I’ll ask McCall if Ayr will play up our slope both halves says John

BEITH v AYR UNITED

GORDON PARKS JOHNNY MILLAR hopes to ensure Ayr have an uphill struggle to beat his Beith this afternoon.

The Bellsdale Park boss is gearing up for an Ayrshire derby where he’ll ask for a gentleman’s agreement to play down the famous slope during each half.

Ian McCall’s Championship leaders will face the reigning West Region Super League champions in an all-ticket clash and Millar believes it could be a reality check for the senior outfit.

Millar said: “Hopefully when Ayr arrive and see the concrete jungle that is our dressing rooms then it’ll have an impact.

“The park also has a slope on it and maybe they’ll allow us to play down the hill for both halves as that would be a help.

“But seriously, the surface is in excellent condition so that will suit both teams. I’m sure Ian will have done his homework and will know the pitch has a slope.

“Hopefully it will cause them a problem but I don’t see it.

“It’s a brilliant occasion for us, we’ll have a 2000 sell-out with half of that being Ayr fans so it’s set up to have a great atmosphere.

“We played Morton a few seasons ago and suffered a bit of a trouncing but we didn’t turn up for that game. I hope this time it’ll be a bit closer and we can at least give the fans something to shout about. It’s a local derby so we need to show up.

“I’m not going to make any silly predictions that we are going to beat Ayr – who are a full-time team and flying high at the top of the Championship.

“I just want my players to come off the park and know we have competed and let Ayr know they’ve been in a game.

“We don’t want it to be like the Morton game where they swaggered to a 6-0 win. The one thing we must do is make a fight of it. We have achieved a lot at Beith over the years.

“We’ve won the league a couple of times, we’ve won all of the trophies going as well as the Junior Scottish Cup.

“Whenever we go into the senior Scottish Cup we have to win four games to get to this round and we’ve managed to reach the third round every time.

“We played Airdrie and took them to a replay, we played Morton and lost and now we have Ayr.

“It’s all about enjoying the occasion as we have to win a Scottish Cup or a league to get into this competition. We need to ensure we give our lot and come out of it with no regrets.”

Ayr No.2 Neil Scally insists his side will be well prepared.

He said: “Beith have some players who have stepped down from the senior ranks and have quality throughout their squad.

“We’ve had them watched so we are well aware of the threat they’ll pose.

“We need to assert ourselves early on and make sure we give them as little encouragement as possible.”