Andy Low believes Inverurie Locos have what it takes to turn the tables on Brechin City and reach the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup final.
The sides clash in Saturday’s semi-final at Harlaw Park just a fortnight after the Hedgemen beat the Railwaymen 5-1 at Glebe Park.
But boss Low is optimistic ahead of this weekend’s rematch as Locos look to learn lessons from that loss.
He said: “Coming away from Brechin I didn’t think it was a 5-1 game and they would probably say that as well.
“I think you could probably have justified it being 3-1 and that would have been a fair reflection over the 90 minutes.
“But up until 60 minutes we were matching them and we need to be more clinical in our attacking play, but also in our defending and restricting chances.
“We know their strikers are very good and they’ll take chances if they get them.
“We learned a lot from the last game and I thought we competed well for 60 minutes against Brechin last time.
Last call (👀) for #HighlandLeagueWeekly, which – as well as the usual highlights – featured a reflective chat with @InverurieLocos' @AndyLowser10
Andy explained the end of his first Locos spell, and why he felt ready to return as boss 🚂https://t.co/tRinHGdCjD pic.twitter.com/RGZNBFhiNo
— Highland League Weekly (@HighlandLW) February 8, 2023
“But we showed our vulnerability as well and showed we’re a new side as well in parts.
“We want to have an intensity to our play for 90 minutes and we felt that dropped after 60 minutes in the last game.
“We’ve worked on our fitness levels and to try to increase the intensity and we hope that pays off for us.
“Brechin are one of the top sides, if not the top side, in the Highland League at this moment in time.
“We need to make it as difficult as possible, stay in the game for as long as possible and take chances when they come our way.”
Early opportunity
Inverurie reached the last four of the League Cup prior to Low’s return as manager in January.
His ambition is to bring silverware back to Harlaw Park and is pleased to have the opportunity to reach a final at this early stage in his tenure.
He added: “My ambition will always be to win trophies, I’m fortunate to come in and we’re in a semi-final.
“There’s a lot of work still to do because there’s Brechin and either Buckie or Banks o’ Dee to get past to reach the objective.
“But we’ve got home advantage which we hope to use in our favour and we certainly hope we can get into a final.”
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