RIVALS Cumnock and Auchinleck Talbot are set for a mid-January showdown after being drawn together in the fourth round of the Junior Cup.

Talbot beat Hill of Beath Hawthorn 2-0 in a postponed third round tie this weekend to set up the match at Townhead Park against the Super League Premier Division’s basement dwellers.

The ‘Nock beat Bathgate Thistle 5-1 in a replay of the 2008 final at Cumnock in the third round almost four weeks ago while Talbot faced a long wait to get their game at Keir’s Park on.

New Cumnock boss Peter Leonard lost his first game in charge 3-2 at Beechwood Park and is now looking to get one over on Auchinleck.

He said: “Everybody is upbeat about it with the possibility of Cumnock v Auchinleck but Hill of Beath are nobody’s fools, they are a good team.

“It’s nice to get them again, obviously my first game was against Auchinleck so I’m looking forward to the next one.

With crucial league games coming up in the New Year, Leonard is eager to get going after a spate of recent postponements but knows all too well how enticing a possible cup tie with your rivals can be.

He added: “Not to dumb it down but the league is more important, we don’t want to get too distracted. We are working away at it and we want to get off the bottom of the league. I think it’s a false position we are in. We need to convert the cup form into league form.

“I’m not too worried about a fixture build up.

“With the light squad we had, it gives us a chance to strengthen the squad in January. I have a few targets in mind.”