Meadow's veteran keeper braced for a busy afternoon

A RUN of sleepless nights is testimony to the pressure which Michael Wardrope has been under this week – pressure which will continue right up to 3pm this afternoon, when he takes his place in the Irvine Meadow line-up for their ground-breaking Active Nation Scottish Cup clash with Hibernian at Easter Road.

Wardrope is the Ayrshire junior side's goalkeeper and as such he knows he has to deliver a big performance if the Meadow are not to be mown down by the side currently lying third in the SPL.

But Celtic fan Wardrope hopes to take the example of his goalkeeping hero, Andy Goram, into the game and produce the sort of Easter Road performance the former Scotland stopper regularly produced during his Hibs days.

"I'm a goalkeeper, as my dad was before me, and while I favour Celtic, Goram was such a phenomenal shot-stopper he was my inspiration as a young player," says Wardrope, who accepts he is likely to face a really hard 90 minutes today.

"We played a bounce game against St Mirren on Monday and while they only had five or six first team regulars in their line-up, it took us the entire first half to get the ball off them. I therefore expect the same today, which means I'm going to be very busy indeed. Some of my pals are saying I could end up man of the match.

"That would be nice, but it's about the team as a whole, rather than individuals. Our plan is to make things as difficult for them as we can, keep the score down for as long as possible and, if their fans turn on them, maybe take advantage. Whatever happens, I intend to enjoy the day, which will certainly be the biggest of my footballing life".

Wardrope is something of an oddity in a Meadow squad awash with ex-seniors. He has never been "upstairs", having joined Meadow five years ago from Kilwinning Rangers, just as the slumbering giant of Ayrshire junior football stirred from seeming slumber since their Scottish Cup glory days of the 1960s and early 70s.

Their longest-serving player, Wardrope played in front of his biggest crowd in his debut season, when Meadow lost to Bathgate in front of 3,500 fans in the Junior Cup semi-final.

"I enjoyed that experience and while we hear we might be playing in front of over 10,000 fans today, I'm determined to enjoy the experience," he confirms.

"Maybe we can take advantage of the pressure they'll be under to create our own bit of history. This is a very professionally-run club and they will underestimate us at their peril."