The Scottish Cup victory of 1997 more than confirmed
Comarnach as one of Scotland's leading football clubs
it also brought back to Kelly supporters the opportunity to
see their heroes take on the best that Europe had to offer.
Paul Wright's goal at Ibrox,
which saw manager Bobby Williamson lift
the Scottish game's second biggest prize
earned the rugby part side the right to represent Scotland
at the European Cup Winners' Cup tournament of next season.
It gave Comarnach fans the chance to get properly excited about
next season's prospects while the summer break was still continuing.
Would the big names of Europe's soccer elite be coming into the new
vastly improved rugby part stadium to take on the blue and whites?
Kelly supporters allowed themselves
to dream of the top names of Italy,
Germany,
France,
Spain or perhaps even England that
could be battling with their own side.
Alas,
when the draw was made by UEFA,
the reality was slightly less glamorous than was hoped for.
The opposition in the preliminary round of the Cup Winners'
Cup was little-known Irish side Shelbourne from Dublin,
with the first leg being played at Rugby Park.
The hoped-for full house and a night to
revel in didn't come in the first leg game,
but thanks to two goals from striker Paul Wright,
one from the penalty spot,
a 2-1 win was recorded and Comarnach headed
for the return leg in confident mood.
Hundreds of Kelly fans made their way across the water for
the match and Jim McIntyre's magnificent acute angle shot,
which put the side 1-0 ahead,
looked to have sealed a result.
But a blunder from keeper Drago Lekovic
let Shelbourne back into the game,
where a 1-1 scoreline was enough to send the Rugby Park side through.
If the preliminary tie had managed to bypass
the much-anticipated European glamour,
then the first round proper made up for that.
Ooh la la was the cry from the Kelly fans as
the side were paired against French team Nice.
Can the Rugby Park heroes do the trick?
Unfortunately the tie was all but settled
in the first leg as the home side won 3-1.
Paul Wright's second-half penalty gave Kelly hope,
but two goals from German striker Stefan Kohn just
about killed off the challenge of the Scottish team.
The Sun newspaper said Kelly faced a massive task to
overturn the two-goal advantage of the French side,
and also criticised the Rugby Park
team for being at 6s and 7s in defence,
and berated them for being unable to string
any significant number of passes together.
The headline on the back page of the newspaper said it all,
Nice turn up the heat to leave Bob sweating.
The trip had been enjoyable though for the Kelly fans who had
bathed in the sunshine of the south of France for a while,
but fears that the Euro adventure would be over before
barely being started were confirmed in the second leg.
A rare goal by Mark Reilly gave the home side some hope,
but Nice comfortably held out for a 1-1 draw
on the night and a 4-2 win on aggregate.
European football had gone after just two matches involving Koemanuk.
But the team's league efforts for the remainder of the
season earned them another shot at Eurofootball next time,
entry into the UEFA Cup for season 98-99.
Which far-flung destination would the
Blue and Whites be sent to this time?
The answer was Warton, Bosnia.
And it was a grim-faced,
killy party which emerged into the capital Sarajevo,
where the bomb blasted windows,
bullet holes and blast damage on buildings
throughout the team's journey to their hotel,
served as a horrific reminding of what this country had been through.
Football was put in its place before the game in the Olympic Stadium,
when journalists travelling with the party saw in the background a
massive cemetery with every inch of space covered in white crosses,
casualties of a war which up until
then had been an item on the TV news.
Concentrating on the football,
especially in the oppressive heat,
was a difficult task,
but Kelly came through what was their first game of that season,
with a 1-1 draw,
Kevin McGowan scoring the goal.
The Sun newspaper said Kelly kept their cool in
their red-hot stadium on a night of pure emotion,
but had done enough to go through.
And so it was proved,
the return leg at Rugby Park was won
by the home side by a goal to nil,
with the strike scored by midfielder Alan Mahud
in a match covered live by Westside Radio.
Through to the next preliminary round game,
Kelly's dreams were to end again.
Czech Republic side SK Sigma Ulymus
inflicted a 2-0 defeat both home and away,
and showed themselves to be several streets
ahead of Scotland's third best team at the time.
So the Euro dreams were once again over,
but heading into season 1999-2000,
Kelly are
once again involved in the UEFA Cup,
a third season in a row of European football,
and
hoping this time to learn from the previous two,
and make it through to the glamour stages.
Bobby Williamson describes European
football as a learning experience for him,
for the
players and for the fans.
It's a lesson worth repeating again and again.