Bo'ness goal hero Fleming Buckies up his Cup ideas

The experienced defender will be a key man for Bo'ness United tomorrow when they take on Highland League champions Buckie Thistle in the third round at Newtown Park (1.30pm kick-off).

Fleming helped Bo'ness beat Third Division Queen's Park in the last round and admits the carrot now being dangled in front of the East Region Super League champions is a massive one. That's because the big guns will all be in the draw for the next round and Fleming would love the chance to be back on a major stage facing the likes of Hibs again.

"This is a massive game for both us and Buckie Thistle," said the 36-year-old, who began his career with Meadowbank Thistle and spent three seasons at Livingston before subsequent spells at Dundee, Dunfermline, Patrick Thistle, Hamilton, Alloa and Cowdenbeath.

"It's a great opportunity for one of us to pull out a really big tie in the next round.

"I've been fortunate to play in a lot of big games in my career, the pick of them being a Scottish Cup semi-final for Livingston against Hibs.

"That ended in disappointment as we lost 3-0 to a side that included the likes of Frank Sauzee and Russell Latapy but it was still great to be involved in a game like that at Hampden. No matter what round it is, Scottish Cup ties are always exciting and we are expecting a big crowd on Saturday."

It's been a long time since Fleming faced the Highlanders, but he knows exactly what to expect from them.

"I played against them a few times up there, mostly in pre-season friendlies," he recalled.

"What I remember from all of those games was that they were hard tests and, looking at how (top-of-the-table] Buckie are sitting in the Highland League at the moment, that is still the case.

"It looks as though it has the makings of an evenly balanced tie but we've been involved in some big games already this season and hopefully we can come out on top in this one, too.

"Though Linlithgow are out in front at the moment and we're going to have to play catch up, we are still determined to become the first team to win the Super League two seasons in a row.

"But we wouldn't swap a game like this one for anything and, like Buckie, we'll be giving it our all to secure that chance of a glamour tie in the next round."

Buckie, though, will be tough nuts to crack, last year's Highland League champions currently sitting three points clear at the top of the table this time around after winning ten of their 12 games so far.

They warmed up for tomorrow's clash with a 3-2 win over Cove Rangers, a game that was watched by "spies" despatched to the Highlands by Bo'ness boss Willie Newbigging. "We've done our homework on them," he said.

"In addition to having them watched, we've also been in touch with someone who knows a fair bit about them.

"We know what to expect and I don't think there is going to be a lot between the two teams. That makes it a close one to call but, with home advantage, we can hopefully just edge it."

After thumping Selkirk 6-1 away in the first round, Bo'ness pulled off a shock with that win over Queen's Park in the last round, coming from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Fleming and Paul Shields.

"I'll be looking for the same effort and commitment - and the same result would be good, too," added Newbigging, who took over the reins from Alan McGonigal just after the start of the season.

"The crowd should be 2,000 plus and hopefully it will be a decent day for the game.

"I think our players thrive on these sort of games. They were certainly up for the Queen's Park match and also our crunch clash with Linlithgow Rose at the end of last season.

"We're playing quite well at the moment, creating a lot of chances.

"Even though we won with the last kick of the ball up at Blairgowrie last weekend, I was happy with how we played."