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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Eric McGowan

Irvine Meadow co-boss Colin Spence excited at prospect of cup crack at Lowland League side

Irvine Meadow co-boss Colin Spence says facing Caledonian Braves in the South Challenge Cup fifth round would tick off one of his targets for the season.

Medda will host the Lowland League outfit if they can get past Auchinleck Talbot in a rearranged fourth round clash.

Saturday’s scheduled tie was postponed due to a waterlogged Meadow Park pitch with a new date still to be announced.

And while Spence won’t entertain the thought of playing the Braves just yet - he admits it’s a mouth-watering prospect.

“Having a crack at a Lowland League side is something that’s been in the back of my mind when it comes to the cups,” said Spence.

“It would be a chance for us to see exactly where we are as a team and test our level.

“Of course, we have to take care of Talbot first, but there’s another home tie there for us if we can get through.

“The cup has been kind to us in terms of home draws so far so hopefully we can continue to take advantage of that.”

Spence insists he was disappointed to see Saturday’s game called off despite injury problems forcing him to promote four youth development players to the first team squad.

He said: “I was really looking forward to it to be honest.

“Although we had boys out missing there was a chance to get minutes into the legs of Jamie Martin after his time on the sidelines.

“It’s just one of those things though. The weather took a turn and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it.”

Spence revealed good and bad news on the injury front.

Midfielder Fraser McMillan is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in the 4-1 defeat at Cumbernauld on January 29.

Defender Calum Gow continues to make progress in his bid to return to action after two years out.

He got 80 minutes under his belt in an appearance with the development squad on Friday night.

Spence added: “The big man did well but we won’t be rushing him back to first team action just yet.

“I think he’s still a few weeks away from that.”

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