The Big Green's special night out.
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Forres Mechanics supporters and local businessmen are being urged to come forward to join (or add their support to) the Ryan Green Testimonial Committee as the man who all but clinched the title gets ready to celebrate his tenth year at Mosset Park.
Former player and a team mate of “Big Green” since the age of ten, Steven Rattray has asked anyone who is able to help out to get in touch with him as they look to plan a series of events and a testimonial match.
Rattray said, “Although we have been aware of Ryan’s testimonial year being in the offing for a few months now I felt it was important not to distract the team or the club from the focus of the title challenge.
“Everyone had enough to think about but with the season ending spectacularly and the heads now beginning to clear after some memorable celebrations it is the right time to bring as many people together as possible to ensure it is a good season for Ryan.
“There are a number of people who have said they would help out behind the scenes but we need to put together a group that will include a main committee and those with the willing to help support and market the events. If anyone is interested in coming on board to make sure this happens they can call me on 01343 842776, e-mail via steven.rattray@ngrfoundation.co.uk or contact me through Facebook”
Green himself spent the weekend with the rest of the squad on their end of season trip to Belfast and the harvesting assistant with James Jones & Sons in Mosstodloch was acclimatising himself to returning to work.
The 36 year old admitted it was tough getting up for another Monday morning. “I don’t feel to bad but I am tired as I am sure a lot of the lads are. We had a great laugh although Belfast is an unusual city in terms of not having the city centre approach to nightlife. With Hannibal and Houdini we have a few new nicknames that will liven up pre-season banter I am sure”.
Looking back at his ninth season with the Mechanics Green revealed that it almost never happened with a number of offers coming his way last summer with Buckie Thistle, Nairn County and Lossiemouth all rumoured to have been chasing his signature.
Having been on two year deals for the majority of his career the striker was unsure what to make of the one year contract put in front of him at the end of last term.
“Maybe I was wrong to assume that having been on a two year deal throughout my time here that I would have been offered a two year contract at the end of last season and it was a bit of a shock to the system not to get that.
“I had hoped for a two year deal and I wasn’t sure what to think at that point because it might have suggested the club didn’t see my role as being as important as it had been which was disappointing.
“However I wasn’t looking to go anywhere else. I have been here for that long and enjoyed being a part of the dressing room and the club so I really couldn’t see myself going anywhere else so I accepted the offer after some deliberation.
“I did look at the bigger picture, with Lee Fraser and Garry Tweedie starting as the front two while we had added Willie Barron and Matty Davidson as well as having Kyle Scott who can play up there as well, but I wanted to stay and fight for my place.”
Despite beginning the season on the bench it wasn’t long before the striker forced his way into the starting line up.
“You want the team to win but you also want to be involved as much as possible so we were plugging away picking teams off at the start of the season and you bide your time on the bench wondering when you are going to get the chance.
“I am not the sort of boy to complain, I just knuckle down and work hard in training and in the end a Rothes game in midweek saw Tweeds working and from there I came in and got a run of games starting up front with Lee,.
“That was as good a spell as I have had in a while and playing up front with Lee the way he was playing was brilliant. He gave everyone else a boost. His influence in games and the way he was scoring goals gave everyone the confidence and he spurred everyone else on. He is a big honest hard working lad and it worked well for us both at the time.
“It wasn’t about scoring goals at that time it was more about the overall play and the team winning. We did quite well over the next couple of months and the run lasted up until the Irvine Meadow game where things just didn’t happen. Fom there on I was used more sparingly.”
A couple of injuries meant that Green had to watch while Kyle Scott and Willie Barron became the regular front two in the absence of Lee Fraser and Garry Tweedie but the father of two saw his patience rewarded as he scored the goal which many fans see as being the one that took the title to Mosset Park.
“Kyle and Willie Barron came in, along with Stevie Ross. The three of us (Barron, Ross, Green) were in a similar situation in terms of not getting a regular run and it just seemed to happen for them for a while so it was all about trying to make an impact from the bench.
“As a sub we were standing at the side urging the lads on. While you want to get on you are egging everyone on to do well. The team was working and the points were being racked up and you knew what the team was going to be as long as you got the chance you took it.”
That chance came at The Haughs as, after a number of missed chances Green was brought on. “That was one of those games where the chances were there but it just wasn’t happening and I was lucky enough to get a decent enough run out and the goal to seal the victory. It was a big relief for everybody it was an unbelievable feeling.
“I don’t know if it was a personal feeling or one within the whole squad but I didn’t think for one second that we were going to draw or get beat even though we were missing chance after chance. I had the feeling inside that I was going to score and that something might happen for me and grateful that it did.”
Describing that fateful moment he continued, “Stevie Ross had the ball on the left hand side and fired in a great shot keeper parried it in the central area. I happened to be in the right place at the right time.
“I saw the defender coming in from the right and just thought I had to get some more on it, so blasted it with my right peg and it flew right into the middle of the net. I took off to the far side, it has been a while since I have growled after scoring but there was a fair adrenalin rush. It was unbelievable, the crowd was going mad all the players were over and my arms were pumping, pushing folk out of the way and growling. It was just a mixture of adrenalin, aggression, relief and absolute delight.”
That goal gave Forres a 1-0 win which meant three points from the last two games was to be enough to clinch the title and that arrived courtesy of a Ryan Christie own goal on the Saturday.
In the hours and days that have followed Green has been approached many times by fans thanking him for that goal, the last scored by a Can Can in the title winning campaign, and that has meant a lot to him.
“Obviously when you are not playing as much as you like to be to have all the fans coming up and talking about that goal makes you feel better within yourself. We train hard all season and give our all and to make that little difference in that split second made it feel all worthwhile and it was great to see how much it has meant to so many people”
