THE luck of the cup is a concept that has given Alloa Athletic's Michael Doyle a wide berth to date, which is why he's hoping for a drastic change of fortune against Hibernian today.
Two seasons ago the 23-year-old right back added ignominy to the agony of a 7-0 hiding at the hands of Rangers by being sent off towards the end of a Scottish Cup third-round tie at Ibrox.
Last year there was even more pain for Doyle, this time in the League Cup, as he missed the deciding spot- kick that sent Aberdeen through after Alloa had battled them to a standstill over 120 goal-less minutes.
It is little wonder, then, that Doyle reckons he deserves some respite from the football gods at the Indodrill Stadium this afternoon. "In the game against Rangers frustration got the better of me and I got sent off. Then I missed the penalty which knocked us out at Pittodrie. I felt the pressure a bit and felt I had let the boys down. It wasn't a nice experience . I've had bad luck in the cups so, hopefully, that will be redeemed against Hibs."
Doyle has more pleasant memories of Hibernian's last visit in August, when Alloa secured a 2-1 win. "We are a fit team, we work hard and we have shown we can up our game to match the so-called big teams. We are going into this cup tie confident that we can win," Doyle added. "Playing at home is also a great advantage. I don't think teams like coming here."
Hibs keeper Mark Oxley has been struggling to recover from a back injury in recent weeks but insists he isn't worried about playing on Alloa's artificial pitch. "We have to use the surface to our advantage and zip the ball around," he said. "We know what to expect. There will be no excuses."
Oxley, 24, has impressed at the Easter Road club this season while on loan from Hull City and has expressed his desire to remain there beyond his deal's expiry in January. He has no wish to spend the rest of the season behind Allan McGregor, Steve Harper and Eldin Jakupovic in the Barclays Premier League side's pecking order.
"I am loving life with Hibs," Oxley said. "The most important thing for me is to play week in, week out. I was on the bench at Hull as a youngster and don't want to do that any more."
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