When you’re almost 200km away and in the middle of the North Sea you’d be forgiven for missing a game of football.
But last time Fraserburgh faced Rangers, Jamie Beagrie was having none of it. Working offshore on a rig wasn’t going to deter him, so the midfielder got on a helicopter to ensure he’d make it. Beagrie feared it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 2018. But it turns out the 33-year-old is getting another bite at the cherry.
And the fact the game’s at Ibrox this time puts that cherry on top of the cake. Highland League Fraserburgh go into the biggest game of their lives in Govan on Sunday when they tackle Philippe Clement’s side in the Scottish Cup. Club stalwart Beagrie wouldn’t miss it for the world. He’s just glad, seven years later, that he doesn’t have to jump on a chopper to be there in time for kick-off. Beagrie works as an operations supervisor on the rigs but thankfully for Fraserburgh gaffer Mark Cowie he’s onshore this weekend.
As he reflected on their previous tie with Gers – which they lost 3-0 at Bellslea Park – their anchorman said: “The game in 2018 was supposed to be on the weekend when I wasn’t working. But it got postponed and rescheduled for a Wednesday night when I was away.
“Thankfully, I managed to get the helicopter back for the game. You don’t hear that story often. It was me who initiated it, I basically had to speak to my manager at work.
“I told my manager it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I asked if there was anything that could be done and, to be fair to him, he pulled a few strings and got me a seat on a flight.
“It took about an hour and a half in the helicopter as I was 190km away from Aberdeen in the North Sea. I got a crew-change flight, they picked me up and took me to the heliport. We played that night and, next morning at 6am. I had to check-in again to go back to work. Thing is, if you’re lucky you might get to play Rangers in a friendly. So to get them twice in the Scottish Cup over seven years is a major bonus.”
Beagrie can’t wait to step on the Ibrox turf this afternoon and says if The Broch knock Rangers out it would be the biggest cup upset EVER. He knows how tough it will be against Clement’s men, who hammered Aberdeen 3-0 on Wednesday night. But Beagrie insists they’ll take heart from Buckie Thistle’s performance at Celtic Park a year ago in this competition – despite what ended up as a 5-0 defeat.
He said: “What I remember about the 2018 game was the Rangers players moaning and saying our pitch was a shambles. It probably hasn’t changed much! Our pitch in January was a bit of a shock for them. But obviously it was smaller and tighter than Ibrox which made it a lot easier for us.
“We could get closer to them and we weren’t as exposed as we might be at Ibrox which is a lot wider. Back then, we thought: ‘Imagine what it would be like going to Ibrox’. And sure enough, seven years later we’re doing it. It will be tough on Sunday but the main thing for us is to enjoy it. We will go down there with zero expectations.
“But if we win it would be the biggest cup shock in history. Not just in Scottish football, it would be much bigger than that.
“So we’ll go and enjoy it, make sure we get a touch of the ball and pass it about. We’ll look at what Buckie did at Celtic a year ago and take a bit of belief from that.
“We want to put a good shift in and hopefully catch a bit of luck. The only thing Buckie lacked was a goal that day. If it was 5-1 instead of 5-0, it would have given them something to talk about coming up the road. A little break like that would be great on Sunday.”
The glamour tie with Rangers coincides with Beagrie being granted a testimonial at Fraserburgh next year after over a decade’s service to the club over two spells. And he’s warned his younger team-mates not to take it for granted.
He said: “These days make all the hard graft worth it for players like me. They’re special. I’m 33 and I’ve got a testimonial coming up. But for the younger players involved, I hope they don’t think this type of game comes up every year. They have to enjoy it. I can because at least I’m onshore. I was on night shift the last time so I was knackered as well. Then I had to chase Rangers’ three-man midfield around!”