A FORMER Crossgates Primrose player who tragically lost his life last year is to be remembered in a memorial charity match.

Liam McOmish passed away suddenly at the age of 21 on May 28, and one of his ex-teammates and close friends, Bailie Kay, has worked with the club to organise the match to raise funds for Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).

A Crossgates Primrose XI will face a Friends of Liam XI at Humbug Park, Crossgates, nearly a year after his passing, on Sunday, May 20 at 2.00pm.

Bailie first met Liam at the start of first year at Dunfermline High School and were mates ever since.

He described his friend as a "happy-go-lucky" young man and said his passing was a "total shock".

Bailie told the Times: "It was a feeling of disbelief that one of your close friends, who you had known so well, was going through these hard times.

"It was a massive shock to us all. Nobody knew what he was going through.

"All of his close friends knew what a popular guy he was, and when you seen all these tributes on social media, I think it would've shown his family how much of a well-liked guy he was in Dunfermline.

"SAMH have supported Liam's family a lot in the last year, so we all thought this would be the ideal charity to raise money for."

Kevan McArthur, Crossgates Primrose club secretary, who had known Liam since arriving at Humbug Park from Hillfield Swifts, at the age of 17, told the Times that everyone who knew him was "devastated" by the news.

He was delighted to help organise the upcoming challenge match, and added that it was an idea they had wanted to realise for a long time.

He said: "The club had always intended to do this in his memory.

"Bailie is a lifelong friend of Liam's and all credit has to go to him for approaching not only us, but Liam's family as well.

"We've been inundated with offers from people either wanting to help organise it or take part in the match itself. The response has been phenomenal.

"Liam is still a massive part of this club.

"We have a photo of him in the changing room and his name is still on the teamsheet."

Entry to the game is a £1 donation to SAMH, but Kevan is hoping friends and family can dig deep to raise as much money as possible for the charity.

Bailie and his friend Ross Wright are also running the Edinburgh Marathon on May 26 for SAMH in Liam's memory, with £730 already raised via the online fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bailie-kay