Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley hopes for a dream draw against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup third round tomorrow.
Cove came through their second round tie against Alloa Athletic on Saturday in dramatic fashion, with Ryan Strachan’s late free-kick capping off a 3-2 win.
Hartley, a former Dons captain, would love to draw Aberdeen at the Balmoral Stadium, as a reward for the two clubs and the city on the back of a difficult year.
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He said: “We would like a dream draw for the club, just with everything that happened in the last year. With the way teams have suffered with Covid and financially, we would like a dream tie.
“There’s two teams in this city now and I would really like to play Aberdeen, just with what the two teams have had to go through this year.
“For the two teams and the city, I think they deserve that. If you look at Aberdeen and the way they have had to handle things through the pandemic and we’ve been the same. I just think it’d be a dream tie for everybody.
“We’ve not played each other competitively, only in a friendly. For the romance of the cup and for our city, we would like to play Aberdeen.”
Cove had to come from behind twice against Alloa at the Indodrill Stadium, as Hartley returned to the club he led to two promotions.
Alan Trouten put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot in the first half, before Jamie Masson pulled Cove level.
Cameron O’Donnell put the Wasps back in front before the break and it was not until the 76th minute that Hartley’s side levelled again, this time through Rory McAllister.
The winner came from a 25-yard free-kick from Strachan in the 90th minute, his first goal since Cove became an SPFL side in 2019.
The draw for the second round takes place at 11am on Sunday, live on the Scottish FA social media channels and YouTube.