Local lad’s 
hat-trick shoots down the Shire

Zander Miller says the celebrations went a bit wild when he fired a hat-trick against his dad’s old team.

Miller, the Broxburn Athletic striker, lobbed Jamie Barclay in the last minute of injury time to spark excited scenes at Albyn Park on Saturday and set-up a second round meeting with Cowdenbeath.

While the Scottish Cup journey continued for the local footballer, it ended for one of his local sides – where dad Lex was a director in the late-90s.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Miller told The Falkirk Herald: “I’m still on a bit of a high to be honest. It’s my first hat-trick of the season, but the officials didn’t give me the matchball away with me!

“We got ourselves ahead with two early in the first 15 minutes. My first was just a shot across the goalie and the second was a penalty.

“But the Shire are a good team, with experienced players and had most of the possession for the game. They got it back to 2-2 but my lob at the end was enough – that’s cup football for you. The celebrations were quite wild with it being the last kick.

“We are all friends and a tight-knit group, we’ve been together two years. That counts. Shire have a talented squad but they are quite new together. Sometimes these little things edge cup games and this was as close as it gets, but we just sneaked it.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Miller, who works as a bathroom fitter around his football, might have to keep his head down too when he’s out buying supplies.

He added: “I know the Shire manager Derek Ure, I’ve played against him many times and he’s a plumber the same as me, and I’ve seen him in the merchants while I’ve been working sometimes.

“It maybe makes it a more notable achievement for me, coming against a team near me and who I know the manager, but I’m just focused on the next game and doing my job scoring goals.

“I usually get a few hat-tricks a season, but that’s my first. It will be tough to take on Cowdenbeath in the next round at Central Park.”

Related topics: