Former Highland League 'stopper is safe pair of hands

by Andy McLaren

Former Elgin City goalkeeper John Calder has no regrets about leaving the Scottish Football League to play for amateur side RGU.

John, now the football president for Robert Gordon University, has also played for Inverness Caley Thistle, Nairn and Fraserburgh and admitted he turned down an offer to return to the Highland League in January.

From left: Richard Taylor, goalkeeper John Calder and player-manager Ian Campbell. 

But the 25-year-old believes some amateur footballers are good enough to play in the Highland League.

He said: “I have enjoyed every minute of playing football in the amateur leagues.

“I still don’t know what I want to do next season but for just now, I’m concentrating on winning some silverware with RGU.

“Elgin offered me a new contract at the start of this season but I decided to leave because the travelling was taking up too much of my time.

“As football president, I wanted to encourage as much success for the university as possible which is one of the reasons why I joined the team.”

RGU, a team made up of past and present students, have only lost two games all season and have made it into the final of this year’s White Cup.

RGU's GianPiero Franchi holds off Aberdeen University's Dean Fletcher as his side push for the opening goal in their derby encounter.

Calder, an accounting and finance student, spent two seasons at Elgin before joining RGU at the start of the season.

And John, who also had a spell at Peterhead, admits he may be tempted to play at a higher level in the future.

“The offer to play in the Highland League is there if I want it but I’m 100% focused on playing with RGU in the amateur leagues,” said Calder.

“There is no reason why we can’t win three trophies this season as I believe we can also win the North of Scotland Cup.

“The club were close to winning a trophy last season so it would be amazing if we could clinch some silverware as a reward for the guys’ efforts.”

RGU only enter three cups and were close to gaining promotion to amateur football’s Premier Division in 2011 and 2012, finishing third in both seasons.

Jordan Smith looks shows good skill to get past eventual goalscorer Robert Armstrong.

Player-manager Ian Campbell, who is in his tenth season with the Aberdeen outfit, is confident John’s arrival will boost their chances of achieving the treble.

He said: “Every year, we try to build a strong side with the main aim of getting students involved with the club.

“Having a goalkeeper from the Third Division has given the team a new lease of life and increased the squad’s confidence.

“You can see he is a brilliant goalkeeper with the way he talks to his defence and the way he distributes the ball so we are very lucky to have him.”

Meanwhile, RGU progressed to the fifth round of the North of Scotland Amateur Cup with a convincing 2-0 win over rivals Aberdeen University in the derby.

An own goal from Aberdeen University goalkeeper Chris Ryan and a fierce drive from RGU’s Robert Armstrong means they will now face Cove Thistle for a place in the semi-finals.