Irvine Meadow can win Scottish Cup tie

Nov 27 2009 by John Woods, Irvine Herald

IT may be a clash between a Junior side and one from the Senior ranks but Irvine Meadow midfielder Chris Strain Junior reckons his team have the experience to pull off a cup shock on Saturday.

“Looking at the game from the outside you’d expect Arbroath to have the more experienced squad, but we’ve got players in our side who’ve been with the likes of Ayr United and Stranraer so we’re quite used to playing at that level.”

Strain came up against teams like Morton, Hibs and Dunfermline in his time at Somerset and knows what Scottish Cup football is all about.

And, he feels his side can shock the football world by knocking Arbroath out of the competition on Saturday.

“Barry Sellars in midfield is a very tidy player and is probably the pick of the bunch while up front Stevie Hyslop has pace to burn and a nose for goal,” he said.

“But we’ve got some very good players in the middle of the park too and Chris Robertson showed he was more than capable of handling Hislop when he faced him with Ayr United.”

Strain feels that while there is a huge gulf in class between the top Junior teams and sides in the Premier League or First Division, the gap is far closer when it comes to Second Division outfits.

“They’re part-timers just like ourselves with the same mix of players,” he said.

“Arbroath are used to playing on ploughed fields and will try to make it a physical game but I reckon they’ll be surprised when they see our pitch.

“It’s as good a surface as any in the country and perfectly suited for the type of football Irvine Meadow like to play.

“We’re flying the flag not just for Irvine Meadow and Ayrshire Junior football here.

“We’re also flying the flag for Scottish Junior football and so are Auchinleck Talbot.

“People think Junior football games are just crude kicking matches but that’s far from the case.

“A lot of the teams play some really good football and I include Talbot and ourselves among them.

“I’d love Irvine Meadow to win on Saturday and make history and I think we can.

“And I know they’re our big rivals – but I’d be really delighted if Talbot could beat Stirling Albion too.”