TRANENT-BORN and bred Ben Miller has described helping his hometown club to promotion as “the best moment” of his career.
The Belters have Scottish Lowland Football League action to look forward to next season after defeating Darvel on Saturday.
It marks the latest in an increasing line of milestones for Miller, who is the longest-serving player in the Foresters Park squad.
He was part of the squad that won the East Region South Division, as well as lifting the Fife & Lothians Cup and East of Scotland Cup, before representing and scoring for the club in the Scottish Cup.
He said: “This tops everything.
“Playing in the Scottish Cup against Stirling Albion was good but this is the best moment of my football career – unless we go and win the Lowland League!
“I don’t think it will come much better than this.
“I was saying to my friends that it is hard to explain.
“My mum and dad are from Tranent and I’m honestly so proud of everybody.”
It has been a long, hard season for the Belters, who won the East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) Premier Division on the last day with victory over Jeanfield Swifts.
The high of the triumph over Penicuik Athletic on goal difference at the top of the table was immediately followed by the first game in a three-way play-off with the winners of the South of Scotland Football League and West of Scotland Football League.
A 7-0 victory over St Cuthbert Wanderers set up a winner-takes-all contest with the WoSFL champions Darvel.
The Ayrshire side had beaten former Junior heavyweights Auchinleck Talbot to the league title and boasted a squad with more than 2,500 SPFL appearances.
However, former Tranent Primary School and Ross High School pupil Miller revealed that the celebrations from Darvel on winning the league had been used as motivation against them.
He said: “Seeing their celebrations after they won the league, their chairman said about looking forward to the Lowland League, that kind of fired us up.
“We were talking about that and they were going to underestimate us and they did.
“I don’t think they expected us to go there and press them up the pitch.
“We watched them against Jeanfield Swifts earlier in the season and they lost 3-2.
“Jeanfield pressed them high up and we did our homework.
“The way they celebrated fired us right up and they did underestimate us and it massively backfired.”
Tranent’s fellow former Junior clubs Kelty Hearts and Bonnyrigg Rose have both enjoyed success in the Lowland League – the fifth tier of Scotland’s footballing pyramid – in recent years after coming through the EoSFL.
Time will tell if Tranent can match those achievements and reach the SPFL.
Miller, 27, was looking forward to testing himself at the higher level, with Tranent having defeated Lowland league trio Edinburgh University, East Stirlingshire and Broomhill in the Scottish Cup over the last two years.
He said: “Obviously, there are a few big teams in the league.
“Berwick and East Kilbride are teams who have been in this situation before.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here