the Firhill first team, while his brother Mark played for Albion Rovers.
Osborne, who is also a qualified referee, revealed his Fort career came about purely by chance but the decision to join the club is one he has not regretted.
He said: “When the engineering component company I work for set up a branch in Inverness I helped to set it up, and I also turned out for Hilton amateurs and we won the First Division last term.
“Earlier this season I noticed Fort were really struggling, so I dropped them an e-mail offering my services and manager Calum MacLean eventually phoned me up and asked what I was doing the next weekend.
“I went along to Buckie that afternoon, was drafted straight into the side and we won 2-1. It was a dream debut I suppose. Since then we’ve won four in a row, I’ve only let in two goals and the spirit in the camp is brilliant.
“We’ve proved we’re no longer the whipping boys of the Highland League.
“When I first went into the team I would never have thought we were a team struggling near the foot of the table as the spirit and the togetherness was there. We also manage to have a good laugh.”
The veteran custodian added: “Fort William are one of the best clubs I’ve been involved with.
“It’s night and day from my time with Ormiston juniors. It is very enjoyable although I have to do quite a bit of travelling from my home in Nairn, but it is worth it.”
Having taken the club to uncharted territory of four wins in a row, Osborne will be hoping to break more new ground by helping Fort make it five in a row at Formartine on Saturday.
He said: “As a lifelong Aberdeen supporter I’m really looking forward to meeting one of our managers Steve Paterson.
“I’m also looking forward to us playing Nairn County in the League Cup in a couple of weeks as Station Park is just round the corner from my house, so there will be no long journey that day.”