LAW AND ORDER
Craig out to stick head on Cove
HIS head is the most valuable possession in Auchinleck come a Saturday – so much so one of his team-mates keeps telling him he should get it insured.
But paralegal Craig McCracken insists junior giants Talbot will not lose theirs as they go chasing another fairytale in the senior Scottish Cup.
The centre-back’s man markers must wake up in a cold sweat such is his reputation to wriggle free at set-pieces when the big occasion calls.
McCracken nodded home in backto-back Junior Cup showpieces either side of dumping Ayr out of last season’s senior tourney with another leap of faith off a Mark Shankland delivery.
Big-spending Kelty Hearts were dubbed favourites for last month’s first-round tie only to discover his prowess in the box in a 3-0 defeat.
A repeat of last season’s second-round clash with Cove Rangers looms – but this time their visitors arrive top of League Two rather than the Highland League.
McCracken said: “I’ve scored in the last few big games. Big Neil McPherson always winds me up saying, ‘You need to get that head insured.’
“How much would I get? A loaf and a carton of milk. If I don’t score with my head I’m not scoring at all.
“When Shankers is taking the corners there’s no guessing where it’s going to go – it’s right on the money most times. It’s a dream as an attacking defender.
“Some of the away trips we had, the
first few rounds last season then the game against Ayr, the game at Tynecastle, they’re memories you’ll never forget so you want to try to repeat that again. It will be difficult but we will certainly give it a go.
“We have a great team spirit, a lot of the boys have been here for a while, it’s a close-knit team.
“Because you come from the Juniors there is maybe a bit of stigma, that’s why you don’t go into the games as favourites but being underdogs suits us.”
Reaching the fifth round for the first time, sending an entire village to Tynecastle, will remain the stuff of legend around this part of Ayrshire.
But their determination that another generation doesn’t pass before it is repeated is perhaps best shown by the muted celebrations after winning the first silverware of the junior season, the Sectional League Cup, last Sunday.
McCracken said: “First trophy of the season last week and that is the third year in a row we have won that so it was good, especially for the new boys – that is their first trophy at Auchinleck.
“Winning breeds confidence and we win most weeks so we’re confident.”
Meanwhile, Cove striker Mitch Megginson knows what’s in store having scored a penalty in last season’s 2-1 replay defeat at Beechwood.
He said: “I remember last season, because everybody is on top of you.
“You hear all the shouts. I love that, it gives me an extra buzz.”