MY BIG NEW CHALLENGE
ANDY DOWIE and Paul Harrison will be on opposite sides as they fight for a place in the Irn-Bru Cup Final.
But they share similar memories of experiencing the football big-time that will be in total contrast to surroundings for this tie.
Dowie’s Dumbarton make the journey south to take on Harrison’s The New Saints at the 2034-capacity Park Hall in the Shropshire market town of Oswestry.
Compare that to a full house at the Panathinaikos Stadium in Athens or Old Trafford on a Champions League night that Dowie sampled as part of the Rangers squad where he came through the ranks.
And TNS keeper Harrison has played in a 3-0 defeat to a Romelu Lukaku-inspired Anderlecht in the pick of his Euro ties.
Sons defender Dowie, who won the Cup with Ross County in 2006, said: “The longest trip we’ve had is Inverness but rather than moan about the travel we’re trying to embrace this.
“When I was at Rangers I travelled to Athens for the Champions League tie with Panathinaikos and Emerson scored in a 1-1 draw.
“I was in the squad but I wasn’t stripped but it was a good experience. I also sat on the bench at Old Trafford when Rangers lost 3-0. I must have been knocking on the door of the first team but I’m guessing there must have been injuries as well.
“I loved hearing the Champions League music as a young boy and this has a wee bit of a European feel to it – but obviously just a wee bit different!
“The introduction of teams from outside Scotland adds a bit of spice. When they first came in it was going into the unknown a wee bit and the competition needed that.
“We played at home to Connah’s Quay Nomads and that was a difficult game. We were pretty poor on the day and scored late on and now we face another Welsh team.”
Harrison’s motivation is the quadruple with a 12-point lead in the Welsh League, the Welsh League Cup in the bag and a Welsh Cup quarter-final to come.
He said: “We usually play in Europe at the start of the season and then it’s back to the league so the Irn-Bru Cup is something different.
“There’s a European feel to this and we’ve had some good games. We’ve beaten Livingston, one of the main contenders, and Queen of the South, who are tough opponents, so we have big expectations this season.”