The stunned Fraserburgh reaction to Rangers draw as 'once in a lifetime' lightning strikes twice in Scottish Cup
Playing against Rangers is supposed to be once in a lifetime for non-league clubs - but Fraserburgh are gearing up to do it for the second time in seven years.
And their manager Mark Cowie admits he was blown away when the draw was made, sending his Highland League outfit to Ibrox for a box office Scottish Cup clash. The Aberdeenshire side, currently ninth in the fifth tier and 47 pyramid places below Rangers, will travel to Glasgow on the weekend of January 18 after Monday night's draw, and it comes seven years after they rolled out the red carpet for Graeme Murty's Light Blues in the same round back in 2018.
A Josh Windass hat-trick was the difference in a 3-0 Rangers win, and many of the team who featured for Fraserburgh that day, such as club captain Willie West, Bryan Hay and James Beagrie, are still playing for them today. And that's what makes it more than a little bit special for long-serving boss Cowie.
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Speaking to the Press and Journal after the draw, he said: “Wow – we’ve been lucky enough to do it once and now we’re away to do it again! This time the stresses won’t quite be the same for our board because it’s not at Bellslea and we’ve got a day to look forward to at Ibrox.
“I would say it’s a once lifetime thing – but we’ve been luckily enough to get it twice! We’ve had three tough home games and we’ve managed to get through them to reach this stage. I’m delighted for the players, because there’s a lot of them getting towards the end of their careers.
“How many folk can say they’ve played Rangers twice in a competitive game, once at home and once at Ibrox? I’m delighted for them. It’s a great thing to look forward to. It’s a reward for Finlay Noble (club secretary and former chairman), the new chairman Michael Murray and all the board members.
“They all do their utmost to ensure the club gets by season to season. We’ve done the hard work to get here and now we can enjoy it. The game in 2018 was an unbelievable occasion for the town and the club, but there was also a lot of stress for the board.
“People think it was big money coming in, but there were also a lot of outgoings and a lot of things the club had to do to ensure we could host the game. Everything was planned and then the game was postponed and we had to reschedule.
“There was a lot of stress involved, but with this tie we won’t have any of that stress – we’ll have to organise a bus and that’ll be about it! We earned the chance to be in the draw and we’ve been lucky enough to get an unbelievable draw. I’m not daft enough to think it will be the same game as it was at Bellslea. Bellslea has got a lot of advantages for us because of how tight and cramped it is.
“We’re away to play at Ibrox, which is a different kettle of fish – my players have played in front of 1,500 or 2,000 before. But now, hopefully, we’ll be playing in front of a massive crowd. Hopefully the Rangers fans come out and support the game. Times are hard for every club, so hopefully it’s a bumper crowd and a good payday for the club.”
