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Sandy Mackie was born and raised in Glasgow where Rangers FC plays out of the iconic Ibrox Park stadium. He too is a lifer and while he might not admit it out loud, he is ecstatic to see his club taking the brand new field at TD Place for a 7 p.m. kick-off.

“After 38 years, I never thought I’d see the day when I watched the blue jersey playing here,” he says.

Mackie is going into yet another season as head coach of the Carleton University men’s soccer team but his soccer credentials go way back — to 1987 as a matter of fact.

That was the year the National Capital Pioneers made their debut in the Canadian Soccer League, playing in a stadium in Aylmer. Mackie was the assistant coach of that squad.

Unfortunately, the Pioneers ran into money troubles and the franchise was taken over by a community group, renamed Ottawa Intrepid and moved across the river to the Terry Fox Stadium.

Mackie, who was there for 18 months, has a hatful of memories including friendlies against Dutch premier team Den Haag and the Italian national amateur team. Those games took place at Lansdowne Park in a stadium that most certainly couldn’t compare with the stadium or with the artificial turf onto which his Rangers – on the final leg of their North American tour – will stride Wednesday evening.

The moment is not lost on Fury FC coach Marc Dos Santos, but his concentration will be on how such a game can benefit his team.

Fury FC lost 1-0 to New York Cosmos on Sunday in their TD Place debut that attracted an NASL single game attendance record of 14,493. The team provided its fans with a performance that deserved victory but came away with no points. The passing and possession game Dos Santos is instilling in the squad was on clear display. The Fury deserved a better fate against the Cosmos, who are the NASL champions and considered the top team in the league.