His heroics at Hearts once earned him a trial at Tynecastle, but Andy Leishman admits he is relishing the prospect of heading to the other side of Edinburgh this weekend.
The experienced stopper, 35, was part of the Auchinleck Talbot side who narrowly went down 1-0 to the Jambos back in 2012.
So impressive was his performance in Gorgie – which included a fine penalty stop – he was invited to train with the Hearts first team. While the move to full time football never quite came to fruition, 13 years on Leishman is hoping to be between the sticks as the Bankies head to Leith on Saturday.
Leishman said: “It’s three times I’ve played against Hearts and now we’re playing the other side of Edinburgh so hopefully it’s fourth time lucky. As long as we try our hardest and give a good account of ourselves, the day will take care of itself.
“I was much younger the first time I played against Hearts and we only got beat 1-0, I had a really good game and saved a penalty but we lost a late goal which was heartbreaking.
“After the game they actually invited me up for a training week, but I’d sprained my wrist at the time. They said they’d phone me back in a month’s time and see how it was, and they actually did. I went up and trained with them, had a good session which was a good experience but nothing quite came of it.
“To go full time is every boy’s young dream, and to be fair we’ve got boys in our team who could go to a better level as well.”
With over 2200 Bankies heading to the capital, the Bankies number one added: “Everyone is buzzing to be fair. It’s great for the club because they’ve not experienced this in a long time. With a bounce game on Monday and analysis on Tuesday, the boys are just buzzing to get in and about it.
“The pressure was never going to be on us so it’s a free hit. Hibs are absolutely flying so we’ve just got to go out there and enjoy the day and see what happens from there.”
You can buy tickets for Saturday’s match at Easter Road here.
