Fraserburgh manager Kris Hunter has urged his players to grasp the opportunity to create history in their Scottish Cup tie against Stenhousemuir on Saturday.
The Broch are playing in the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 1954 when they were defeated 4-2 by Alloa Athletic and have never reached the fifth round of the national cup competition. Hunter, whose side defeated Montrose 2-1 in the previous round at Bellslea earlier this month, believes his players can pull off another cup upset against the Warriors at Ochilview Park this weekend.
He said: “A lot of people won’t remember the last time we reached the fourth round given it was in 1954. The players can create history if they win on Saturday.
“It is great for us to be in this round and hope- fully we can go down to Stenhousemuir and get a result.
“The game will be on an artificial pitch and, although we are not used to that surface, we just have to try our best.
“We have nothing to lose and the pressure is all on Stenhousemuir. We have a talented team who will be really fired up for the match.
“It is a one-off game – if we lose it is the end of the journey but if we can win then who knows what can be waiting for us in the next round?
“That is the excitement of the cup – anything can happen. If they don’t perform and everyone of our players play the way they can then we believe we can give them a good game.”
The Broch are the only Highland League side still in the competition and captain Russell McBride is proud to be flying the flag. Stenhousemuir are fifth in League 1 and have been involved in plenty of high-scoring matches in November having scored at least two goals and conceded at least two in each of their five matches so far this month.
McBride knows if his side defend well then they will have a great chance of progressing.
He said: “I noticed that they have conceded quite a few goals recently. Hopefully we can keep it tight at the back as we have players in our team who are always capable of scoring.
“The weather played a big part in our win against Montrose but at the same time I think we were more up for it than they were.
“Stenhousemuir are a division above Montrose but anything can happen on the day. It is nice to have the bragging rights of being the last Highland League team in the cup.
“Our league form has been up and down but this gives the squad something to play for and keeps everyone focused.”