Humble Gretna showed us a beautiful game

But on Saturday at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Gretna’s performance in the Scottish Cup Final made the sceptics and the cynics re-think their attitudes. It was the first time I have ever understood why football is nicknamed the beautiful game.

Gretna’s glory boys restored the word sportsmanship to the same sentence as football.

I joined a coach of supporters who were a mix of Scots and Cumbrians, half were seasoned supporters and the rest of us were novices making our debut at a football match.

All of us had a smile on our face as we left the grounds. Gretna may have lost but they provided an occasion which allowed the spirits to soar.

Eleven players had refused to be cast as underdogs. They had punched above their weight and they had done so with a brilliant display of skill and determination.

As we had arrived, some Hearts fans were chanting: “We’ve come to laugh at Gretna.’’ By the end, those same fans were on their feet paying homage to the boys from the little Borders village.

Throughout the second half of the match the small enclave of Gretna fans, outnumbered five to one by the mighty Edinburgh club, made 10 times the noise of their opponents.

But as we left the ground, Hearts fans shook our hands and told us that despite their joy, Gretna didn’t deserve to lose.

The tiny Borders club and their new army of supporters had won respect and admiration.

The football novices among our group had witnessed no petulance on the pitch nor aggression off it. We understood it was the way the game used to be before the era of superstars, footballer’s wives and multi-million transfer deals.

If only the World Cup could be played in the same heart and with equally good manners, football’s critics would be forever silenced.

For me, the Gretna experience has softened me up to the idea of four weeks of World Cup on the television. In fact, I am almost looking forward to it.