Danny Devine already knows how it feels to live the fairytale by lifting the Scottish Cup with Inverness.
And the Northern Irishman believes Hampden glory could be written in the stars once again for the Caley Jags after they booked their final spot - three months after being knocked OUT the competition.
If Billy Dodds’ side do upset the odds in next month’s showpiece then Devine reckons an extra winners’ medal should be carved out for club secretary Fiona McWilliams after her intervention back in January saw the Highlanders reinstated after losing to Queen’s Park in the fourth round. It was McWilliams’ eagle eye that spotted the registration blunder in the Spiders’ line-up that saw Euan Henderson fielded. Inverness haven’t looked backed since being restored to the cup and Livingston, Kilmarnock now Falkirk have been swept aside. Devine - who was a key man when John Hughes led Caley Thistle to glory in 2015 - was a rock at the back on Saturday as a Billy Mckay double either side of a Daniel Mackay header eased them past the League One Bairns.
And the defender said: “Hopefully it’s written in the stars for us. It’s a funny one. Even after being reinstated we never expected to be here so we’ve absolutely grabbed the second chance. Hopefully we can go all the way.
“Listen, Queen’s Park deserved to win that night. We had a bit of luck and got back in but we’ve not had it easy. We’ve beaten Premiership sides and now Falkirk who are a decent team. We are buzzing. Fi (McWilliams) has been brilliant. She spotted the error Queen’s Park made and that has given us the second chance.
“Absolutely she deserves a medal! I’m not a believer in fate really. Whatever comes your way comes. But I’m just buzzing to be through. Whoever we get in the final we will give it a good go and see what happens.
“Does this feel a bigger than 2015? Any final you reach is a massive achievement. We are down a division now and I don’t think anyone saw it coming mid-season but cup runs are always a bonus and we are absolutely delighted. My 2015 winners’ medal is in my mum’s house. She’s got it framed. If I get another it will go back there.”
Reaching the final alone is worth at least £1million to Inverness who are eyeing a double jackpot as they chase promotion back to the Premiership after six seasons in the second tier.
And Devine said: “Of course it’s massive for the club. We’ve spent a few years in the Championship which hasn’t been easy. We came close to getting back up last season. Any financial help can only benefit the team. The manager has had a lot to deal with. It’s well documented the injuries we’ve had. He knows the group he has. We are all in it together, stick by each other and keep plugging away. That’s what has got us here.”
Inverness were too strong for Falkirk at Hampden and deservedly booked their place in the June 3 showpiece. Dodds’ side were deadly in front of the Bairns’ goal where Mckay’s double took him onto the century mark for Inverness. And at the other end the Highlanders threw their bodies on the line at times to preserve the clean sheet.
In contrast, Falkirk gave away cheap goals and were wasteful with the few opportunities they fashioned. VAR handed Inverness the perfect start after five minutes when ref Nick Walsh was sent to the monitor after Wallace Duffy’s cross clipped Leon McCann’s hand.
McKay made no mistake from the spot and he had a huge role to play when Daniel Mackay doubled the lead in the 34th minute too. The veteran striker held the ball in before releasing the excellent Jay Henderson whose cross found Mackay in acres of space to head home from 10 yards.
Falkirk had threatened in between those goals and top scorer Callumn Morrison could only watch in disbelief as he rounded Mark Ridgers before seeing his goalbound 20 yard effort bend onto the post at the last minute. Kai Kennedy and Max Kucheriavyi both had goal bound drives heroically blocked by Robbie Deas as Inverness dug deep.
But the game was put to bed in the 57th minute when Hibs loanee Mackay crossed from the left for Mckay to guide home a volley for his 100th Caley Thistle goal.
Bairns sub Gary Oliver should have reduced the deficit in the 66th minute but his close range effort was headed off the line by the grounded Devine as Inverness’ ability to throw themselves in front of everything paid off again. At the other end Nathan Shaw was denied by the upright not once but twice as Caley looked to extend their lead.
Inverness have now lost just once in their last 12 outings in all competitions as their attention turns to trying to cement a play-off spot in Friday’s concluding Championship clash at home to Ayr.
Devine said: “It’s going to be tough. But we did it in the last round when we beat Kilmarnock and went on an amazing run in the league. Now we need to do that again. The final is a month away so there’s plenty of time to prepare for it.”
Meanwhile it was third time lucky for Sean Welsh on Saturday as he finally got a taste of Hampden cup fever after twice being cruelly denied by injury.
Now, after waiting a lifetime for the privilege, the Inverness skipper can’t wait for a repeat in just a month’s time as he looks to cement one of the biggest Scottish Cup Final shocks in living memory.
If anyone is deserving of a shot at glory it’s Welsh who missed out on lifting the Youth Cup with his boyhood heroes Hibs in 2009 with a broken leg. A decade later a broken foot ruled him out as Caley Thistle lost in the semi final to Hearts.
The midfielder could have been forgiven for thinking he was a Hampden curse. But after finally getting that monkey off his back against Falkirk on Saturday Welsh is now eyeing the biggest break of his career in the final.
The jubilant skipper - who is hoping to secure a promotion play-off spot in Friday’s Championship clash with Ayr - said: “I had played at Hampden before against Queens Park - but it was third time lucky for me in terms of the cups.
“I missed a youth cup final through injury and then missed the Scottish Cup semi against Hearts a few years ago. So this was my third chance of it and I’m delighted to be coming back for another game. You saw what it meant at the end of the semi, it’s huge for the group and for the supporters.
“The boys celebrated in the changing room and rightly so. We went into the game confident because we have been on a huge run for the last few months. And we’ve left Hampden even more confident of achieving what we want to.
“I think we can keep building on it, Friday will be another cup final against Ayr. We want to have a huge end to the season and tick the games off. We’ve been ruthless in rattling the games out, as a group we have shown a lot of determination.
“We know it’s going to be a huge challenge, we’re going to be huge underdogs but that suits us. We have proved before that you can’t write us off and we’ve already knocked two Premiership teams out so far.
“A couple of the boys beat Celtic in a semi when everyone expected them to get beat so the final will be a similar thing. That shows it can be done. Inverness has a great record of causing upsets over the years.
“We’ll try our best and see what happens. There’s not going to be any pressure on us, we’ve nothing to lose and I’ve already told the lads that. Everyone in the country will expect us to get beat so we’ll just go back to Hampden and embrace it.”
Welsh insists the endless hours spent on the road have got Inverness travelling in the right direction.
Away days in the Championship often consist of early morning departures and late night returns. And, with a massive month lying in wait in the league and cup, the captain is praying the journey leads to glory - .
He said: “I think at times we’re isolated up the road but that has brought us together. We do a lot of travelling and the boys are in each other’s pockets a lot but that’s a great thing for us and you can see the spirit on the pitch.
“Hopefully we can keep going now all the way to the end of the season. The club didn’t put that burden on us but everyone knows the financial rewards of getting to the final. It will help the club massively.
“The chairman came down to the dressing-room after the game and lets just say he was delighted. He was a happy man. If we can keep it going and get up through the play-offs then obviously that would be huge for Inverness.”
One man perhaps above all others has helped the Caley Jags tee-up a monumental month - veteran striker Billy Mckay.
The 34-year-old - in his third spell at the club - hit a double to down Falkirk on Saturday. Those goals took him onto the 100 mark for the club and to within just one of their all-time record goalscorer Dennis Wyness.
Welsh said: “For Billy, it’s some achievement to score 100 goals for the club. We know we can rely on him when we create chances for him and I thought he was ruthless against Falkirk. He got a couple of chances and took them both. The first was a very good penalty and the second was a great striker’s finish. He’s a massive player for us and huge credit to him for achieving it.”
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