EDINBURGH CITY were left distraught when their Homecoming Scottish Cup third-round tie against SFL Second Division co-leaders Brechin City at Meadowbank Stadium became a victim of the freezing conditions last Saturday.
None more so than goalkeeper Duncan Monteith, a student of economics at St Andrews University, who was tucking into his breakfast when he received the bad news.
"I was eating my usual pre-match meal of porridge and golden syrup when I got a teleph
one call from one of our players, Jordan Caddow, to say that the game was off," said Monteith.
"I just could not understand why it had been put off so early because it was only half past ten in the morning.
"I had taken the Friday night off from my part-time job in a bar in St Andrews to be fully prepared for the game and I was all psyched up and ready to go."
Monteith has had a frustrating week in respect of training and his normal Scottish University football match was also called off this week.
"I will get a good training session tonight in preparation for Saturday which will be one of the biggest games of my career," added Monteith.
"I was an unused substitute goalkeeper for Livingston when they played Hamilton Academical in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup a few seasons ago and that was also a big game.
"This game against Brechin City is definitely bigger, especially with the prize on offer which is a home game in the fourth round against SPL side, St Mirren. That would be intriguing.
"I was watching the draw live on television and with only two balls left – one of which was Edinburgh City – I could not remember which other team had not yet come out. It was St Mirren and that means that playing Brechin City is a huge match for us.
"We know that Brechin play at a higher level and generally will be stronger and a bit more organised. However, our defence is very solid and we have conceded only one goal in our last four games and that was a stupidly given-away penalty in our 4-1 win against Wick Academy.
"We must ensure that we concentrate for the entire 90 minutes and, if we play to our best and Brechin let it slip, then we definitely have a chance.
"I'll definitely be getting stuck into my porridge and golden syrup on Saturday morning ready for the challenges of the afternoon."
The full article contains 424 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
