It's 25 years since Keith faced up to a Rangers side with international stars Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup in a Scottish Cup tie at Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen. Could the Maroons defeat Clyde to set up another shot at the Ibrox giants?
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VICTORY over Clyde this weekend could have Keith fans dreaming of a Scottish Cup rematch with Rangers.
The Maroons face a tough second round tie at home to League 1 Clyde, who won 3-0 at Kynoch Park when the teams last met in 2017.
But if Keith could claim their first league scalp in the cup for more than 40 years, they would join the Old Firm giants in the draw for the next round.
That third round is due to be played on January 30, almost exactly on the 25th anniversary of the Maroons’ famous meeting with a powerful Rangers side at Pittodrie.
The Ibrox men, including international stars like Brian Laudrup and Paul Gascoigne, beat Keith 10-1 on their way to claiming a league and Scottish Cup double in 1995-96.
Keith co-manager Andy Roddie has played in many big cup ties for Aberdeen and Motherwell in his own playing career, and believes his team has what it takes to cause a cup upset.
“I’m sure that Clyde are coming up here knowing they are in for a tough game,” he said.
“We’ve managed four wins on the bounce including our two wins in the cup, and it is starting to breed confidence in the guys.
“We know we face by far our strongest opponents on Saturday.
“But Clyde have lost seven of their last nine games, conceding something like 16 goals. That tells you they are there to be got at and we’ll certainly be doing that.”
Keith thumped Fort William 5-1 in the preliminary round of this season’s competition, before edging out Hill of Beath Hawthorn 4-2 in an extra time battle on Boxing Day.
However, you have to go all the way back to January, 1980 to find the last time the Maroons defeated a Scottish League.
In one of the greatest days in the club’s history, Keith won 3-2 at Hamilton Accies before being edged out 2-1 at home to Berwick Rangers in the next round.
Roddie and fellow co-boss Tommy Wilson were disappointed to see last Saturday’s league game against Wick Academy postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
He is hopeful that Kynoch Park will dry out in time for Saturday’s big tie behind closed doors, and sees heavy conditions as working in his team’s favour.
“We maybe want it to be a wee bit heavy.
“Clyde have got an astro pitch and they are used to playing on a nice flat surface so they won’t like coming up to Keith on a cold and windy day and playing on a heavy or bumpy grass pitch.
“Hopefully that can play in our favour as well.”
He knows Keith will have to be clinical with what few scoring opportunities they get on the day.
“Against higher league opposition you’ve got to stay in the game for as long as you possibly can, and you know you are going to get chances to score yourself. It might be limited to one or two but you need to make sure that when you get them, you take them.
“We are the underdogs and if we can take a chance and get in front, that will put some pressure on them.”
