Former Talbot left-back Gordon Pope has fond, however finally painful, reminiscences of the final time the part-timers got here up towards top-flight opposition 14 years in the past.
A courageous, backs-to-the-wall effort held Hearts at bay till goalkeeper Andy Leishman, who had earlier saved a penalty, fumbled as he collided with team-mate Bryan Slaven and Gordon Smith slotted the hosts forward with six minutes left.
Throwing warning to the wind, Talbot received a free-kick and Pope was performed by way of the Hearts defence just for the linesman to flag for offside as he was slotting house what he thought could be an equaliser 5 minutes into stoppage time.
“It leaves a ‘what if’,” Pope tells BBC Scotland as he watches a replay of the incident. “It’s a tight determination and it is simply a type of moments within the historical past of the membership.
“We had by no means performed at that stage [fourth round] earlier than, so going again to Rugby Park for a replay would have been large for the membership.”
James Latta, who was captaining Talbot for the primary time that day, remembers: “Most of our workforce had performed at senior stage sooner or later and we knew if we stayed tight and caught to our formation, we would have an opportunity relying on how Hearts performed.”
Nevertheless, the previous defender recognises that they face a fair harder process towards Scottish champions who’ve had a brand new lease of life after membership legend Martin O’Neill returned as interim supervisor after the sacking of Wilfried Nancy.
“For those who requested me that final week, it might have been a very good time to play them,” Latta says. “It could have been laborious earlier than – it’ll be so much more durable now.”
