Sky Blues handed plum tie with Rangers Colts as

BALLYMENA United will take on Rangers Colts in the third round of the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup while Glenavon face a trip to Scotland.

David Jeffrey’s men will welcome the Light Blues’ Under-21 team to the Ballymena Showgrounds.

For Gary Hamilton’s Glenavon, it’s a trip to Highland League side Formartine United.

The ties are scheduled to take place on either Saturday, September 7 or on Sunday, September 8.

It’s an ideal draw for United, who will be hoping for a bumper crowd of Northern Ireland-based Rangers supporters to see the club’s upcoming stars in action at the Ballymena Showgrounds.

Rangers Under-21s have seen off Berwick Rangers and Stranraer in the first two rounds of this season’s competition.

Winger Eros Grezda, who joined the club last summer, started Tuesday night’s win in Stranraer alongside the likes of Scotland underage internationals Josh McPake (right), Kai Kennedy and Dapo Mebude.

After his side’s victory over Stranraer, Colts boss Graeme Murty said: “I am very proud of the players, I thought they represented themselves and the club very, very well against a team that put us under a lot of pressure with some good quality play, some physical tests, and a challenge all the way through the game.

“I have to give credit to our opponents, who hosted us really well on a great pitch, and you could actually see learning taking place on the pitch for our young players. To manage that and to get to the level they managed to get to at times and to come away with a win, I am really, really proud.”

The young Gers won the tie against the Blues 2-0 thanks to strikes from Rangers Academy graduates McPake and Jamie Barjonas.

The match also saw the return of Albanian international Grezda to a Rangers side but, despite playing 83 minutes with the Colts, his future at Ibrox looks bleak.

Murty’s development squad were at Seaview last month to support the testimonial match for Crusaders midfielder Declan Caddell.

Northern Ireland Under-21 defender Daniel Finlayson featured in the 5-1 victory and acquitted himself well.

Glenavon’s opponents Formartine have beaten Livingston Under-21s and Peterhead to reach the third round.

They play in the fifth tier of the Scottish football pyramid