As Banks o’ Dee prepare to make their debut in the SPFL Trust Trophy Michael Philipson is marvelling at the club’s progress.
Finishing fourth in the Breedon Highland League last season earned Dee an invite into the Challenge Cup and their maiden tie is a city derby against Aberdeen B at Spain Park on Tuesday (7.45pm kick-off).
After a successful spell in the Juniors, Banks o’ Dee stepped up to the Highland League in 2022.
Since then they have continued winning cup competitions as well as establishing themselves in the mix near the top of the division.
This is midfielder Philipson’s 10th season with Dee and he has enjoyed being part of their journey.
He said: “It’s the first time the club has been in the Challenge Cup and it was a big achievement to get in.
“We want to try to have a run in the competition and hopefully this can be the start of it.
“It’s been great to see the progress of the club. The journey the club has been on started a long time ago.
“It’s been built on winning trophies down the years and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s encounter, Philipson expects a tricky game against the young Dons, who Dee beat in the final of the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield last season.
A meeting with Elgin City at Borough Briggs awaits the winner in the second round.
Philipson, 26, added: “You never really know what you’ll face in terms of their team and the commitments they may have.
“But we know whoever plays it will be an energetic team, who will be good on the ball and have good movement in the forward areas.
“We’ll have to be right at it to get a result.”
Formartine’s Spink seeking more starts
Elsewhere, Formartine United face Dundee B at Brechin’s Glebe Park (7.45pm) with United’s Ryan Spink hoping to further his case for regular game time.
The defender started at left-back in Saturday’s league loss to Banks o’ Dee, and after limited involvement last term, Spink is keen to contribute more often this season.
The 27-year-old said: “I think I only started eight or nine games last season so hopefully if I stay fit I can get more game time.
“It was good to play in a big game on Saturday and I just want to keep enjoying it.
“I’ve had a few chats with the manager over pre-season and I’m happy playing so hopefully I can keep working hard and stay in the team.
“I had problems with my ankle at Christmas time and I was also away with my work, which didn’t help my cause.
“If you’ve been away, you can’t just expect to come straight back in, but I enjoy being at Formartine and hopefully I can keep playing.”
Formartine faced Dundee’s youngsters on July 19 and ran out 5-0 winners in Johnny Crawford’s testimonial.
Spink added: “It will be a totally different game to the testimonial
“Both teams have had a look at each other. They’ll probably be more up for it after what happened in the last game.
“We feel we’re in a good place and hopefully we can show that.”
Peters celebrates Buckie half-century
Josh Peters believes his time at Buckie Thistle has been the most settled spell of his career after reaching 50 goals for the Jags.
The striker achieved the milestone by netting in Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup loss to Ayr United.
Peters, who is getting ready to face Dundee United B at Victoria Park tomorrow (8pm) in the SPFL Trust Trophy, joined Buckie from Elgin City two years ago.
The 27-year-old is eager to add to his goal tally with the Breedon Highland League champions, and said: “It’s a great achievement and something I haven’t done at any other club.
“To do it in two years is a record to be proud of.
“I want to score as many goals as possible, and once you get to 50, the next target is 100, so it would be good if I could get to that target at some point.
“My time at Buckie is definitely the most settled I’ve been in my career.
“I think that comes with playing regularly – there haven’t been many games where I haven’t played when I’ve been fit.
“There are things I can still improve on. But since I’ve been at Buckie, I feel I’ve worked on some weaknesses and my all-round game is probably as good as it has been.”
Broch boss ready to make changes
Meanwhile, Fraserburgh manager Mark Cowie has pledged to freshen up his team as they look to win a Challenge Cup tie for the first time.
The Broch tackle Hearts B at Bellslea tomorrow (7.30pm) having lost their four previous fixtures in the competition.
After starting the season with a loss to Wick Academy at the weekend, Cowie is planning to shuffle his pack.
He said: “In the past in this cup I’ve maybe given opportunities to some younger lads we were putting out on loan and things like that.
“But this time we might go a bit stronger. The guys that didn’t start against Wick will get an opportunity and it’s a chance for them to show what they’re capable of.
“All the talking off the park doesn’t really matter, you need to do it on the park.
“We’ve been speaking in the last few weeks about being ready to go, but we showed on Saturday we weren’t quite there yet, so we need to turn it around as quickly as possible.
“It’s our first game of the season at Bellslea and we need to make sure we react to Saturday’s disappointment.”
