EK duo keen for Rangers upset

Sep 24 2008 by Paul Thomson, East Kilbride News

EAST Kilbride duo Scott Chaplain and Willie Kinniburgh are hoping to cause a cup upset when they meet Rangers in the League Cup.

The Partick Thistle pair face the Scottish Premier League leaders tonight (Wednesday) in a rematch of last season’s Scottish Cup quarter-final replay. And they are hoping they can avenge their 2-0 defeat when Walter Smith’s side come calling.

Ian McCall’s team will have home advantage in the Co-operative Insurance Cup third round match, but will be faced with the mammoth task of overcoming last season’s UEFA Cup finalists with Rangers set to field a strong team.

Willie from Newlandsmuir and Scott from Westwood grew up supporting the Ibrox side, but they want nothing more than to send their heroes crashing out of the cup.

Jags defender Willie, who started his first league match of the season on Saturday and picked up a nasty head knock in the process, told the News: “It should be a great game and I wouldn’t be disappointed if we put Rangers out.

“I grew up supporting them, but you don’t think about that when you go into these games.

“You want to do the best for yourself and the club. To win would be great, but everyone’s got to play at their best and we’ve got to hope Rangers have a bad night.”

The 24-year-old defender, whose brother Steven plays for Rangers reserves, added: “We’ve been playing really well recently and we’ve got a bit of confidence going into the game.

“It’s a cup game and shocks can happen in these matches so you never know how it will end up.”

Partick are in a rich vein of form at the moment and currently sit in second place in the first division, just two points behind leaders Livingston who they face on Saturday.

The Firhill outfit have enjoyed a good run in the Challenge Cup too and are set to play Airdrie in the semi-finals next month.

And with confidence high, Scott Chaplain hopes his side can use last season’s experience with Rangers to their advantage.

“It’s a massive game for us and everyone is looking forward to it,” said the 24-year-old midfielder.

“The experience of last year’s game will stand us in good stead, but it won’t make the game any easier for us. If we are going to beat Rangers, we will need to score first like we did at Ibrox last year when Damon Gray scored.

“We’ve got a bigger squad this year and we are doing well in all competitions so hopefully we can keep the momentum going.

“There’s no doubt we’ll go through a sticky spell in the match, but if we can hang in there we might have a chance.”

l Partick play Rangers in the Co-operative Insurance Cup at Firhill tonight, kick-off 7.45pm, and is live on the BBC.