Caley Thistle manager John Robertson says the romance of the Scottish Cup will be somewhat lost in the absence of crowds this weekend.
Inverness make the trip to Victoria Park to face Highland League side Buckie Thistle in an all-north tie.
All matches will be played behind closed doors due to Covid-19, with the Jags estimating they could have had a crowd of up to 2,000 for today’s encounter.
Elgin City and Nairn County have also been handed intriguing second round home ties, while Brora Rangers will set up a game against Hearts if they defeat Camelon Juniors in their first round match which has been rescheduled for Monday.
Robertson feels the list of exciting ties will accentuate how sorely supporters are missed.
He said: “If you look at the potential ties across this round – not just our one – a lot of the Highland teams have tasty home draws they will feel they have a good chance of winning.
“There’s a possibility Brora could play Hearts, Nairn County are playing Montrose, which will be a fantastic game for them, Elgin City are playing Ayr United, and we are going to Buckie.
“I look at these ties and think, if there were fans at these games, it would be absolutely cracking.
“We were at a pre-ops meeting with Buckie and we were generally asking them what the crowd would have been, and they reckon it would have been anything from 1,700 to 2,000.
“That would have been absolute feeling, a real derby in the Scottish Cup with the home side looking to cause an upset and us looking to make sure we get through.
“It’s one of these matches where it’s just an absolute shame there are going to be no fans involved. It would have been a fabulous occasion for Buckie and the Inverness fans travelling through there.”
Today’s game is subject to a morning pitch inspection due to the wintry conditions across the north of Scotland, however, Robertson says the Jags have made all the correct provisions for the match.
Robertson added: “The fortunate part is they have not had a home game since March, so there is a lot of grass on the pitch, probably a lot more than we would expect at this time of year.
“It’s in good condition. Buckie’s arrangements are first class, they have modified the areas where they want us to change, and the ways in and out of the stadium.
“We will go with an attitude like we are playing a Premiership team to try and make sure we get through.”
Inverness boast a strong Scottish Cup record, which was capped off by their momentous lifting of the trophy under John Hughes in 2015.
Robertson has led the Highlanders to three semi-finals during his two stints in charge, with last season’s run coming to an end in a last-eight defeat to Hibernian at Easter Road.
Robertson is eager to create new memories this time around, and he added: “The club have a really proud tradition in the Scottish Cup. As we were going through the leagues, we were always creating problems and taking scalps.
“We want that tradition to continue. We were the last Championship team standing in the last couple of seasons, and we want to go deep into the tournament.
“We are in it to win it is always the aspect.”
