‘Bigger Than The Who’ Celtic visit Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup

Former Talbot left-back Gordon Pope has fond, but ultimately painful, memories of the last time the part-time side faced top-flight opposition 14 years ago.

A brave shot from the back to the wall kept Hearts at bay until goalkeeper Andy Leishman, who had earlier saved a penalty, fumbled when he collided with teammate Brian Slaven and Gordon Smith, putting the hosts ahead with six minutes remaining.

Throwing caution to the wind, Talbot won a free-kick and Pope was played through the Hearts defense only to be flagged for offside by the linesman as he scored what he thought would be an equalizer five minutes into stoppage time.

“It leaves out the ‘what ifs,'” Pope told BBC Scotland as he watched a replay of the incident. “It’s a difficult decision and it’s just one of those moments in the club’s history.

“We have never played at this level before [fourth round] “Before, so to be back at Rugby Park for a replay would have been huge for the club.”

“Most of our team had played at a high level at some stage and we knew that if we stayed consistent and stuck to our formation, we would have a chance depending on how Hearts played,” recalls James Latta, who was captaining Talbot for the first time that day.

However, the former defender knows they face a tougher task ahead of the Scottish champions who have been given a new lease of life after club legend Martin O’Neill returned as caretaker manager following the sacking of Wilfried Nancy.

“If you asked me that last week, it would have been a good time to play with them,” Latta says. “It was hard before, but it will be a lot harder now.”