Can Irvine Meadow continue Hibs Cup hoodoo?
A Junior challenge is the first hurdle for the Hibs Cup quest.
The Scottish Cup has become a large weight around the neck of Hibernian football club. The trophy is in its 125th but it is over 100 years since Hibs last won the tournament.
The 1901/02 season was the last time the old trophy made it to Leith and the Hibs fans would love for that run to break. First up are Irvine Meadow, the first Junior club to put a League team out of the Scottish Cup.
Hibs fans like to have a moan about not getting the rub of the green in the Cup. Whether it is the absence of it from their shores in over a century or just a feeling they get hard ties too often, there is a slight wariness between Hibs fans and the Scottish Cup.
When fans hope for a home tie against a lower league opposition, they rarely get their wish but any Hibs fan who asked for that today will feel their luck is in. A match involving an SPL team up against a Junior side has to go one way doesn’t it?
In fact, some of the talk on hibs.net has seen some posters hoping for double figures.
Right away though, that self-deprecating humour kicked in and another poster remarked that the attendance would be much bigger than that. Good to see that the Scottish Cup hasn’t taken the sense of humour away from the Hibees.
Mind you, with local rivals Hearts being handed a trip to Aberdeen, it’s been a fun day all round to be a Hibee.
So yes, Hibs should win, even with a bit to spare but complacency is a bad trait in Scottish football and you can bet that Irvine Meadow will be giving it their all.
Firstly, many of the Junior clubs are able to provide facilities and wages in excess of many SFL clubs. Without being privy to the financial outgoings of Irvine Meadow, this is not necessarily the equivalent of Hibs playing a team at the bottom of Division Three.
Many neutrals would like to see Hibs win the Cup as it has been so long but you can bet that every neutral will be hoping for an Irvine Meadow win…or even to just avoid defeat.
The romance of the Cup can be a cliché and overstated but in this instance, Irvine Meadow will be getting a lot of best wishes. And lets face it, its not often people from Ayrshire have the will of the nation behind them!
All in all, Hibs should be making it to the 5th round of the Active Nation Scottish Cup with a bit to spare but you just never know. After all, back in 1902, you would never have been able to convince a Hibs fan they would never win the trophy again that Century.
The thing is though; this is a draw that sees both sets of fans happy.
The Active Nation Scottish Cup Fourth-Round draw in full:
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Motherwell
Hamilton v Rangers
Morton or Dumbarton v Celtic
Hibernian v Irvine Meadow
St Mirren v Cowdenbeath or Alloa Athletic
Raith Rovers or Peterhead v Airdrie United
Dunfermline v Stenhousemuir or Cove Rangers
Forfar v St Johnstone
Clyde or Livingston v Dundee
Albion Rovers v Stirling Albion
Aberdeen v Hearts
Edinburgh City v Montrose
Partick Thistle v Dundee United
Ross County v Inverurie Loco Works
Ayr United v Wick Academy or Brechin
Kilmarnock v Falkirk
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Unless they had drawn Rangers/Celtic/Kilmarnock away I don’t think Meadow could have had a better draw. The club chairman was on the TV last night saying this tie will make enough that it will keep them going for two year.
As far as wages go some of the better players are on just over £300 a week though I don’t know what bonus system is in operation.
Standards wise I’d say Meadow are around the mid way mark in the first division and are hoping to move to a new custom built stadium soon.
Much as I would love to see a shock I can’t see them causing Hibs much bother though for punters taking a bet with Hibs at -3 might be worth a wee flutter.
We like getting betting tips at WeKnowSFA…we won’t be handing many out though
It’s the sort of draw that most people would have wished for the Meadow.
Hopefully there will be an attractive pricing structure to ensure a big crowd. The club will be happy to get a lot of money but the chance for the players to play in front of a big crowd in an SPL stadium is probably the biggest thing.
If Hibs were shocked by Irvine Meadow, you wouldnt fancy the Hibs players chances when John Hughes gets his hands on them!