Bowing out with pride

As both the town’s postman and Auchinleck Talbot’s captain, Gordon Pope is used to delivering on and off the pitch.

As undisputed heavyweights of Scottish junior football, Talbot and their fans are used to success, however, it was one step too far as the Ayrshire juniors exited the Scottish Cup having been beaten 4-0 by Hearts.

Auchinleck bowed out with pride, though, as they went further in the competition than ever before, matching the run of fellow juniors Linlithgow Rose three years ago to face Premiership giants Hearts in the fifth round.

Both were three goals down at half-time but never crumbled even as the gulf in quality was exposed as the Jambos marched into the quarter finals of the cup.

The shock cup run led to Gordon appearing on popular magazine show BBC Football Focus, too, where he spoke of his pride about being the club’s captain and a Royal Mail postman.

Speaking last week before his team’s earlier Scottish Cup tie with Ayr, Gordon told the Daily Record, ‘I work all around this area so most of the fans know who I am. I can’t get away from them as they want to stand and have a chat about the team but I love it.

‘No matter who we have played on a Saturday, I can go to a door on the Monday and one of the punters will want to talk to me about the result or the next game. The club is such a big part of the community and we get people coming from the surrounding areas as well.’

Matchdays can be a draining experience for Gordon, considering his normal working hours, but he still loves the game. ‘I work most Saturdays so I do my job then get myself to a game,’ he said. ‘I get up at 5.45am every day. I’m not one of these people who can have an afternoon nap or anything before the game. Once I’m up, I’m up.

‘The other week I finished work at 12, drove straight to (the ground) and then it was pretty much straight on to the park but I love it.

‘Some people might think that would make me the fittest player at the club but the gaffer might disagree!’

Gordon said he loved his job as a postman as he loves being out and about. ‘I get to meet a lot of people who want to talk about football as Auchinleck Talbot is a massive part of the town,’ he said.

‘I have to thank my colleagues at the Cumnock delivery office as they help me get finished in time to play on a Saturday. My big brother Colin works there too and he is always willing to swap days off with me when I really need it.

‘The Hearts result was disappointing but the fans were brilliant and will hopefully cheer us on to more success.’