REFEREE Ian Craig can expect a hot reception at Prestonfield on Saturday if he's the man in charge when Linlithgow Rose and Whitletts Victoria do it all over again in the fifth round of the Emirates Scottish Junior Cup.
Craig seemed determined to take centre stage in this match on a bitterly cold day in Ayrshire las
t Saturday as the sides battled to a 1-1 draw.
He left Linlithgow with ten for an hour after controversially sending off John Adam and continued to infuriate the visiting fans with a host of questionable decisions before awarding the home side a soft-looking penalty that earned them a trip to West Lothian this weekend.
Linlithgow boss Dave Baikie had to bite his tongue after the match.
"Under the circumstances, I'm delighted we've got another bite at the cherry – we're still in the Scottish Cup and that's the most important thing," said Baikie.
In a game of very few clear-cut chances, Whitletts came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first-half, giant centre-half David Buchanan beating Steven Pinkowski with a header that just cleared the bar after Linlithgow had been caught napping by a quickly-taken free-kick.
Three minutes later, Adam got his marching orders, the former Brechin midfielder being shown a straight red card for a tackle on Steven Kerr.
The ten men, however, went in front just after the break, full-back Mark Tyrell curling home a sweetly-struck free-kick.
Linlithgow held on to that lead until the 70th minute, when Rose winger Roddy McLennan was left looking utterly bemused after he was adjudged to have given away a penalty and David McGivern sent Pinkowski the wrong way.
