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Scottish football: Rangers paired with East Fife in last eight of Petrofac Training Cup

Rangers striker Kris Boyd scores his second goal in the 8-1 victory over Clyde
Image: Rangers striker Kris Boyd scores his second goal in the 8-1 Petrofac Training Cup victory over Clyde.

Draw for the quarter-finals of the Petrofac Training Cup.

Morton v Alloa Athletic

Stranraer v Falkirk

East Fife v Rangers

Peterhead v Livingston

Ties to be played Saturday, September 6. 

Commenting on the chance to face last year's beaten finalists (then under the guise of Ramsdens Cup) East Fife manager Gary Naismith said: "I’m looking forward to it, regardless of who we got it was going to be a difficult tie.

“We’ve played Rangers twice since I became manager, they were both close games so it’s going to be hard but I think it’s one we should look forward to rather than fear.”

Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley believes manager Ally McCoist will be happy to face the League Two strugglers who are joint bottom of the table with no points from two games.

"It could have been tougher," he said. "Rangers are playing against a young side at East Fife with Gary Naismith starting out on his managerial career so I would say Ally will be happy enough.

“If Rangers turn up on the day and perform as they did against Clyde then it will be a difficult game for East Fife but obviously they’ve got the home advantage which is a big plus when you’re playing against Rangers.

“I think history tells you that Rangers haven’t travelled well over the past few seasons so East Fife will have that going for them but I think both sides will be looking forward to it.”

Stranraer assistant boss Stephen Farrell admits only a match against the odds-on favourites could have been tougher than the pairing against Peter Houston's Falkirk.

“Arguably outside of Rangers, Falkirk are one of the strongest teams we could have drawn in the competition but we’ve got a home tie which is the first thing any team that’s in a cup is looking for," he said.

“We’re looking forward to the tie, we’ve got a good home record so hopefully we’ll give Falkirk a difficult tie on the day.”

Alex Smith, Falkirk's technical director, said: "It’s a very difficult tie but one that we’ll look forward to. We’ll go down and enjoy it, and our fans will like it.

"They’ll enjoy the journey and hopefully it will be a good day out for us. We hope we can get the result necessary but we know it’ll be tough.”

Livingston booked their place in the last eight with a 4-1 victory over Hearts on Wednesday evening and Peterhead keeper Graeme Smith expects a tough tie against John McGlynn's side.

“The teams we’ve come up against so far have been hard teams but as a unit we’ve defended well and we’ve got guys up top that can score goals.

“We know Livingston will be a different proposition, they’re well organised and more importantly they’re full time. It will be a very, very tough game but we’ve beaten full time teams before.”

Livingston assistant boss Mark Burchill said: “Obviously it’s a difficult tie, as everyone is looking for a home tie.

“I think going up to Peterhead will be a hard game, they’ve got a big budget for the league they’re in and they’ve got a good home record. Beating Hearts in the previous round, we were confident no matter who we got but we’ll see how it goes.”

Morton boss Jim Duffy believes playing the tie at Cappielow could be key to ending Alloa's interest in the competition.

“From our point of view it’s good to have a home draw," he said. “I think that’s always the clichéd answer but it’s true because you can prepare without the travelling.

“I know Barry Smith very well, he was my captain at Dundee for many years and a guy I’ve got tremendous respect for so it’s nice to come up against him.”

Smith, now in charge of Alloa, said: "Obviously we would have preferred a home tie, it will be difficult but it’s against my old manager which is good.

“We’re looking forward to the game. Being the quarter finals it will be an important game for both clubs. All games are different and we’ll take this one on its own merit.

"Jim will have them well organised and we’re going to have to be capable of breaking that down.”

Ties to be played Saturday, September 6. 

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