Bonnyrigg Rose goalkeeper Mark Weir on banter with the Hibs fans and how he put off Aiden McGeady

Mischievous Bonnyrigg Rose goalkeeper Mark Weir admits what he said to Aiden McGeady before the Hibs winger missed his penalty at New Dundas Park is “probably unprintable”.

But after a man-of-the-match display in the 4-1 Premier Sports Cup defeat in front of the TV cameras, the Hearts fan revealed that he was also on the receiving end of some “good banter” from Hibs fans.

Weir was booked by referee Steven McLean for comments made to McGeady, but whatever he said had the desired affect as the former Celtic and Ireland winger stepped up and miscued his spot kick past the post.

“Probably not something that can be printed,” the Rose keeper replied when asked what he said. “Maybe I shouldn't have done what I did. The referee booked me, which is fair enough. We lose the early goal and then they get the penalty. It was a poor start, so missing the penalty was something that gave the team a lift.”

Weir made three superb saves in the first half and had to contend with plenty of stick himself from the visiting support. Selecting a maroon towel probably didn’t help.

“It was just luck of the draw,” he claimed. “I picked one out of the box and it just so happened to be a maroon one.

He added: “When the draw was made everyone wanted Hibs. To get them here in front of a packed house it was a great experience.

“I had a good bit of banter with the fans. I’m not shy to Tweet, Retweet or like stuff about Hearts. I was a season ticket holder for years at Tynecastle. I’ve got a lot of Hibs pals who know I’m a Jambo, but on the park it doesn’t matter who you support. Last week at Tynecastle I wanted to win. It didn’t matter that we were playing against Hearts. I’ve only got one affiliation on the pitch and that’s Bonnyrigg.”

Bonnyrigg goalkeeper Mark Weir enjoyed some "good banter" with the Hibs fans in the Premier Sports Cup tie at New Dundas Park. Picture: Mark Scates / SNS

Weir must be pinching himself. Seven days after playing at Tynecastle in a friendly against Hearts, Hibs are the visitors in his team’s first competitive home match of the season. Bonnyrigg are rubbing shoulders with the big boys. They’ve come along way.

Weir was there when Rose were East Super League junior champions in 2017/18. They joined the pyramid that summer and four years on earned promotion to the SPFL as Lowland League champions.

“It didn’t really sink in until the Hibs game,” Weir reflected. “You go into the changing room and our strips have the cinch SPFL logo. We had Hibs here. We payed at Tynecastle last week. It’s massive. It’s a long was from, no disrespect, but playing against teams in the juniors. It’s great for the club. We’ve come a long way, but this is just the start.”

Bonnyrigg are building towards their first League 2 match at home to Forfar Athletic at the end of the month. Before then they entertain Falkirk on at New Dundas Park on Wednesday before finishing their group away to Morton on Saturday. Reaching the last 16 is still in their hands.

“Falkirk are flying with two wins out of two, but stranger tings have happened,” added Weir. “We’re not out of it, but our main focus is mainly on Forfar.”