THERE’S a glimmer of hope that Port Glasgow’s Scottish Cup tie against Auchinleck Talbot might go ahead tomorrow at the second time of asking.

The match was called off last week, with the Parklea surface covered in snow and ice.

But that fate was shared with every other junior club in the West Region, with the entire programme wiped out as winter took a grip.

And with the temperatures barely getting above freezing point for much of this week, another postponement tomorrow looked likely.

However, the forecast for milder weather today - accompanied by heavy rain - has raised the chances of the snow being cleared away in time to perhaps give the much-anticipated match a chance of going ahead.

The Port’s assistant manager, Scott Jackson, pictured, says everyone at the club hopes that will happen.

He said: “Obviously we were well up for it last week, and although the call-off was expected after all the snow that hit the area, it was still a disappointment that the game was postponed.

“There has hardly been any change in conditions this week, so we hope the weather forecast for today and into Saturday morning is accurate, although it will take a big improvement to allow the game to go ahead.” The unavailability of Parklea meant more disruption to the club’s usual training schedule.

As in the previous week, only one session could be arranged, this time at the Lady Octavia Sports Centre last night.

There’s little change in the team news from last week, with Kearn Docherty still likely to be ruled out, although the extra week off may have given striker Scott Nugent more time to recover from his ankle knock. With the Scottish Cup ties taking precedence over all other fixtures, the match will continue to be re-scheduled until it is eventually played.

That can occasionally see clubs fall behind with their league games, but with the Port having just eight fixtures still to play in the Central League Second Division, that’s not a scenario likely to trouble Craig Brown’s men.

However they will be keen for the cup tie not to become a long, drawn-out saga, and will be keeping a hopeful eye on today’s weather.

Kick-off is scheduled for 1.45pm, with the match going to a replay if level after 90 minutes.

Port Glasgow Juniors are sponsored by Regents Vehicle Sales, Greenock, and MAC HSL Ltd.