Brechin City and over 1000 excited travelling supporters head to Glasgow to face the mammoth task of taking on Celtic in their own back yard in the 4th Round of The William Hill Scottish Cup.

Unsurprisingly, there is a sense of anticipation around The Club in the lead up to the game as the written, online and broadcast media turned their attention to Darren Dods’ side.

City, as has been well documented, have still to win a league game in The Ladbrokes Championship this season so far whilst, in complete contrast, the hosts come into the game with one defeat in 70-odd domestic matches, the first team returning to action for the first time since a 3-week winter break in Dubai.

PREVIOUS CLASHES:
It is an exceptionally rare match-up between the two clubs. There were 3 League Cup clashes in the mid-1980’s and prior to that we need to go all the way back to 1950 to find a Scottish Cup Tie. The City v Celtic clashes in the 80’s failed to produce a goal for the Glebe Park side, with a comprehensive 7-0 drubbing on a midweek night in front of over 9,000 fans in August 1985 being the most recent. However, two years prior, in a 2-legged League Cup Tie, it took a late Jim Melrose strike at The Glebe to secure a 1-0 win in front of 2,620 fans, before City secured a 0-0 draw at Parkhead in the second leg in front of 8502 expectant home fans. Only a few precious black and white images exist of Celtic’s visit to Glebe Park in 1950 which saw the Glasgow giants record a 3-0 victory.

SQUAD NEWS:
Darren Dods will be forced into at least 2 changes from the team which started against Livingston last weekend. Striker Connor McLennan has returned to his parent club Aberdeen at the expiry of his loan period, and the newly re-signed Callum Tapping is Cup-Tied and unavailable for selection as a result of an 11-minute appearance as a substitute for Queen of the South against Montrose in a replay in the previous round. With the exception of long term injury victim Ryan McGeever, Dods reports that everyone else is fit and eager to be involved.

MATCH OFFICIALS:
The man-in-the-middle is Steven McLean, recognisable to most Scottish football fans having taken charge of a multitude of high profile games over the last few years. His experience in terms of Brechin City matches is far more modest with only 4 games – although there are 2 stand-outs. He was in charge of the memorable Scottish Cup Tie against Buckie Thistle back in 2011, and the following season refereed City’s biggest win in recent times – a 7-2 thumping dished out to Stenhousemuir at The Glebe in October 2012. His assistants at Celtic Park will be Joseph Lawson and Drew Kirkland.

TRAVELLING SUPPORT:
Given that this is an all-ticket game, travelling supporters will already have bought their tickets, and will find information on ground entry and seat allocations clearly displayed.

Clearly, there is a significantly larger travelling support than normal, the occasion being added to with the unusual sight of a fleet of buses leaving Glebe Park on Saturday morning. Supporters travelling on these coaches are urged to arrive in plenty of time for the planned 10am departure - noting too that there is the opportunity to purchase Brechin City merchandise prior to departure, both from Blacks of Brechin in Clerk Street, and from The Supporters Club at The Glebe

The Club asks that supporters respect regulations relating to both travel and behaviour within the stadium and issues a final reminder NOT TO TRAVEL WITHOUT A TICKET.

However, this magnificent travelling support – including the healthy and welcome contingent from Brechin City Youths FC – will add to the occasion for everyone with a connection to The Club. Finally - travel safely, make your voices heard within the Stadium - and enjoy the occasion!