Formartine United manager Paul Lawson reckons it will be strange playing a cup semi-final without supporters.
Rothes are the visitors to North Lodge Park on Saturday for the Highland League Cup last-four encounter.
Covid-19 restrictions mean the fixture – along with Brora Rangers v Buckie Thistle on Sunday and next weekend’s final – will be played behind closed doors.
The matches will be streamed online for supporters to watch and, despite clubs playing pre-season friendlies without spectators, Lawson says playing to an empty ground will still be strange on Saturday.
He said: “We don’t play in front of thousands of people like teams higher up the levels, but we will notice a difference and it will be a little bit strange.
“But the team that adapts best to the scenario will come out on top.
“We’ve played friendlies behind closed doors and, although we don’t play in front of thousands, the players still do get a boost from seeing a crowd.
“But it’s a semi-final and a big opportunity, so we need to be raring to go and at it from the first whistle.”
Formartine – who won the Highland League Cup for the first time in 2018 – are bidding to reach a fourth successive final.
Lawson wants the club be competing for silverware on a consistent basis and added: “As a club we should be in and around finals. We need to be more consistent in our league performances, but certainly in the last few years our cup performances have been excellent.
“We’ve got to a number of finals and won some of them and we want to do that again.
“It would be great if we could do that again and have the opportunity to win another trophy.”
