Alexandria coach hoping Banks o'Dee can cause Scottish Cup shock against Dumbarton

Dumbarton kick off their Scottish Cup campaign this weekend as Highland League Banks o’Dee visit The Rock.

But to avoid their hopes of Hampden falling at the first hurdle the Sons will need to find a way beyond a goalkeeper trained by an Alexandria local.

Former Vale of Leven under-21s stopper Gordon Milne is goalkeeping coach at the Aberdeen side, and he says the Highland League visitors will be aiming to cause a shock – even if it means ending the cup dreams of childhood pals.

And as a boyhood Clydebank fan Gordon has an extra incentive to dump the Sons out of the cup.

He laughed: “I was utterly delighted when it was Dumbarton’s name that came out the hat.

“Dumbarton are my local side but I’m actually a big Clydebank fan. I used to be a ballboy when they played at Boghead.

“My dad is a regular at Clydebank games, so they would’ve been the dream draw. But you can’t get much better than Dumbarton as someone who grew up in the area.

“Dumbarton’s media manager, John Sartain, is a good friend of mine and I know how big a Dumbarton fan he is. I’ve also got a number of other friends who are big Dumbarton fans as well, so there’s the potential to cause a wee shock for them.

“We know how good a team Dumbarton are, but we feel we can compete with them.

“If we show what we can do then we’ll be a handful for anybody.

“And it would be nice to get the bragging rights.

“It will be enjoyable. I’ve mentioned it to a few of the guys in the team, so they know it’s my local team.

“ I was joking on social media that it was a homecoming – and the guys know how big a thing it is for me.”

Gordon’s journey in football started with the Vale before he moved to Aberdeen in 2008 to work in the military police.

Prior to joining Banks, who are