Irvine Meadow draw cup holders again

Oct 17 2008 by John Woods, Irvine Herald

A DAY out for Buffs fans, a return to his roots for Vics boss Rab Madden and an astonishing coincidence which will send a shiver down the spines of the Meadow faithful.

That was the scenario when Sunday’s Scottish Junior Cup draw paired the Irvine giants with the holders – for the second year in succession.

Last year’s first round draw sent Meadow to holders Linlithgow Rose where they promptly blew a two-goal lead before crashing out 3-2.

This time round Meadow have been paired with equally big-spending Bathgate Thistle who beat Cumnock 2-1 to lift the trophy at Rugby Park earlier this year – but on this occasion they have home advantage and they simply must make it count as another early exit does not bear thinking about.

“It’s an unbelievable coincidence” said Meadow secretary Iain McQueen.

“However at least we’re at home and I reckon Bathgate will be less pleased with the draw than we are.

“But you have to beat the big teams at some point if you’re going to win the cup so you might as well start early – and anyway we owe Bathgate one since they beat us in the semi-final in 2006.

“Irvine Meadow are more than capable of winning this tie and I firmly expect us to win it.”

Kilwinning Rangers secretary Tommy Moore was certain his side would shrug off their poor form in time for the trip to Newburgh.

“At the moment we don’t know much about them but that will change before the date of the tie,” he said.

“However it is the type of game a Kilwinning Rangers side should be looking to win and we’ll be very disappointed if we don’t go through. From the fans’ point of view it looks ideal – a day out at Auchtermuchty sounds like just the job.”

There’s a real emotional pull for Irvine Vics boss Rab Madden as he takes his team to St Anthony’s.

"Personally this is a belter of tie for me,” he said. “I had some great times there as a player and Ants boss James McKenna is a very close friend of mine. He was on the phone straight after the draw and I could sense that he is also relishing the challenge.

“But both of us will put our friendship to the side on the day and give it everything we have to get a win. So it promises to be very interesting tie and one that we certainly feel gives us a very good chance of reaching the next round".

"However all that is a few weeks away right now and before we go to Govan we’ve got a West Cup tie with Ashfield and a very important league match at home to Saltcoats. So we’ve plenty to look forward to."

Ardeer Thistle have a real chance of making progress after being drawn against a Craigmark side who sit just one place above them in the league.

Despite their results Ardeer are improving, and if they keep progressing they will have a chance of reaching the third round.

Dalry Thistle – if they can see off Dunbar United on Saturday in their delayed first round tie – will then face an extremely tough task at Glenafton.

“This is as hard as it comes as their win over Meadow on Saturday proves,” said manager John Garroch.

“It’s as tough as it gets, but we have to get past Dunbar before we can even start thinking about Glenafton.”

Turn to page 118 for full draw.