Players to face off in bid to win trophy named after Dumbarton club legend

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Four sides will face off this weekend to win a trophy named in honour of one of St Patrick’s FP’s most influential figures. St Pat’s, St Mungo’s, St Joseph’s, and Inverclyde Amateurs will play over two days to lift the John McMurrich Trophy, named after the Dumbarton club’s greatest ever manager.

John guided St Pat’s to two Scottish Cup wins, seven Scottish Amateur League titles and five League Cups during his 25 years in charge, establishing the club as one of the strongest in the amateur game.However, tragedy struck when John, who lived in Bonhill, passed away suddenly after a heart attack in 2017 at the age of just 63.Keen to keep his memory alive, St Pat’s boss John O’Brien and coach Tommy Graham revived the trophy – with both having played under McMurrich.Tommy told the Lennox: “Before John came down to our club we were just another amateur football team.

We had no real standing in the game or anything like that.“By the time he had finished with us then everyone in amateur football in Scotland knew who St Pat’s were.“We were very successful.“In the season just gone, we won the West of Scotland Cup final which is probably the hardest trophy other than the Scottish Cup to win.“We also got to the Scottish Cup final last year and won the Central League, which is a hard league to win.“None of that would’ve been possible without John McMurrich.“When he passed away it was a shock for us.

He was still young and kept himself fit.“He was probably the most important guy in the history of St Pat’s, and we’ve been going since the 1950s.“He’s sorely missed.”McMurrich was born in Dumbarton and played for Balloch Juveniles, Vale of Leven Juniors and Glasgow Perthshire, before sustaining a career-ending knee injury.This injury put