When November's first round draw paired us with East Region Champions Linlithgow Rose at Prestonfield, any thoughts of taking our place in what was sure to be a glamour occasion at Almondvale for the Final were seeds yet to be sown.
When the tie actually took place in April, those forcasting a trip to the home of Livingston FC to contest the eventual resting place of the trophy were thin on the ground. After Tam LEISHMAN had put us into an early lead, the Evening News prediction of a home win seemed set to be fulfilled when Mark Quinn netted twice to put Linlithgow 2-1 ahead going into the closing eight minutes. With the Rose fans planning their trip to Creamery Park for a Quarter Final tie against Bathgate Thistle, Quinn completed the most unlikely of hat-tricks by puting through his own goal and we were back in it. The stage was now set for Mark CAMPBELL to speed away in the final seconds and rifle home from the edge of the box. Much to the chagrin of the home support, it was Blackburn who were making travel plans for the following Tuesday night.
Six days later and it was another fruitful journey to a top division venue as Thistle were disposed of in a powerful performance full of pace and skill that saw both Tam LEISHMAN and Mark CAMPBELL find the net again before Gerry GANNER added a deserved third to produce a final scoreline that shocked most but in many ways failed to reflect our superiority on the night.
Onto the Semi Final and a home tie against Second Division Championship favourites Harthill Royal on the first day of May 2000. Royal arrived at Murrayfield Park as League Cup holders and full of confidence on the back of a 2-0 win in a league fixture here eleven days previously. This confidence certainly didn't seem to be misplaced when the visitors raced into a two goal lead but a quick Mark CAMPBELL reply (although we're not totally convinced he knew much about it!) had us back in it before the half time whistle blew. The second period saw our pressure pay off when a Tam LEISHMAN penalty leveled it and when Alan BROWN reacted quickest in the box to put us 3-2 ahead with less than ten minutes remaining another well deserved victory and a place in the Final was all but ours. However, for the third time in a Cup tie at Murrayfield that season our opponents equalised in the last minute and we were into the dreaded but painfully exciting penalty shoot-out. With Andy SIM and Tam LEISHMAN making exemplary jobs from the spot it was Derek Stewart who quite literally saved the day with two magnificent stops to spark joyous scenes on and off the park as the almost unbelievable had happened. We were in the Final.
Six days on and the team ran out onto a lush Almondvale surface to be welcomed by a large Blackburn support housed in the main stand and that out numbering their Fauldhouse counterparts. Although it was Fauldhouse who had the first real chance of the game when James McBride fired over from just five yards out, Blackburn took a firm grip on proceedings and, with Alan Brown stroking the ball about, confidence was high that previous results and performances in the tournament could be repeated. As goalkeeper Derek Stewart produced a commanding display to thwart the sporadic breaks from the View Park men, Gerry Ganner, Steph McCardie and the hard working Mark Campbell all went close to opening the scoring. The first half, however, drew to a close with the match still scoreless.
With the sun continuing to beat down at the outset of the second 45 minutes the heat began to take a toll on the players and it was First Division Fauldhouse who took the lead against the run of play. As Gary Hayton raced into the box on 54 minutes full-back Robert Kennedy mistimed his tackle and, as the striker tumbled to the ground, a penalty was awarded. Colin Walker stepped up and made no mistake to put his side ahead. The slim lead given to them by this penalty seemed to inspire new confidence in the red shirts of Fauldhouse and, despite valiant efforts to draw level, the Final was finished as a contest when Hayton combined with Walker in the last minute to send the midfielder scurrying through to deftly clip the ball over the flailing Stewart and into the gaping net.
The brave and almost victorious Millennium Cup run was at an end but the players richly deserved the applause from the support that had stayed behind almost to a man (and woman!) to witness them collect their runners-up medals.
