There were more than a few sore heads in Auchinleck on Sunday morning.

After one of the biggest days in the village's history, Talbot fans woke up a little worse for wear realising it wasn't a dream and that their side had indeed knocked Ayr United out of the Scottish Cup.

The BBC's cameras were trained on Beechwood Park for the big match as a whole community rallied round their club – not just to support the players but to make sure everything went smoothly.

Several volunteers turned up before dawn to help remove the frost covers they had put down earlier in the week to ensure the game went ahead while others who give their time every other Saturday returned to make the match, at worst, an off-field success.

It's an effort that hasn't gone unnoticed and Talbot secretary Henry Dumigan was delighted that the players were able to return that effort on the pitch.

Henry told the Chronicle: "It's great and I'm happy for everybody associated with the club. There's a lot of hard work goes into it.

"It's a big reward for our fans, for the club and the village in general – and the surrounding villages – who support us really well. It's a great reward for a lot of people that work for the club. I'm proud of it.

"This is something the area can associate with and it's a great pride for them to be associated with a club like this going through to the fifth round. We're a step off the quarter-final now, it's unbelievable."

Craig McCracken had already written his name into Talbot history by scoring a stoppage-time winner in the Junior Cup final back in May and his goal sparked scenes of delight among the Talbot faithful.

After the game, the law student thank the fans for all their support. He said: "It's different class. The fans love being in this cup and testing ourselves – so do the boys.

"You want to be playing the best players you can. You saw how many of the fans turned out today and they were different class.

"You get more recognition playing with Auchinleck at times than you do playing with Ayr, that's how big the club is in this area. I can't really describe it but you see what it means to the fans, they'll go away happy tonight."

Manager Tommy Sloan is a regular fixture in Auchinleck, having signed with Talbot in 2003 and he knows how much the village will take from the result.

He said: "You can see the reaction of all the fans. It's a marvellous result, we've progressed another round into the Scottish Cup and we're in the hat with the big boys again. This is something we've not had before and it means a lot to the club.

"It's a lot of hard work [to put on the game]. We bought frost covers and that was money well spent because I think we needed them. It might've been off if we didn't have them.

"Without a doubt, there's a lot of work goes on behind the scenes and whatnot and certainly a lot of work goes on on the training ground.

"We're delighted to be through and it helps the profile of the club by beating a senior side."

With a return to Tynecastle seven years on from their last foray into the fourth round, Henry had one final thought for the Jambos.

"I'd like to bring Hearts here and get a wee bit of revenge."