EAST FIFE swapped Irn-Bru for Guinness last weekend after their farcical call-off led to a night out in Dublin with their loyal fans.
Now, Mark Docherty hopes to repay the Bayview faithful with something real to celebrate as the Methil men target a cup double over Partick Thistle.
After their Irn-Bru Cup quarter-final against Bohemians was postponed just seven minutes from kick-off, Docherty and his team-mates made the most of their free afternoon by heading for Dublin’s famous Temple Bar pubs.
Many of the hundreds of Fifers fans who had made the journey over the Irish Sea had the same idea.
As Darren Young’s squad bonded over a pint or two, they mingled with supporters and Docherty admits the experience has left them determined to say cheers with a victory.
The defender told Capital City Press: “After the fiasco we had last week, not having a game and the wee bit of a shambles we were faced with over in Dublin, the boys are looking forward to getting back to business.
“Partick Thistle is a big test for us, playing against a Championship team, but it’s one we’re looking forward to and we’re hopeful of progressing and getting into the quarter-finals.
“When the game was called off we went into Dublin and had a wee night out and we actually bumped into quite a lot of the fans who were there.
“Although the call-off wasn’t ideal for either us or the fans, at least we bumped into a few of them in Temple Bar and had a few beers with them.
“It was great for team bonding and great to make that connection with the supporters. The boys just showed their appreciation for the fact they had come over, because I think there were four or five hundred of them who travelled.
“It was a great effort from them to support the team and it was good for us to mingle with them on the Saturday night. It was good craic.”
East Fife, who were awarded a bye past Bohs into the semi-final, stunned Thistle in the Irn-Bru Cup back in September when they came back from a goal down to win 2-1.
And Docherty, who made his injury comeback from nearly eight months out in that victory, insists lightning can strike twice as they bid to follow up their win over Morton in the last round.
After posting six wins from their last seven games, the 30-year-old added: “Mentally, it’s a good thing that we’ve played them already this season and managed to beat them.
“We’ve played a number of Championship teams – Queen of the South, Falkirk, and Morton in the last round.
“We know it will be a test because they’ve strengthened and brought in Gary Caldwell as manager, so it will be a different challenge to the last time.
“But we’re on a good run of form ourselves, so hopefully we can cause them problems and if we could get into a quarter-final of the Scottish Cup it would be brilliant for everybody at the club.”
