There was a reason Marcus Fraser was not in the thick of Ross County’s League Cup final celebrations five years ago.
In a scene similar to what John McGinn and Ryan Christie experienced when Scotland qualified for the European Championships, Fraser had to sit out the dressing room celebrations to undertake the post-match drug test.
After the memorable 2-1 win over Hibernian, Fraser would have loved to get in the midst of the jubilant dressing room party. However, it was not to be.
“The doc came up to me and said I’d got the drug test to do,” said Fraser. “I thought ‘oh no, here we go’. I can’t remember who I did it with. But after 90 minutes, you’re dehydrated so I couldn’t do it straight away. You’re not allowed to leave either.
“I was sat in there having a beer and it wasn’t working. I started drinking the water and thought ‘right, get me out of here’. I think I’d been in there about 45 minutes.
“By the time I got back to the dressing room, everything was calming down and the boys were leaving. But you got the celebration on the pitch, which is the main thing, and I’ve seen the pictures and videos which are brilliant to look at.
“We had a day off after the game and I met up with my girlfriend, Liam Boyce and his girlfriend. We went for a bite to eat and met some of the boys later. We obviously had the parade up in Dingwall where everyone’s friends and family came along, which was really good.”
That connection with friends and family was not just restricted to the trophy parade. The defender vividly remembers seeing wild scenes in the crowd as he celebrated Alex Schalk’s winning goal.
“I remember when we scored the winning goal, all my friends were near the front and we just ended up making faces at each other,” said Fraser. “You could see them jumping on top of each other.
“I don’t even think I ran to Schalky – I just jumped on whoever was there. There were bodies everywhere. It was funny, just seeing my mates and screaming at each other.”
Fraser arrived at County in January 2015, having been released by Celtic. He had spent the first half of the season on loan at Championship strugglers Cowdenbeath, before being drafted in by Jim McIntyre.
In his first four months at the club they embarked on a remarkable run of form, which carried them away from relegation trouble to ninth place. County then finished in the top six and won the League Cup, before coming seventh in 2016-17.
“It happened that quick you think to yourself ‘is this what it is?’ and if it happens every year,” said Fraser. “As time goes on you get highs and lows and I had that high, but I’ve had my lows there as well. It’s how you bounce back from that and I think I’ve done that well in my career.
“Everything happened so quickly when I went up there. We went on that brilliant run then finished top six the next season, got to the cup final and by the end of the season you’re thinking ‘this is easy’. But you soon find out every team is fighting and scrapping for every point and you don’t always get it your own way.”
Fraser made 198 appearances for County in five-and-a-half years and was named club captain after the departure of Andrew Davies. He led the club to the Championship and Challenge Cup double in 2019.
Winning a major national trophy at Hampden, however, will remain a memory Fraser will cherish for the rest of his career.
“I can’t really remember a lot of the game,” he added. “I can only just remember the key highlights like the goals and winning it at the end.
“I’ve watched it back before but not in a good few years. In years to come, maybe when I retire. I’ll sit back and watch it and take it all then. I’ll get the same feeling again.”