KEVIN McDONALD and Danny Boyle were two of the outstanding players afield in last weekend’s 2-2 Scottish Cup stalemate between Beith and Auchinleck Talbot, but neither man is taking his place for granted ahead of the Ayrshire outfits preparing to do battle again in their William Hill Scottish Cup replay.

And hard to blame them considering the central defensive adversaries were both confined to substitute berths when their clubs met at Beechwood Park … in an Ardagh Glass Cup semi-final clash just 10 days ago.

Vastly-experienced campaigner McDonald is desperate to feature in Saturday’s third consecutive meeting of the Ayrshire rivals but says he would accept being ousted again if the Mighty could secure their passage into the next round.

Kev revealed: “Johnny Millar got his tactics spot on when he switched to a 3-5-2 formation last weekend with myself, Shez (John Sheridan) and Mark McLaughlin dovetailing at the back so we have the utmost faith in him calling it right again.

“He had gone with a flat back four in the semi-final and came agonisingly close to taking the game to penalty kicks until Talbot snatched a last-minute winner so it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he reverted to that set up for the replay.

“At the time I was disappointed rather than despondent as nobody likes missing out in such an important game out but I had a real spring to my step when he pulled me aside to say I was back in for Saturday.

“It’s for others to say if I did well enough to keep my place but hopefully that is the case as I thoroughly enjoyed the adrenalin rush from taking part in a crunch Scottish Cup contest and would love another crack at this Auchinleck side who have topped the Junior ranks for as long as I can remember.

“Yet isn’t it a measure of the progress made by this current Beith side when a draw against the West Region champions feels like a defeat?”

McDonald was powerless to prevent full-back Gordon Pope lashing home Auchinleck’s 87th minute equaliser at Bellsdale Park but insists he and his team-mates must be aware of the threat posed by late goal specialists Talbot.

He added: “Tommy Sloan has made a number of changes to his playing squad but they remain the same Talbot in terms of throwing the kitchen sink at opponents in the closing stages of games.

“They are never beaten and score late goals far too regularly for it to be considered lucky so we have to keep our wits about us and remain focused if we again get ourselves into a winning position come Saturday afternoon.”

Beith boss Miller admitted: “We went for it last Saturday and I was disappointed our tactical ploy never came off especially as I couldn’t see Talbot scoring until we fatally switched off at a free-kick.

“Our team selection could easily be the same again but Calum Watt and Richie Burke are fresh and raring to go so I have a lot to think about before kick-off.”

Bot stopper Boyle, a close season recruit from Rob Roy, says he couldn’t even begin to second guess manager Sloan’s selection thoughts.

He said: “Tucker is the manager and has the right to pick the team as he sees fit but I still appreciated him talking with me before the semi-final game at home to Beith to explain his reasons for keeping me fresh for the trip to Bellsdale

“I felt reasonably pleased with my performance down there but I’m only too aware there are four recognised centre-backs here – Craig McCracken, Martin McGoldrick, Ross Harvey and myself vying for just two places in the team so nothing less than your best will do the competition for jerseys is as intense as I’ve ever known.

“Craig did exceptionally well in the semi-final while Ross looked the part in a midfield role but there were several changes made by Tucker for the second game.

“Looking back, I would say Beith made better use of their infamous slope and had us under the cosh for spells, however other than their goal I cannot think of any time when they carved us open and it’s encouraging to think we coped with what they had to offer.

“Keeping things solid at the back is the key to winning this Scottish Cup tie as we have an abundance of forward going types capable of scoring goals and we also have Mark Shankland coming back from holiday tonight.

“If he has kept himself in shape then I wouldn't rule out Tucker including him in his team plans as Shanks is a flair player with genuine match-winning qualities.”

Meanwhile, it’s been announced that the Ardagh Glass Cup Final head-to-head of Auchinleck and Kilbirnie Ladeside will be taking place at Meadow Park on Sunday, October 9 (kick-off 2pm).