St Mirren draw minnows in Scottish Cup

Dec 1 2009 by Gavin Pennie, Paisley Daily Express

SAINTS boss Gus MacPherson last night expressed his relief after St Mirren were handed a home tie against either Cowdenbeath or Alloa Athletic in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

The draw was made at Hampden yesterday afternoon and Saints fans will be expecting the Buddies to progress with minimum fuss as they enjoy home advantage against lower league opposition.

Cowdenbeath, who are currently top of the Second Division, drew 0-0 with Alloa, who are in fourth place in the same league, on Saturday in their third round clash at Central Park.

And MacPherson insists his players will give their fourth round opponents the utmost respect – whoever ends up winning the replay.

He told Express Sports: “What everybody looks for in the cup is a home tie and we’ve got one.

“However, there are plenty of SPL games to be played before this cup tie comes around.

“And, whoever we get, we’ll give them the utmost respect.

“It will be a difficult game when it comes around, as it usually is when you play teams from a lower division.

“So there’s no doubt we’ll prepare properly for it.”

MacPherson believes that both Cowdenbeath and Alloa will relish the chance to take on a SPL team.

He added: “They will certainly look forward to coming to a brand new stadium.

“And I’m sure both teams will think they have a shot at getting a shock result against us.”

If Alloa make it through, it could be a homecoming of sorts for defender Scott Walker.

He helped Saints lift the First Division title a decade ago.

The fourth round tie is scheduled to be played at St Mirren Park on Saturday, January 9.

St Mirren enjoyed an impressive run in last season’s Scottish Cup.

The club made it all the way to the semi-finals before being defeated by eventual winners Rangers.