Bonnyrigg's Michael Andrews: Hibs horror show gave me wake-up call

His Tynecastle horror show was the wake-up call Bonnyrigg Rose goalkeeper Michael Andrews needed.
Bonnyrigg Rose goalkeeper picks the ball out of the net during the thrashing by Hibs. Andrews was dropped after that match. Pic: SNSBonnyrigg Rose goalkeeper picks the ball out of the net during the thrashing by Hibs. Andrews was dropped after that match. Pic: SNS
Bonnyrigg Rose goalkeeper picks the ball out of the net during the thrashing by Hibs. Andrews was dropped after that match. Pic: SNS

Andrews conceded eight as Hibs ran riot in the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup in Gorgie and the 26-year-old was subsequently dropped for a teenage keeper.

The former Berwick Rangers and Cowdenbeath stopper, however, has bounced back admirably since losing his No.1 jersey. After on-loan Hearts keeper Kelby Mason returned to Riccarton with a back injury, Andrews regained his place and has kept three clean sheets in succession. He’s eager for another tomorrow as Bonnyrigg host Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in a mouthwatering Scottish Junior Cup quarter-final.

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Andrews admits he had taken his eye off the ball with his position in the starting XI pretty much guaranteed and he said: “The Hibs game [an 8-1 defeat] hurt all the boys. Personally, it was a big occasion and it’s not the way you want to leave it. It’s football and you’ve got to remember who we are playing against and how far we actually got in the competition.

“It took me a while to watch the highlights. I watched them just for my own personal feedback on the game and I know myself what I did wrong. But it’s been and done, there’s no point dwelling on it. If I could play the game again I would, but that’s football, you only get one chance.

“I sat out two games after the Hibs game. I think the gaffer was just trying to give me a rest period to get my head focused again. We took a bit of beating, so it was tough.

“It gave me a chance to sit back and reflect on it all and get my head back right again. It wasn’t the worse thing in the world to miss a couple of games.

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“I had maybe fallen away in training a wee bit. The young lad that came in on loan [Kelby Mason] gave me that kick up the backside basically to get back on it. It probably helped me getting challenged for the No.1 jersey.

“I kind of knew I was going to play every week. You get in a wee bit of a comfort zone. It’s not like you are going in with bad habits, you just need that wee push, it’s the same in every position. I think I’ve done fine since I’ve been back in.”

Bonnyrigg have reached one stage further than they did last season in this competition and are now just potentially three games away from a cup final place. For all Rose achieved last season as manager Robbie Horn led them to a dominant Super League title win, the lingering disappointment was their 5-0 fifth round exit to Pollok at their New Dundas Park home.

Andrews says they are long over that defeat and believes they can go all the way this time around.

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He continued: “I think we’ve probably forgotten about that now. Everyone has their bad days and I think as a team we just never performed on that day and Pollok did. I think we’ve achieved a lot bigger and better since then, going on and winning the league last year then enjoying the Scottish Cup success this season.

“The Scottish [Junior] Cup was always something in our sights this year. To go and challenge for and do better than last season, it’s definitely there for us, we just need to keep winning each game as it comes.”