WHO says romance is dead? That cliched old nonsense about the magic of the Scottish Cup will be back in fashion with a vengeance next month when East Kilbride, a lowland league club who have only been in existence in this current incarnation for six years, host big shots Celtic in the fifth round. They secured their last 16 berth, and consequent life-changing six figure pay-out, with this deserved victory over East of Scotland League Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale at the K-Park. While their club's secretary was reluctant to confirm it, the SFA tweeted last night that the match will be played at New Douglas Park, Hamilton.

As they went off into the night and an impromptu celebratory beer at a bar called Baroco in the town, Billy Ogilvie - a taxi driver by day - was giving himself the day off. Words even seemed to be failing him at one point - surely another first for a Glasgow taxi driver. "I am going to have a day off tomorrow," said Ogilvie. "You would be taking a chance going in my taxi tomorrow! My taxi has become the most popular taxi in Glasgow but we are just so delighted to be through, to be at such a historic stage of the Scottish Cup. It is a privilege just to be invited into the Scottish Cup and now Celtic ... just wow."

This was proper, old school fitba, enjoyable enough to put a smile back on the face of even the most hardened Scottish football cynic. With the only pyrotechnics coming from the fast food stall in the corner which was sending fried food fumes into the chilly night air in this wee corner of Calderglen Country Park, fans mingled without any need for segregation, and these two teams showing no shortage of attacking ambition and talent, all in front of a watching celebrity audience. Those asking for tickets included Scotland boss Gordon Strachan, former Rangers stars and East Kilbride locals Ally McCoist and Barry Ferguson, and Leigh Griffiths, not so much on a scouting mission for the next round as paying homage to the club where he started out. Griffiths is one of a number of notable alumni from Hutchison Vale, the much vaunted youth scheme which has fed into LTHV since 2009. The first match had been postponed due to the recent cold snap.

Social media had been abuzz all day with the news that Fraser Ogilvie, LTVH's 31-year-old midfielder and player/coach, would have to keep goal, due to the broken arm sustained by regular No 1 Kevin Swain and the illness which struck down his usual replacement Byron Gibb. Gibb, however, made a Lazarus-like recovery, and was able to take his place between the sticks, although one home fan in the crowd put a less than charitable interpretation on things when he spilled an innocuous cross. "You should have stuck with the boy that had the broken airm," he shouted.

East Kilbride, denizens of the newly created Lowland League, were the favourites here, though, and had no shortage of star acts in their team too. Andy Smith, twice a Scottish veteran of the Airdrieonians team which played against both Rangers and Celtic in the early 90s, cut his usual fearsome figure in the stand as he watched his son Jack lead the line. While he lacks the sharp elbows which Smith displayed during his career, this 21-year-old, who played his youth football at St Mirren, does have flaring pace and an eye for goal. When he lashed in a fine low finish from all of 22 yards to open the scoring here after 40 minutes it moved him onto 28 goals for the season, one more than both Griffiths and Martyn Waghorn, of Rangers. Perhaps he can argue that makes him better than both of them.

Anton Brady, a former St Mirren player who tackled Celtic in his past life, was another who lived up to star billing in this EK team, and he almost dribbled past the entire LTHV team as the home side's barnstorming opening threatened to end this contest early. Craig Hastings tugged a shot wide from a promising position too, and LTHV left back Scott Taylor-McKenzie had to head a corner from his own line but having failed to get the goal their visitors from the East, who had disposed of both Montrose and Huntly to get this far, grew into this game.

Two glaring opportunities for the visitors both fell to the luckless Willis Hare. First he opted to cross when a shot was surely the better option, allowing Matthew McGinley to save well, then lashing a strike off the bar with the goal gaping.

Into the second half now and Smith tugged a shot wide as Kilby chased the goal which would have killed this tie off, then Hare spurned another opportunity to make himself a hero when his low finish was palmed to safety by McGinley.

Substitute Liam Gormley, who once graced a youth cup final in Celtic's colours, almost booked the meeting with his former team but the insurance goal finally arrived when Bernard Coll's corner was dropped by Gibb, and Sean Winter, once of Stranraer, gleefully stabbed it in. Winter, formerly of Stranraer, was taking a risk just by playing as he recovered from a broken hand. "I have scored prettier goals but I will take it," he said. While he milked the acclaim of the crowd, perhaps the poor old LTHV keeper wished he had stayed in his sick bed and given his midfield colleague the gloves.

East Kilbride 2

J Smith 40, Winter 86

Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale 0

East Kilbride: McGinley; Gebbie , Stevenson, Russell, Coll; Winter, McBride, R Smith (Johnstone 25), Brady, J Smith, Hastings (Gormley 78).

Subs not used: Kean, Lachlan, Morris, Templeton, MacDonald

LTHV: Gibb; Moore, Joint, Mearns, Mackenzie; Smith (Fox 73), Crawford, Kerr (Moffat 61), Hare (O’Donnell 76), Brown, Gormley.

Subs not used: Ogilvie, Shala, Hendry, Mungall

Booked: (LTHV) Mearns, Smith, Crawford

Referee: N. Walsh.

Attendance: 450