Following their win last month, Clach will kick off their bid for the Scottish Cup on 2 January. Here is how they got this far...

The Lilywhites lifted the Qualifying Cup for the first time in 24 years after a 3 - 1 victory against Keith at Borough Briggs last month. Manager Peter Corbett paid tribute to the team spirit.

"There was a great Merkinch support who were very noisy, very vocal... The supporters mood summed up how the game went. We were really hyped up and Keith were not," he said.

Peter confirmed the team got a good welcome when they got back to the Clach Social Club that night and remembers the last time the Q Cup was installed in the Clach sideboard. Back in 1974 he was a player. Remembering, he said: "Good game...good night."

Paying credit to the work of scorers; Jamie MacPherson, Bruce McCraw and Alan Keddie, Peter said the win comes down to teamwork. "The whole team did excellent, there was emotional scenes for everybody. We depend on a lot of voluntary work here, it’s great that they were there to enjoy the victory and the spectacle. The players get all the adulation but it’s important we remember the people who work behind the scenes", he said.

Clach has a proud history. One of the founding teams in the Highland League the 1947-48 team performed a unique clean sweep of all the north football trophies. Peter Corbett humbly admits they have had their share of downs. "We’ve come through difficult times in the 1980’s and we had to sell the ground so we’re preparing to move out." The club survived their brush with bankruptcy by selling Grant Street Park to developers and are set to move in 2000. They hope to find funds to build a new ground near the Longman stadium."

The club has always enjoyed strong local support. "We don’t know what effect moving will have on the supporters because there is a great affection for Clach here", Peter said proudly. "The supporters are great, they say, when we win the lottery we’ll look after the Clach." Meanwhile people who want a place in history can go to see some of the last games played at Grant Street Park.

Clachnacuddin were established in 1886 and take their name from a stone which was once used by women to rest tubs of washing on route back from the river. Clachnacuddin, or the ‘Stone of Tubs’, can now be found outside the Town House. The name attracts a lot of attention for the football club. "We get requests from football buffs all over the world for badges and programmes because they love the name," said Peter.