Brora Rangers boss Craig Campbell hopes his players rise to the challenge presented by Brechin City on Saturday.
The Dudgeon Parkers aim to be the first team to beat the leaders in the Highland League this season as City head north.
It has been quite the week for the Cattachs, winning the North of Scotland Cup against Clach before hitting 11 without reply in the league at struggling Strathspey Thistle on Wednesday.
Following last night's superb 11-0 win over Strathspey Thistle, we turn our attention to a massive league match at Dudgeon Park against @BrechinCityFC.
Brechin currently sit top of the league, 3 points ahead of ourselves. pic.twitter.com/oRa3KSkiph
— Brora Rangers (@brorarangers) October 6, 2022
The news that Brechin City had dropped their first points in a surprise 2-2 home draw with Huntly gives Brora the chance to join them on 25 points if they win.
A Brora victory would open the door for Buckie Thistle to move top should they beat Banks o’ Dee, but Campbell is urging his men to hit the heights to dish out a first defeat to dangerous City.
He said: “I was a bit shocked by the result at Brechin, but it shows what can happen when you can an off-night. It has happened to us too, but Brechin are still unbeaten and remain a force to be reckoned with.
“We will need to be at our very best to get anything from the game. However, we fancy ourselves against anyone at home. It’s getting tight at the top, so it would be nice to get the three points.
“These are the games you always want to play in. We know three points takes us level with Brechin and there’s no bigger incentive than that. Someone has to inflict their first defeat on them, so we will be setting out our stall to do that.”
Campbell thrilled by ruthless Brora
Campbell was thrilled by the manner of the rout at Strathspey and praised his players for their goalscoring prowess.
He added: “It was well documented we were not happy with the first half of the final in terms of our performance. But, on Wednesday, we asked them to put on a strong performance and get three points.
“The result helps boost our goal difference as well and that might come into play later in the season.
Strathspey Thistle 0-11 Brora Rangers the final score this evening. pic.twitter.com/PlQ4JOQ8jH
— Strathspey Thistle FC (Official) (@JagsStfc) October 5, 2022
“You need to be ruthless and you can’t let your form dip in the Highland League or you will see yourself dropping points.
“It was important we had a professional performance and all credit to the boys, they were excellent and we could have scored a few more goals had it not been for a few good saves and a couple of missed opportunities.”
Ross Gunn came off injured at Seafield Park, so is a doubt for Brora, while Martin Maclean may also not make it following his hamstring injury suffered in the cup final.
Davidson confident of Nairn revival
Nairn County forward Scott Davidson crashed home a cracker in their 2-2 midweek league draw against Inverurie Locos.
It looked like being a winning start for new Nairn manager Steven Mackay, who replaced Ronnie Sharp in the Station Park hotseat on Tuesday.
Davidson’s rising rocket from 30 yards added to Conor Gethins’ early opener, but goals from Calum Dingwall and Jamie Michie earned Richard Hastings’ battling Locos a late point.
Davidson is delighted to be reunited with ex-Brora boss Mackay as they head for Huntly on Saturday, chasing their first victory to move away from second-bottom spot.
Davidson, who described his strike against Locos as one of his best, said: “We move on to Saturday and we know the manager will expect a lot of hard work from us. The boys are up for it.
“Everyone at the club was delighted to see Steven come in as the manager. I worked under him at Brora. He’s been a winner as a player and a manager and it gives the club a big lift.
“If we work as hard as we did on Wednesday from Saturday onwards, hopefully we can get that first win and build from there – I don’t see why not.”
Strathspey seek urgent league lift
Rock-bottom Strathspey will be looking to pick up the pieces from their midweek mauling by Brora when they travel to Keith.
The Maroons are four places and eight points above their visitors and will also be looking to respond to form following their 2-0 loss at Lossiemouth on Wednesday.
A Jags win, allied with a Nairn defeat, would take them off the foot of the table.
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