 Former Scotland and Hearts defender Christophe Berra returned to Hampden Park this afternoon as he made the draw for the Third Round of the 2022/23 Scottish Cup. Berra, who announced his retirement from football in the summer, joined host Gordon Duncan to make the draw for Round Three which will be contested over the weekend of Saturday, 26 November.The Second Round concluded last night as Pollok beat Annan Athletic at Newlandsfield Park live on BBC Scotland. With the Third Round seeing the introduction of sides from the Championship and League One, Berra’s former side Raith Rovers enter the competition and they will entertain Auchinleck Talbot, who reached the Fourth Round in last year’s Scottish Cup. Championship table-toppers Inverness Caledonian Thistle will host Stirling Albion, and Fraserburgh also have a home tie as they are rewarded for their fine win over Stranraer with a match against Dick Campbell’s Arbroath. Falkirk face a trip up north to face Wick Academy, while Drumchapel United – playing in the Scottish Cup for the first time – play host to FC Edinburgh. Speaking after the draw, Berra said: "Raith Rovers got a home tie so they’ll be happy although John McGlynn, who was my old manager at Raith Rovers and at Hearts under-18s - he’s now at Falkirk and unfortunately I didn’t get one for them, so when I turn my phone back on now I might have a few messages of abuse! It’s cup finals for the lower division sides playing against the league clubs. As you know there’s no easy games in football – it’s about the teams that turn up on the day, you’ve got to have the right application or there could be an upset." The Scottish Cup holds both enjoyable and painful memories for the defender, as he was part of the Hearts squad who won the cup in 2006 against Gretna but he would go on to lose two further finals against Celtic during his second spell with the Gorgie club. He added: "With regards to the Scottish Cup, I played in three finals – fortunately winning one but then losing two. Both losses were against Celtic. In 2006, I didn’t play that day. I was actually on the bench. Obviously disappointing that I wasn’t playing but looking back with the winner’s medal you can’t complain! There’s a part of me that wanted to have been in that starting eleven but I was in and out that year. I remember the bus parade down Princes Street and up Gorgie Road. Those are memories that will stay with you forever.The last one in 2020 was disappointing though. We were 2-0 down then brought it back to 2-2 and it went to extra-time. We were the team probably pushing for it and when it went to penalties I backed us to do it but unfortunately it didn’t happen." Hampden Park also holds fond memories from his time with the national side and Berra picks out the dramatic draw with England in 2017 as a stand-out match from the 41 caps he amassed. Berra went on: "From a Scotland point of view, the biggest one was when we played England at Hampden - the 2-2 game. Obviously we were so close to winning that game but I think it will still go down in history. It was a great atmosphere. I was fortunate to score four times for Scotland so it's something I can look back on and be really proud of." The defender called time on his playing career as he opted to leave Raith Rovers at the beginning of the season and having gained coaching experience at the Fife club, Berra has his eyes on coaching, and ultimately, management. He said: "There had been flashes in the previous season but it just came to the point, not so much physically but more mentally, I reached the decision. I’d been thinking about coaching or management in the two or three previous seasons before that so I need to prepare for that as well. Your day-to-day schedule changes but I’ve had a really good time at home with my family. The time has come now though to look to get back to work and look forward to the next stage of my career. I’ve done my B and my A Licences and the next one would be the UEFA Pro Licence when that’s available but the A Licence is enough to coach at a high level so that’s the aim. I’m very open on how to reach where I want to go. I’ve done coaching in the past at the Hearts academy and in the first team with Raith Rovers as well so I’ve got a lot to give. It’s not going to be easy. I want to be a manager but I know there’s a process and I’m willing to put the hours in and hopefully progress. Down in England I was with Mick McCarthy, his morals were very honest. At Wolves I also had Stale Solbakken who is the Norway manager now and I learned things from him. Every manager you learn things from and up here working with Gordon Strachan, he was a big influence on me." Full Third Round Draw: Albion Rovers v University of Stirling Ayr United v Pollok Clyde v Dumbarton Cove Rangers v Dunipace Drumchapel United v FC Edinburgh Dundee v Airdrieonians Dunfermline Athletic v Forfar Athletic Formartine United v Stenhousemuir Fraserburgh v Arbroath Greenock Morton v Queen of the South Hamilton Academical v East Kilbride Hill of Beath Hawthorn v Elgin City Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Stirling Albion Linlithgow Rose v Sauchie Juniors Montrose v Darvel Open Goal Broomhill v Alloa Athletic Partick Thistle v Kelty Hearts Peterhead v Queen’s Park Raith Rovers v Auchinleck Talbot Wick Academy v Falkirk |
|
Editor |