Auchinleck Talbot supporters are reportedly planning to stay away from their upcoming Scottish Cup tie against Celtic…
The Scottish champions are due to face the West of Scotland Premier Division side in what would be a landmark occasion for the junior outfit. However, the occasion next month has been overshadowed by anger among sections of Talbot’s support.
According to a report from The Scottish Sun, a number of fans intend to boycott the match after it was confirmed the fixture will be staged at Rugby Park, rather than Talbot’s home ground.
The venue switch was agreed amid concerns that Beechwood Park – which has a capacity of around 4,000 – would be unable to safely accommodate the scale of the cup tie. That decision has provoked frustration among fans of the Ayrshire side, who believe their club has surrendered a valuable playing in their own ground for money.
Talbot supporters have also highlighted a previous high-profile Scottish Cup encounter against Hearts as proof that big encounters have been successfully hosted at Beechwood Park in the past.
Speaking on the decision to move the game to Rugby Park, Talbot hero Kenny Paterson said: “I’m not disappointed that the game’s been moved to Rugby Park — I’m devastated. The vast majority of Talbot fans feel the same way.”
“I haven’t come across a single fan who’s happy with the move. I’m devastated to the point where I’m not going to the tie and I know many people who are doing the same. I’ll go to the social club and all the money I’d have spent going to Kilmarnock will at least go straight to Auchinleck.”
“If a ticket is £25 I’ll spend £25 at the bar watching it there. I was at our game last week and the Celtic cup tie was hardly mentioned. One guy said to me it had become the tie from hell. People just wish it was over so we could concentrate on the Junior Cup and the league.”
Paterson added: “It would have been a moment of history to host the champions of Scotland at our ground — something you’ll probably never see again. Auchinleck showed when we played Hearts in 2022 that we could cope with games like this. The whole thing stinks. The club has spent hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds making sure we had the licence to play in the Scottish Cup.”
“But the word is that the club’s committee were told that the authorities’ view was that we might have handled Hearts without a problem, but Celtic or Rangers were entirely different.”
“I know there are people on the committee who feel they were forced into a corner about it all.”
Conor Spence
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As a Celtic fan I have a lot of sympathy for the Auckinleck fans who have decided to boycott moving the cup tie to Kilmarnock. The folk who made this decision have passed up a great opportunity for a Junior club to go head to head with the Scottish champions on their own turf. Who knows, it’s an opportunity to create a real piece of history!
I am a Celtic fan to snd also think it’s a disgrace that tge Talbot are being denied the opportunity of hosting this cup tie on their own ground.
This amazing tie is indeed the true magic of the Scottish Cup where the less professional league clubs can get earn the chance of a crack at the biggest clubs in Scotland through the luck of the draw, especially when drawn at home. I would have no qualms if the game was played in Auchinleck.
Have the club thought this out properly? A small crowd would on the other hand create a huge TV audience for which the club would be due royalties.
Not only have the authorities prevented that piece of history, the SFA have suspended Talbot`s second top scorer this season. A young 20 year old boy, because he picked up a yellow card in the prelim/qualifying round before the cup even started, then a second in round 3 proper. Two yellows over five games is brutal to suspend in the 4th round for what would have been the biggest game of his life.