League Two side Elgin City will replay against West of Scotland Premiership high-flyers Clydebank after being held to a 1-1 draw in the second round clash at Holm Park.
A cracking strike from Rory MacEwan eased any potential early nerves for City.
However, a Nicky Little spot-kick earned the Bankies a deserved replay back at Borough Briggs this Saturday.
A home tie against struggling League One side Clyde on November 27 will be the reward for the winners of the tie this weekend.
City on the slide in League Two
Gavin Price’s League Two strugglers travelled south keen to put inconsistent form behind them, having lost their last three matches to fall to the lower reaches of the division.
City had won only one of their last eight fixtures overall.
In contrast, the hosts, who are third in the West of Scotland Premiership, had turned around indifferent results to be three games unbeaten.
The BBC Scotland TV cameras were in town to screen this tie live as the Bankies, participating in the cup for the first time since 2001 after becoming a senior club again this year, played to a sell-out crowd of just over 1200.
Bankies eased into round two
While the north side entered in this round, Gordon Moffat’s team secured this clash thanks to a 7-0 rout over Dalkeith Thistle.
Keeper Jamie Donnelly returned for the Bankies, as did Adam Hodge and Matt Niven as the town brimmed with excitement.
In their last match on October 16, they defeated Harmony Row 5-0 in the Soccer Shop Challenge Cup, while Elgin slipped to a 2-0 loss at Albion Rovers.
Defender Matthew Cooper returned to the Elgin line-up, as did MacEwan, Dylan Lawrence and Tony Dingwall.
Clydebank began well and Nicky Little flashed an early chance past the right post.
Elgin nudged ahead on 14 minutes. Just moments after captain Euan Spark was denied. The ball came out to Brian Cameron and he lined up MacEwan for a cracking shot past Donnelly.
The home side never dropped heads and Darryl McHardy was handily placed to block a Little shot.
City keeper Thomas McHale had to be alert to clutch a header from Little and he got down well to deny Joe Slattery, who was on target for 20 yards.
The hosts began the second half on the front foot too, throwing the ball into the box, keeping City on their toes in the opening moments.
Little, who was a livewire, had a pop with a volley, which had too much height to test McHale this time.
Substitute Liam McGonigle was also off target with another dipping effort, which rose over the bar.
Pressure paid off for the Bankies though when they got the chance to level from the spot after Spark brought down McGonigle.
Little, cool as you like, slotted it beyond McHale and Holm Park erupted.
McHale suffered a sore shoulder, which needed treatment, as he plucked a cross from the air and fell into the net under a challenge.
The home fans were talking about potentially winning this tie, but were also excited by their club’s journey taking them to Elgin this weekend.
Jamie Darroch flashed a late header wide then sub Ciaran Mulcahy’s shot was off target and the teams had to settle for a draw.
CLYDEBANK: Donnelly 6, Hodge 7, McLean 6, Darroch 6, Niven 6, Byrne 6 (McGonigle 59), Black 6, Slattery 6, McKinlay 6 (Lynass 83), Little 7, Gallacher 6. Subs not used: Stevenson, McHugh, Bailey, Johnstone, Holmes, McPherson, Malcahy.
ELGIN CITY: McHale 6, Spark 6, Macphee 6, McHardy 6, Cooper 6, MacEwan 7 (Peters 87), Russell Dingwall 6, Cameron 6, Lawrence 6 (Machado 56), Tony Dingwall 6, O’Keefe 6 (Mailer 67). Subs not used: Hoban, Allen, Sopel, Cooney.
Referee: Matthew MacDermid.
Attendance: 1200.
Man of the match: Nicky Little.