Prolific Culter forward Jamie McAllister has decided to sacrifice attending his best friend’s stag party in Portugal in a bid to help the Aberdeen junior side progress to the fourth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.
The 30-year-old, who netted 75 times last season, was supposed to be heading to Lisbon this weekend but has opted to forgo the trip and face Berwick Rangers instead.
The sides drew 1-1 at Crombie Park last Saturday and co-manager Andy Gibson is delighted he will have McAllister in the squad when Culter make the long journey south tomorrow.
Gibson said: “It is very good news for us that Jamie is going to stay. He had let us know in pre-season the dates that he wasn’t going to be available for us so we did know that he might have been unavailable if the tie went to a replay.
“He is obviously an important player for us. We competed very well against Berwick Rangers last Saturday and we will try to do the same again this Saturday. We will try to be as positive as possible and see what happens.”
McAllister admitted he could not allow the opportunity to help his side progress in the Scottish Cup pass him by.
He said: “I have thought it over and it is just too big a game to miss. I have taken a financial hit but it is just one of those things.
“I will obviously have to apologise to my friend and buy him a drink at his wedding.”
Two years ago, Culter achieved one of the greatest results in the club’s history when they held Jackie McNamara’s Partick Thistle to a 1-1 draw in the third round of the competition at Crombie Park, only to lose 4-0 in the replay at Firhill.
A home tie against Dumbarton is the reward if Culter can beat the Wee Gers.
Gibson added: “We have to learn from the Partick Thistle match.
“We did really well up here against them but we went down to Firhill and lost a really early goal in the first couple of minutes of the replay which knocked the stuffing out of us.
“It is really important that we start the game on our toes.
“We can’t afford to lose any silly goals. If we can keep it tight then the pressure will start to turn on to Berwick. They will start as strong favourites and the pressure is all on them on Saturday.”