Junior clubs finally get the chance to play cups ties after big freeze

Jan 6 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

FIVE county clubs hope to play their Emirates Scottish Cup third round ties this weekend – at the fifth attempt.

Arctic winter weather and a two-week festive break means that clubs have been idle now for seven weeks.

On the fitness front there are positive noises coming from various treatment rooms as players who would have been ruled out for the ties’ original dates – November 27 – are ready to play.

But news isn’t quite so positive regarding the fitness of playing surfaces across the county, as weather forecasts have created a further doubt about the fixture card being completed this weekend.

Tie of the round as far as county clubs are concerned is at Hannah Park where Super League First Division sides Shotts Bon Accord and Bellshill clash – but the likelihood of this game going ahead is dubious.

As he prepared to lead his squad into an indoor training session at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell on Monday night, Shotts boss Tony McInally explained: “The latest report I’ve had over the weekend brought mixed news.

“Snow is now off the pitch but the grass in front of the stand is still quite hard, while the area in front of the dug-outs is quite soft.

“While we are reasonably hopeful at this stage of the week I think it’s more likely that it will be next Saturday rather than this weekend before we can play this tie.”

At Moor Park, where Lanark United are at home to Super League First Division pace-setters Whitletts Vics, match secretary Tam Anderson was “fairly optimistic” on Monday that the tie might be played this weekend.

He said: “We’re hopeful the game will go ahead, but it all depends on how severe the weather will be towards the end of the week.

“The surface water after the earlier thaw has now been cleared away but it could all depend on how deep the frost has been in the ground when we get another thaw, and what happens to the surface water.”

Larkhall Thistle are due to take on a team from a higher division for the third time this season when Greenock come calling on Saturday.

At the start of the week manager Duncan Sinclair was “fairly hopeful” about the game going ahead.

He said: “Our guys managed to roll the pitch on the Sunday after the last thaw, so the surface is flat and we are hopeful the tie can go ahead on Saturday.

“We’ll just be glad when we can get back to playing football again.”

Blantyre Vics manager Ian Rankin has had to re-think some of his tactical strategy as his relegation-threatened side prepares to face a Broughty Athletic side which has undergone several personnel changes over the last month.

Albeit as a result of the most freakish circumstances, County bosses will no doubt be glad to be still in the Cup in January and have proved to be innovative in negotiating fairly regular training venues for their teams.

Shotts’ Tony McInally said: “We’ve managed regular Monday and Wednesday slots at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility and a Wednesday night slot at the Fir Park complex.

“But it has been frustrating for the players, knowing that there’s no reward in store after putting in two hard nights’ work at training with no likelihood of a game on the Saturday.

“We’re fortunate in that we have a good group of lads here who have accepted [the situation] in the meantime and have still worked hard – and regularly – in the training sessions.

“While all the niggling injuries have cleared up, a couple of players have been affected by a flu-like virus.”

McInally has been in signing talks over the holiday period and is confident he will clinch a deal as soon as various offices resume work this week following the festive break.

A spate of injuries which hit Lanark’s Super Premier League form in the weeks leading up to the big freeze have now cleared up, but attacking midfielder Paul Woods is still out – and is on holiday in Australia.

Secretary Tam Anderson said: “We’ve managed a few indoor training sessions at Soccerworld on the M8 on the outskirts of Glasgow when we missed out on our regular Monday night session, as St Aidan’s High School in Wishaw was closed for the holidays.

“We also missed out on our Thursday session at St Andrew’s High in Coatbridge, which we share with Albion Rovers, when the sports centre was closed for a fortnight.”