Celtic visit ‘bigger than The Who’ for Auchinleck Talbot in Scottish Cup
Former Talbot left-back Gordon Pope has fond, but ultimately painful, memories of the last time the part-timers came up against top-flight opposition 14 years ago.
A brave, backs-to-the-wall effort held Hearts at bay until goalkeeper Andy Leishman, who had earlier saved a penalty, fumbled as he collided with team-mate Bryan Slaven and Gordon Smith slotted the hosts ahead with six minutes left.
Throwing caution to the wind, Talbot won a free-kick and Pope was played through the Hearts defence only for the linesman to flag for offside as he was slotting home what he thought would be an equaliser five minutes into stoppage time.
“It leaves a ‘what if’,” Pope tells BBC Scotland as he watches a replay of the incident. “It is a tight decision and it’s just one of those moments in the history of the club.
“We had never played at that level [fourth round] before, so going back to Rugby Park for a replay would have been massive for the club.”
James Latta, who was captaining Talbot for the first time that day, recalls: “Most of our team had played at senior level at some point and we knew if we stayed tight and stuck to our formation, we’d have a chance depending on how Hearts played.”
However, the former defender recognises that they face an even tougher task against Scottish champions who have had a new lease of life after club legend Martin O’Neill returned as interim manager after the sacking of Wilfried Nancy.
“If you asked me that last week, it would have been a good time to play them,” Latta says. “It would have been hard before – it is going to be a lot harder now.”