Fraserburgh’s Bryan Hay described facing Rangers at Ibrox as the pinnacle of his career.
The long-serving Broch centre-half, who made his debut in December 2006, lined up against the team he supports in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Although the Breedon Highland League side were beaten 5-0, for Hay it was an unforgettable experience.
The 35-year-old told The Press and Journal: “I was Mr Emotional at the end. We were disappointed with the result, but I’m proud of everyone.
“It was a great experience and being a Rangers fan it was a once in a lifetime experience.
“I went up and down the tunnel four or five times – I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
“When you’re at the stage I’m at in my career you never think you’ll get this chance.
“As a one-off game I think it would have to be the pinnacle just because I’m a big Rangers man and getting the chance to play at Ibrox in front of 36,000 is the stuff that dreams are made of.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t get a result, I’m proud of all the lads, they worked their socks off and I think we gave a good account of ourselves for the club and our brilliant fans.”
Support was different class
Fraserburgh were backed by an 1,800-strong travelling support at Ibrox and Hay heaped praise on the Broch fans.
He added: “The away support was different class. I come down to watch games at Ibrox when I can and I watch games on TV as well.
“I think that’s the best away support I’ve seen at Ibrox – they were absolutely brilliant.
“Every time we made a challenge or won a throw-in they were going mental which was great to see and it was great to go over to see them all at the end.
“It’s a pity about the result, but we were happy with the performance we put in and the away support was different class.”
Cyriel Dessers netted a hat-trick for Rangers with Clinton Nsiala and Ross McCausland also getting on the scoresheet as the Gers progressed to round five.
However, Hay left Ibrox with striker Dessers’ shirt as a souvenir of the big day.
When asked what it was like facing Dessers, Hay said: “Kieran Simpson had to mark him more than me – I managed to get his top after the game which was the only time I got near him!
“He scored a hat-trick so I wanted his top. He gave us a bit of a hard time and I think Rangers could do worse than stick with him.
“Everyone I spoke to was great. The Rangers boys were dishing out tops, taking photos and signing stuff for us, we were treated really well.”
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