Brora Rangers player-manager Steven Mackay has urged his players to seize the chance to etch their names into the club’s history by beating Greenock Morton.
The Highland League leaders drew 1-1 in their Scottish Cup third- round tie at Cappielow last month and head into tonight’s replay knowing a victory would earn them a trip to St Johnstone in January.
Despite home advantage, Mackay’s side will still start as major outsiders to progress against full-time opposition – with the Ton sitting in eighth position in the Scottish Championship.
But Mackay, pictured, believes his side can take plenty of confidence from running Morton close at Cappielow and sees no reason why they can’t dare to dream of creating a cup shock tonight.
He said: “A few people have asked me if the result at Cappielow was the best result in the club’s history.
“It is a tough one to put into perspective.
“First and foremost, and taking nothing away from what the guys achieved, we didn’t win the match.
“We have gone down to League 1 opposition and won but Morton are full-time and playing in the Championship.
“For a team to go away to a Championship team and get a draw is a great achievement.
“We didn’t scrape a draw either, we more than held our own.
“It would be great if we can finish the job on Tuesday.
“We saw what happened with Auchinleck and Arbroath.
“Auchinleck held them at their own ground and then they went to Arbroath and lost 3-0 in the replay.
“That puts into perspective what the guys did at Cappielow.
“I’m sure if we were to win on Tuesday night, it would be the biggest result in the club’s history.”
Mackay hopes Dudgeon Park will be packed for tonight’s tie but admits drawing a crowd has proven a tough challenge so far this season for the team that sits three points clear at the top of the Highland League.
He added: “I’m not sure what to expect in terms of a crowd.
“Of course, we would like a bumper crowd to cheer us on.
“I’m not sure how many supporters Morton will bring to the game but I would like to think the Brora fans would turn out in their numbers.
“Our home attendances so far this season haven’t been great.
“I saw something online about the average attendances in the Highland League.
“I don’t know how accurate it was but we were sitting sixth bottom.
“We have a challenge to get more fans through the gates and this game against Morton is a great opportunity to do that.
“Hopefully we get a good turnout and we can give them something to shout about.
“It would be nice to get a crowd of more than 500.
“I think that is realistic.
“We know it will be a cold Tuesday night but it should be a great game.”
