Caps ain't finished yet as Flyers roll into town

Riley Emmerson must look back on those autumn nights when his Edinburgh Capitals team was chalking up big wins over Cardiff, Nottingham and Sheffield, and wonder if it was all a dream.

It’s been a fantastic season in many respects, but one that is now destined to end on an all too familiar note to fans across the Forth.

Tenth place and out of the play-of race, Caps may be playing for pride, but they still want to sign off on a winning note, and that makes them dangerous opponents to Fife Flyers this Sunday.

Aware of a big travelling support coming his way - one that will heavily outnumber the home support - Emo has issued a rallying call to fans to get behind Caps.

‘’Show ‘em up and show ‘em, how real Scots make noise’’ he tweeted.

He evoked the ‘Crazy Gang’ ethos of Millwall to underline how they were going to approach the closing fixtures. Going gently into the night isn’t part of the script. We could be in for a fun swansong.

Caps, and Emmerson, really deserve better than tenth spot.

The first year coach has done more than most of his predecessors to give the fans something to get excited about again.

He didn’t just talk the team up - he built one that played with spirit and style, and he unearthed a few gems of imports who all caught the eye early on.

Successes included beating Cardiff (6-2), Nottingham (5-3) and then inflicting not one, but three defeats on Sheffield.

Hopes that this could be the breakthrough year saw the team stay high in the standings, competing, challenging and raising the noise levels at the old rink in the shadow of Murrayfield Stadium.

But, it’ll go down as one of the great ‘’what ifs’’ of the season … what if Caps had kept going?

Who’d have been squeezed to the margins of the play-offs - and how would the conference have played out?

And what if the players who left had all stayed, and the team Emo built simply motored on, gaining in confidence and building the momentum that drives all successful clubs forward?

There’s no doubt Caps were stung by the loss of top scoring forward Ryan Hayes who wanted out, went to Sheffield and then discovered the grass wasn’t any greener as he was released after a handful of games.