EK mates will come face to face at Stranraer

There will be plenty of intrigue when East Kilbride face Stranraer in the third round of the Scottish Cup later this month.

Kilby – who beat Cowdenbeath 1-0 in the last round – have been drawn away to the Blues on Saturday, November 26, and it will see a host of East Kilbride stars face their former club. Local players Sean Winter and Barry Russell both left Stair Park in 2014 to join Kilby, while EK midfielders Mattin McBride and Anthony Marenghi have also turned out for the Blues in the past.

And East Kilbride residents Craig Malcolm and Mark McGuigan will be hoping to fire Stranraer to glory against their local team.

Kilby skipper Russell can’t wait for the tie. He told the News: “I’m buzzing with the draw. It’s always good to go back to clubs you’ve played with.

“Stranraer obviously have Malky and McGuigan, who are from East Kilbride. They’ve got several good players like Willie Gibson, Christian Nade and Frank McKeown so they will be a really tough test.

“It’s certainly going to be completely different to what we were up against at Cowdenbeath.”

Midfielder Winter, who made over 150 appearances for Stranraer, said: “You couldn’t have written it, could you?

“It’s mental but I’m absolutely delighted with it and it’ll be cracking to go back to Stair Park.

“I’ve got a lot of good memories there and obviously I know Malky well from my time at the club.

“It’s another tough game but we can go there with a lot of confidence.”