Huntly manager Allan Hale hopes they can set up a Scottish Cup tie against SPFL opposition by defeating Cumbernauld Colts tonight.
The Black and Golds are set to face the Lowland League outfit this evening at Christie Park in a rearranged first round tie following Saturday’s postponement.
The winner will secure a trip to League One Dumbarton in round two on January 9.
Hale hopes his charges can make that happen and said: “We’ve got a really tough game that we need to focus on and get through.
“But the incentive is there for both ourselves and Cumbernauld to get the chance to test ourselves a team from League One.
“Jim Duffy is their manager and his reputation speaks for itself with the background he’s had in the game and the clubs he has been at.
“So it would be good for us to test ourselves against someone of that calendar and it would be good for the players to test themselves and try to give a good account of themselves against a League One side.
“We would rather have had a home tie, but it’s still a very good tie to look forward to if we can get through against Cumbernauld.”
For some connected with Huntly a potential tie with Dumbarton threw up memories of the early 1990s.
Under Steve Paterson the Strathbogie side had a number of memorable runs in the Scottish Cup and beat the Sons 2-0 at Boghead in the third round in season 1991-92.
Hale is well aware of the history and added: “The thing that attracted me to Huntly was the history of the club in the Highland League, Scottish Cup and other competitions as well.
“I think there’s a great opportunity at this club to go on and make our own history.
“It won’t be easy to achieve and we know that, but getting through to the next round is something Huntly has not done for a while.
“When the draw was made there were a few texts about what happened in the early 90s.
“But we just need to focus on the present and hopefully we can create our own bit of history which would generate some positivity around the town and the club.”
Today's @ScottishCup tie against Cumbernauld Colts has failed an 8am pitch inspection due to snow on pitch and some unsafe areas.
The tie is to be rescheduled for Wednesday at 8pm. pic.twitter.com/QI5as5oNlW— Huntly Football Club (@huntlyfc) December 26, 2020
Hale is expecting a difficult encounter against Cumbernauld, who are 13th in the Lowland League.
But his first concern is that the game can be played. Snow and frost in recent days may lead to another postponement.
Hale said: “Hopefully the game can beat the weather, I know it’s been quite frosty in Huntly, but hopefully things improve.
“I believe there is an inspection planned for tomorrow afternoon.
“The forecast is not the best, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we can get the game on.
“We’ve done our homework on Cumbernauld and we’re a very capable side who try to play the game the right way.
“They’ve got speed in the wide areas and forward areas, we know they’ve got players from a higher level and have guys that were full-time not so long ago.
“So they’re a good side, but we’ve done our analysis on them and we know their strengths and weaknesses and we’ll try to exploit the weaknesses and hopefully the players can put in a good performance.”