Josh Peters insists Elgin City are ready to take on their higher ranked opponents in the Premier Sports Cup, starting on Saturday against Championship Arbroath.
Dick Campbell’s part-timers finished seventh in the second-tier last term, defying the odds once more and were 3-0 winners against Elgin in this competition last term.
A 4-1 defeat to Ross County dashed any hopes of progression from that group, but wins over Stirling Albion and Montrose saw them finish third.
SATURDAY 🎟
Tomorrow we start off our campaign vs Arbroath Football Club in the Premier Sports Cup 🏆
Tickets are available via https://t.co/e6jb9vpoTb so grab yours before they sell out. Please note this will be a TICKET ONLY match⚽️
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) July 9, 2021
This time, the Black and Whites head to Premiership Dundee United next Wednesday before hosting Kelty Hearts on July 20 before travelling to East Fife on July 24.
Peters relishing chance to challenge stronger sides
Striker Peters is looking forward to the challenge, with the two toughest teams first up.
He explained: “I really enjoy the League Cup in this format because it gives you a chance to play against bigger teams that you’re not used to playing.
“It’s a chance to showcase your own ability and your team’s ability. Some teams treat it as a pre-season competition, but in my eyes, any competitive game means a lot. The competition gives you a wee taster before the league gets started.
PREMIER SPORTS CUP 🎟
We kick off our Premier Sports Cup Group Stage at home to Arbroath Football Club this Saturday ⚽️
Tickets are available via https://t.co/iu7jbCmDLq 🎫
Streaming is also available via https://t.co/ZJJdqFs4Z7
See you Saturday 🖤🏟 pic.twitter.com/ycu6814wvE
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) July 6, 2021
“Last year, we made a good account of ourselves against good opposition. We do tend to perform well against higher opposition and Arbroath will be that on Saturday, being Championship opponents.
“We played them last year in the cup, so we know what they’re all about.”
No annual reshapes at Elgin and Arbroath are strong foundations for both clubs, according to the 24-year-old frontman.
He said: “Arbroath have done really well to compete at that level in the Championship. They have been unbelievable.
“They are similar to us as a club in that they keep the same core of their team. They’ve done that for the past few seasons and that’s what has stood them in good stead.
“Arbroath are a hard team to play against and always very organised and full of quality, but so are we. We certainly won’t make it easy for them and hopefully we can get something from it, which would be a good start.”
Peters targets more starting spots
Peters, who was a youth at Caley Thistle, joined Elgin last September from Stirling Albion and scored on his debut against Montrose.
However, he’s eager to get more starts in the team this time and aims to add goals and assists to keep him there.
He explained: “I was in and out of the team more than I wanted to be last season, but the club had a fairly successful season, which was the main thing.
“However, this season I do really want to kick on and stamp my place in the team and start more regularly.
“I have got my fitness to as high as level as it has been in the past few years and it’s now a case of get as much game time and as many goals and assists as I can.”
Continuity key for Elgin
Despite a Covid outbreak putting the League Two club out of all activities for 10 days recently, the Moray men are in fine fettle ahead of the competitive kick-off.
Peters feels keeping with the same squad, bar the arrivals of keeper Daniel Hoban and defender Creag Little, has helped in that regard.
He added: “Covid disrupted us a little bit, but it’s the same group of boys as last year, bar a couple of players and that has helped us.
“There has only been a couple of new signings, so we all know one another as a team and a squad, so that helped us massively.”
Positive attempts against Ross County
Peters showed his eye for goal by going close in a 5-0 defeat by Premiership Ross County last weekend, although four of those goals came in the second period.
Elgin were still missing five or six players due to Covid, but Peters stressed: “Last Saturday, we were against higher opposition and I felt we showed a good account of ourselves. In the first half, we created a few chances and done well to go in at 1-0 down at half-time.”
🆕🎥| ARBROATH PREVIEW
Elgin City TV spoke to @kgibson8 to preview tomorrow’s @PremierSportsTV cup tie against @ArbroathFC pic.twitter.com/2iIPkZLlDW
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) July 9, 2021