Gretna 2008 had been hoping for some firepower to bolster their Lowland League survival bid after a string of heavy defeats.
But they never bargained on Rangers striker and former England star Jermain Defoe walking through the door at Raydale at the weekend.
The Ibrox hitman took a trip to the border village on his weekend off as Gretna welcomed Whitehill Welfare in a crunch bottom-of-the-table clash.
But there was no chance of Defoe eloping - he was in attendance to lend support to his nephew Darnell Ramsay who was lining up for the away side.
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Gretna chairman Eric Thomson said: "One of the Whitehill lads had asked if he could leave a couple of tickets out because he had someone coming to watch him.
"That's pretty standard. But then Jermain Defoe walked in - we couldn't believe it!
"I can't speak highly enough of the guy. He was a credit to Rangers and his presence certainly helped to give our lads a lift.
"Jermain stopped for pictures with young fans and chatted away. We had members of the armed forces in attendance too and he stopped to have his picture taken with them at the end.
"If only we had known he was coming I think we could have packed the place out!"
Eddie Duff tweeted a pic of Defoe with a young Gretna fan James and said: "Not every day you sit watching a Gretna FC 2008 football match and Jermain Defoe is sitting next to you. What a nice guy to talk to, James was so happy as you can see."
Despite his Uncle Jermain's presence the day ended in misery for Ramsay and Whitehill as they lost 2-1 to remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
