Cove Rangers boss Paul Hartley was thrilled his players dug deep to beat Brora Rangers 3-1 after extra-time to book a Scottish Cup last-16-tie at Kilmarnock.
A trip to Derek McInnes’ fourth-placed Premiership hosts on February 10 now awaits.
Watched on by Killie number two Paul Sheerin, Tony Dingwall shot the Sutherland side ahead, but Mitch Megginson soon levelled.
It remained that way until Megginson and Connor Scully secured the extra-time win.
Hartley was thrilled that his side came out on top and have a great reward for their efforts.
He said: “It was a good hard-fought game. We played really well in the first half and we showed a good reaction to conceding the goal.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, We anticipated it. Brora made it difficult, but we played some really good stuff, especially in the first half.
“Brora came into it in the second half but overall cup games are about winning.
“We are in the last 16 – the only team in our division to get into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. Killie will be a hard game but it’s great for our club – for the people who travelled up tonight, the chairman and the players and staff.
“We showed good character with a lot of good quality. It was a good tie and we handled it well. Brora are the best passing team in the Highland League.
“We have a difficult trip to Kilmarnock but it’s one we’re looking forward to. Killie are a good team, but we will have them watched. It’s brilliant for us to still be in the Scottish Cup against a good team flying high in the Premiership.”
Highland League side Brora have had a stop-start winter with postponements and this fourth-round tie was taking place at the third attempt due to waterlogging issues at Dudgeon Park.
However, just one league loss all season – coming away back in August against champions Brechin City – gave the Cattachs confidence, especially after a 4-1 win against Keith at Golspie at the weekend.
League One Cove, by their high standards, went into this tie on a bit of a dip. Their 2-0 home defeat against Queen of the South on Saturday made it five winless fixtures on the spin.
Brora have impressed in this year’s Scottish Cup, seeing off Pollok, Stenhousemuir and Berwick Rangers, while Cove defeated League One foes Stirling Albion 2-0 in November to reach this stage.
Cove, knowing how tricky this tie could be, began on the front foot, playing tidy football on a pitch looking – for the most part – in decent shape, despite the hammering it had taken.
However, Brora, whose stunning 2-1 win over Hearts in 2021 is one of this competition’s biggest upsets, got the lead through a fine move.
Dingwall was put through on goal by Jordan MacRae and he coolly slotted beyond Nick Suman. The chance of an upset was on.
Cove were not having that though and equalised on 22 minutes. Clever, skilful work took Rumarn Burrell into the box and his cut-back was tucked away by Megginson.
Home keeper Logan Ross, on loan from Ross County, pulled off two key stops early in the second half, the first from Sena’s effort, the next from Josh Kerr’s 25-yard free-kick.
Just before the extra period interval, Megginson pounced to bury Doyle’s ball into the area to spark delight in the away end.
In the very final seconds, Scully pounced to slam home from a Megginson assist to add to the scoreline.
