Tom Kelly describes being involved in one of the biggest upsets in Scottish Cup history as a “fluke”.
But says it wouldn’t be a surprise if Brora Rangers can take another major scalp this weekend.
The Cattachs head to Almondvale on Saturday to face Livingston, who are second in the Championship, in round three of the national tournament.
Brora’s cup pedigree is well-known. Kelly was one of their heroes in 2021 when the Sutherland outfit triumphed 2-1 against Hearts – who were top of the Championship at the time.
Having hardly been able to train in the build-up to that tie due to Covid-19 restrictions, Kelly admits luck was on the Breedon Highland League club’s side on that occasion.
Cattachs look to be shock troops once more
However, ahead of facing Livi, the right-back believes causing another upset wouldn’t be as big a surprise to the Brora squad, who have won eight and drawn once in their last nine matches in all competitions.
Kelly, 24, said: “The Hearts result was one big fluke really given the circumstances. Due to the situation with Covid we weren’t playing league games and we only had a couple of weeks of training beforehand.
“However, it can be difficult for teams at Dudgeon Park and we like to impose ourselves on the game.
“But there was a lot of luck involved, we caught Hearts on an off day and we took our opportunities when they came along.
“That’s what you need to do and that’s what we’ll look to do again when we play Livingston.
“We’re not expecting to have a lot of opportunities and we’ll need to take them when they come.
“It would be another surprise for people if we can get past Livingston. However, with the squad we’ve got, the togetherness we’ve got and our performances this season we know what we’re capable of.
“You never know what’s around the corner in the Scottish Cup and we’ll give it our best shot.
“When you look at the likes of the result against Hearts and also some of the good performances we’ve had in the League Cup against the likes of Hibs and Ross County it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to us internally (to get a result against Livingston).
“We know what we’re capable of and we’re a confident side. Usually when we play opposition from a higher level we give a good account of ourselves and we’re looking to do the same again.”
Opportunities to be cherished
When they play in the Highland League Brora are used to dominating possession against a lot of opponents.
But Kelly acknowledges they will have to take a different approach when they face Livingston.
He added: “Every game and every opponent you play provides you with a different opportunity.
“I think this tie gives us the opportunity to put in a performance against a really good team.
“In this tie we’re underdogs and we’ll need to be hard to play against and difficult to break down.
“We want to keep ourselves in the game for as long as possible and then see what happens.
“We’re not expecting to go to Livingston and play our usual game. As players we look forward to facing opposition from a higher level and we cherish these opportunities.”
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