Up for The Cis Cup

Last updated : 15 March 2007 By Article compiled by Killie Mad
KILMARNOCK forward Steven Naismith reckons the only thing which can top his CIS Cup semi-final hat-trick against Falkirk would be winning the trophy at Hampden on Sunday. The 20-year-old was Killie's match-winner in the 3-0 win over the Bairns at Fir Park in January, scoring with two crisp finishes and a penalty. That memorable performance ensured the Scotland Under-21 international picked up the young player of the round award yesterday. But Naismith thinks victory over Hibernian in this weekend's final would be even sweeter than the treble which got his team to Hampden Park. advertisementHe said: "Obviously if we were to win at Hampden that would be much better than scoring in the semi-final and another hat-trick would be delightful. "Just to score and be in the winning team would overtake the semi-final victory, but we will need to play to the best of our ability if we are to win. "I have never played at Hampden, so I am sure it will be a wonderful occasion and it would be a great achievement to win, but we are just trying to treat it as if it is another game in order to keep our nerves down." If Kilmarnock beat Hibs then it would be the Rugby Park club's first trophy since they won the Scottish Cup by defeating Falkirk in 1997. Naismith may have just been a child when that memorable 1-0 victory took place, but he was at Ibrox for the game. And the Irvine-born player knows exactly what it would mean for the town if they were to win their first trophy for 10 years on Sunday. He said: "I was 10 in 1997 and I was at the game in what was a great day for the club and the town in general. "That was the Scottish Cup, though, so hopefully we can do the same in the League Cup and it would probably be the best week of most of the players' careers if we could win it." Meanwhile, Kilmarnock forward Paul Di Giacomo admits it would be a mistake to be too confident of his place in the club's cup final line-up. The 24-year-old is eager to face Hibernian and scored twice in a 3-2 victory for the Rugby Park club against Inverness on Saturday to stake his claim. He appears to be in top form ahead of this Sunday's showpiece and has linked up well with central strikers Colin Nish and Naismith in Kilmarnock's last two games. But the former Stirling player is still sweating over whether he will be picked by manager Jim Jefferies to take part in what would be the highest profile match of his career to date. Di Giacomo said: "If selected it will definitely be the sort of thing you dream about as a young boy."