LEFT-SIDED midfielder Richie Burke is hoping it will be third-time lucky when his Beith side host the visit of Petershill in one of the eagerly-awaited ETHXenergy Scottish Junior Cup fifth-round ties this coming Saturday.

The Super Premier Division rivals have locked horns twice previously this season - a 2-2 Belsdale Park draw in the opening league game of the season followed by a 1-0 triumph for the famous old Glasgow outfit in mid-December - leaving ex-Peasy fans favourite Burke yet to savour a victory over his former team-mates.

Earlier today, Irish-born Burky, who only departed the Springburn club last summer after a five-year playing stint, revealed: “I’ve taken a bit of a verbal slaughtering from players and supporters on both occasions so I can think of no better time to get my own back.

“It’s all light-hearted stuff as you might expect given I experienced many great times at Petershill and my walking away in the close season was all to do with me wanting a change of scene rather than a fall-out with anyone.

“Indeed I left on good terms with everyone and still keep in touch with some former team mates albeit there has been an acute lack of telephone calls ever since the Cup draw paired our sides together.”

Club historians have alluded to the Mighty having failed to win a league match against Petershill for nigh on a decade but have pointed out this hoodoo does not extend to Cup contests much to Burke’s relief.

Said the birthday boy (he turned 30 this week): “My wish is to score the winning goal on Saturday but I’ll gladly settle for a victory of any sorts that puts Beith in the quarter-finals once the final whistle blows.

“It will be a close game as the two teams are evenly matched with Petershill boasting potential forward line match-winners in Michael Daly and Stephen McGladrigan (if fit) while we have Kenny McLean and Andy Reid.

He added with more than a hint of a smile: “Glad and Kenny are similar types insofar as they are both lightning quick and superb finishers, however Kenny certainly comes out on top when it comes to being a moaner out on the pitch.

“Glad would give me earache at times if I didn’t get the ball to him in the right areas, but Kenny is in a class of his own, unrelenting and complains every bit as much in training sessions as he does in the heat of battle.”

Petershill assistant manager Paul Kelly was fulsome in praise of his former flank player when looking forward to the last-16 clash.

He admitted: “Richie is first and foremost a great lad to have around the place and depending upon your perspective, he’s a top-notch Junior player or a very dangerous opponent capable of winning games with a flash of inspiration.

“We were disappointed to lose him and it’s no secret that Willie Patterson and I struggled to find a similar type to operate out wide but the recent signings of Ciaran McElroy and youngster Conor Lynas have done the trick as they are blessed with many of the same qualities.

“We are well aware Richie will be fired up to do us damage, however young Fraser McGhee has coped well against him in our previous meetings this season so it promises to be another fascinating contest between them.

“He’s not their only star turn because McLean and Reid are a special combination while Darren Christie equally deserves our utmost respect and our players will need to be at the very top of their game to cope with this threat.

“Anything less won’t be enough which would be a crying shame when a place in the last eight of the Scottish Junior Cup is at stake.”

Word on the visiting team front makes midfielder Beau Longridge a definite non-starter because of having to serve out a three-match suspension.

However, pressing Kelly on the current state of playing affairs had him guardedly saying: “The guys came through a couple of stiff training sessions this week without any reaction so we will be close to full strength for going down to Beith.

“A final decision on whether to throw McGladrigan's name into the selection mix has yet to be taken even though he took part in a full-scale practice match last Saturday afternoon without any problems whatsoever.

“The guys are fighting fit and the spirit in the camp is good as you might expect when the team has been playing well after coming through a sticky patch so everyone is looking forward to what we expect to be a highly competitive cup game.”