Scottish Cup: Darvel to take on Falkirk with a reduced capacity

Hundreds of fans of giant-killing Darvel could miss out on witnessing the biggest match in the club's history.

The Ayrshire side produced one of the biggest shocks in Scottish Cup history when they knocked out Aberdeen in front of a crowd of 3,500 last month.

But following a review, tickets for the fifth-round tie against Falkirk have been reduced by about 1,000.

The game at Recreation Park, which kicks off at 19:45, will be shown live on BBC Scotland.

The winner will host Ayr United in the quarter-finals.

Anticipation is building in the town ahead of the game between the West of Scotland Premier League side - the sixth tier of Scottish football - and Falkirk, who are in Scottish League One.

But some fans who witnessed the historic win over Aberdeen have been left disappointed.

Darvel owner John Gall told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "The police felt there was too many in the ground the last time so, for safety reasons, they have cut it by about 1,000 which was very disappointing for us.

"We fought hard to get these extra tickets but it wasn't to be.

"But, anyway, it is a sell-out again and the good thing is it is on the BBC and everybody in Darvel will be able to watch it on the telly."

However a senior officer later said the force was not behind the ruling, and East Ayrshire Council confirmed it took the decision to reduce capacity as a result of "lessons learned" from the previous cup tie.

A statement from the council said: "A safe capacity of 3,100 fans was agreed for the Aberdeen match due to the match being televised live for BBC Scotland. This was made up of 1000 Aberdeen FC support and 2,100 Darvel support.

"For the Falkirk match a new capacity of 2,750 has been calculated and agreed (Falkirk 900 fans and Darvel 1,850 fans). The revised capacity is down to lessons learned from the Aberdeen match."

Supt Rhona Fraser said: "Police Scotland did not request a reduction in capacity for the Scottish Cup fixture between Darvel and Falkirk on Monday, 13 February.

"An appropriate policing plan is in place to deliver a secure a safe and secure event."

Neil Allan was among the 3,500 crowd for the historic win over Aberdeen but he has been unable to secure a ticket for Monday's match.

He said: "I will be in the local pub, the Black Bull, so it is win-win in some ways.

"There will be a great atmosphere there, I'm sure."

Ahead of the match, Darvel players will gather early to watch the quarter-final draw which takes place at 17:30.

That could pit the winners of the match against cup holders Rangers or Premiership leaders Celtic.

Looking ahead to the Falkirk match, Mr Gall said the club was in an "unbelievable situation".

Mr Gall added: "We never get any negative thoughts so we are going into this game that hopefully we can win again and get into the quarter-finals."

He also revealed Darvel manager Mick Kennedy, who delivered a stirring pre-match team talk before the Aberdeen match, will be filmed again as he addresses the players in the home dressing room.

Mr Gall said: "It will be interesting to see how they react to it."

Last month Aberdeen and Police Scotland raised concerns over the 1,750 capacity for away fans ahead of the fourth-round tie on 23 January.

As a result the capacity in the ground was reduced from 4,000 to 3,500.

The West of Scotland Premier League side knocked out the seven-time winners thanks to a first-half goal by Jordan Kirkpatrick.