Pollok have fired 20 goals in their run to the Scottish Cup semi-finals – but manager Tony McInally reckons the tie with Hurlford is too tight to call.

The junior heavyweights do battle this afternoon at Blair Park in the first leg of the last-four tie, and McInally can’t wait for the action to begin.

His table-topping side are on top form at the moment and are relishing the opportunity of taking part in their first national semi-final since 2009.

The talented Lok gaffer said: “The boys are on good form and training has been first class, so we will go into the game with a fair degree of confidence.

“I have a full squad to choose from and the difficult bit now is trying to pick the right team and the right bench – and sadly the horrible part is telling a few of boys that they won’t be getting a jersey. That’s the downside, but the mood in the camp is very good at the moment.”

Hot-shot striker David Winters already has seven Scottish Cup goals to his name this season, and will prove the main danger to Darren Henderson’s ‘Ford.

However, McInally reckons there is little advantage in having the first leg away from home.

He said: “I don’t think it gives us any advantage whatsoever. What we have here is two evenly matched teams trying to reach the final, and in the past year or so we have played Hurlford four times and all the game have been very close.

“They are usually fiercely-contested games. Hurlford have won two, we’ve got a victory and the other was a draw.

“Darren has built an excellent squad there and they have some real top players. They are at the top end of the juniors and have been for the last few seasons, but our team has also grown and is getting better all the time, so it is shaping up to be a cracking cup tie.

“I think both legs will be close. There will be no surprises for ourselves or Hurlford as both teams know each other very well. Darren deserves a lot of credit and respect for the way he has built Hurlford up.

“He has a formidable team and let’s not forget that they won the Scottish Cup a couple of seasons ago, so from that perspective they have a winning mentality and some real top players to call on.

“The boys up front, like Stewart Kean, Paul McKenzie and Ross Robertson get a lot of the headlines but some of their other players are equally as important. They have a very good goalkeeper and good backbone to the team. They are really good defensively and it will be a tight game, I have no doubt about that.

“But we know what to expect and hopefully we can turn up at their place and put on a performance that makes everyone at Pollok proud.”

But as well as singing the praises of the opposition, McInally also knows that he has a top group of players to call upon.

He said: “I have a really talented group of players and they are great to work with. To be honest, the players deserve all the credit for anything we achieved so far this season.

“It is our first season back in the Premier League and we have consolidated very well, and are already looking to build for next season. We are currently top of the league but respect that other teams have got games in hand, even though they can’t all win them.

“We will try our best to achieve what we can in the three remaining competitions – the Scottish, the League and the League Cup – and for the rest of the season.”

McInally has a full squad to choose from and will be looking for a positive result to take back to Newlandsfield for next Saturday’s deciding leg.

He said: “We have no real injury worries for this afternoon’s match. We did have a few wee niggles, but the players concerned have overcome them, and now we are all just looking forward to the match.

“We are planning to go down and cause Hurlford as many problems as possible. It’s a great occasion and we are all looking forward to it.

“The only hope is that our players will perform on the day and do themselves and the club justice.”

Meanwhile, Ian Nixon, recently released from Super League Cumnock – and a former Largs Thistle and Morton goalkeeper – is currently on the lookout for a new club for next season. If interested, please contact iannixoni@gmail.com