Berwick hit jackpot with home clash against Celtic

BERWICK Rangers, the club responsible for the greatest Scottish Cup shock of all time, are dreaming of another one after being drawn against Celtic in the fourth round of this season's competition. Fittingly, it was John Hughes, a former player with both Berwick and Celtic, who pulled the Shielfield Park club's name from the hat during the draw at Hampden yesterday.

It was in January 1967 that Berwick beat Rangers 1-0 at home in the cup - a result that stunned Scottish football. The English club were unable to repeat that shock when they met the Glasgow club in 2002, although they did force the tie to a replay before going down 3-0 at Ibrox.

They lost more heavily the last time they met Celtic - in a League Cup match in 1997, when they were beaten 7-0 after moving the game to Tynecastle. This time, Berwick have every intention of staging the game at Shielfield. Sky TV cameras are likely to be present when the match goes ahead on the weekend of 8-9 January.

Tannadice, meanwhile, will witness a rerun of last season's final, when Ross County visit Dundee United. County, who recently lost manager Derek Adams to Hibs, were flying high last season but fell flat in the final. Their form has been less impressive this term and United will be strong favourites.

Hibs themselves were undone in a quarter-final replay by Ross County last season. They will therefore take nothing for granted when Ayr United visit Easter Road on the same day that Hearts are scheduled to meet St Johnstone at Tynecastle.

Last night both Edinburgh clubs appeared prepared to have their matches take place on the same day, with staggered kick-off times being more likely than one fixture being switched from the Saturday to the Sunday. Hearts drew at home to St Johnstone on the opening day of the league campaign, but more recently won 2-0 in Perth.

• Scottish Cup: Fourth Round draw

Rangers are at home to Kilmarnock in the only other fourth-round match between teams from the top flight. They won 3-2 at Rugby Park at the weekend, and will be expected to make it into the last 16 with a slightly bigger safety margin.

Of the other SPL sides, Motherwell have what looks like the most difficult assignment - a trip to Dens Park to face Dundee, whose perilous financial position means they could do with a morale-boosting run in the cup. Motherwell. however, have been one of the most consistent teams in the country over the past three or four years, and will be confident against hosts whose small squad could be causing them problems by then.

Aberdeen, who have been drawn at home to East Fife, will welcome a break from league duty if they are still close to the bottom of the table at the turn of the year.While they have still to win a match following that historic 9-0 humiliation by Celtic, they will be expected to ease their way into the next round.

Hamilton are at home to Alloa, St Mirren have also been given a home tie, against Peterhead, and Inverness face familiar opponents in Elgin City.

The game between Falkirk and Partick Thistle looks like being the hardest to call, at least when we are this far removed from matchday. It will be a busy weekend for the Falkirk area, as Stenhousemuir and their current tenants East Stirlingshire have both also been drawn at home.

Stenhousemuir have a third-round replay against Threave Rovers to negotiate first, however, before they can look forward to a game against Stranraer. The Shire, meanwhile, will be confident of getting the better of Buckie Thistle.

Two other ties have yet to be decided, pending replays. Queen of the South will host Brechin City or Annan Athletic, while Morton will be home to Airdrie or Beith.

First Division title favourites Dunfermline, twice cup finalists in the past decade, visit Montrose.