A BIRTHDAY surprise at Kilmarnock Football Club has made a 2-year-old girl’s dreams come true after she met their mascot.

Amber McKnight travelled all the way from Edinburgh to Kilmarnock with her family to receive a very special experience courtesy of The Killie Community.

Her mother Louise reached out to the charity before Amber's birthday in the hopes of setting up a quick meeting with the team’s mascot, Captain Conker, who Amber has been obsessed with her whole life.

Instead, the whole family was invited over to Rugby Park for a very special experience.

The two-year-olds Captain Conkers plush is her prized possession.The two-year-old's Captain Conker plush is her prized possession. (Image: Louise McKnight) She said: “A huge shoutout to Rikki Wallace who is Captain Conker, because what an amazing person to work with kids that he is.

"He totally embraced all of Amber’s carnage and was like yeah let’s do it, and it was almost like she was playing with her best friend.

"That’s the only way I can describe it, you can see in her little mind this was not a mascot... this is her friend.”

The fascination with the mascot began after her uncle, who is a massive Killie fan, gifted her a Conker plush toy when she was only three weeks old.

Amber has sensory seeking issues, and the teddy has been a safety blanket for her throughout her life.

The two-year-old got the chance to play football with the mascot, meet her favourite Kilmarnock players and was given a special Conker teddy from midfielder Rory Mackenzie.

The experience was a very emotional one for everyone in her family.

Louise added: “We actually cried; I’m not going to lie. To have Amber in what we would call for her a ‘high emotional situation’ she was so grounded and so confident, and it was something special for us as a family.

“The fact that she could go all that time with no meltdowns, to not actually need to bite anything or comfort herself or anything, she just went away and played football with Conker and it was the nicest thing to watch.”

Football is a big part of the lives of the whole family.Football is a big part of the lives of the whole family. (Image: Louise McKnight) When the family was ready to leave, the charity refused to charge them for it, accepting a donation from them instead.

Football is a big part of the entire family’s lives, and Amber even plays the sport at Super Strikers Edinburgh.

The Killie Community is a charity that uses football to support everyone in their community and provide programmes and support across Ayrshire for people of all ages, stages, backgrounds and circumstances.

Mairi MacKenzie, ASN Lead at The Killie Community, said: “The Killie Community runs groups across Ayrshire providing opportunities for young people with varying sensory issues, so when Amber’s mum got in touch, our trained staff and volunteers were able to make her day extra special.

"Our club’s mascot is particularly good with young, neurodiverse supporters, so this allowed Amber to feel she was in a safe space with Captain Conker straight away.

“With my role at the charity as ASN Lead, it’s day like this, from welcoming a rather anxious Amber into the stadium, to seeing her running about on the pitch with Captain Conker, that make it all worthwhile.”