Ryan Farquhar hopes the family feeling at Lossiemouth can help propel them into the North of Scotland Cup final.
The Coasters face a formidable task tonight when they tackle Brora Rangers at Dudgeon Park in the last four of the competition.
Lossie’s last final was in the North of Scotland Cup in season 2017-18, when they were beaten by the Cattachs, and they last lifted silverware when winning this tournament in 2003.
Midfielder Farquhar is in his second stint with his hometown team wants to try to secure another final date.
‘We’re all really close’
The 30-year-old said: “Everyone knows Brora are a good team, they like to keep the ball and they’ve got good players all over the park.
“But we’ll go in with confidence, we haven’t really got anything to lose, all the pressure and expectation will be on Brora.
“I grew up in Lossie and over my career my best football has been at Lossie.
“I’ve been at other clubs, but I’ve been pulled back to Lossie, the likes of Liam and Ross Archibald have been the same.
“You try somewhere different but Lossie has just got this pull that you end up back there.
“I think the dressing room is the big thing, I don’t think you’ll find a better dressing room than what we’ve got.
“We’re all really close, we’re like a family really and the banter is great.
“I think that feeling keeps a lot of boys at Lossie. We’re probably on the lowest wages in the Highland League, but we stick together and play for each other.
“It’s our biggest game of the season. I played in the final in 2017 and to have the chance to get back to a final makes it a very important game.
“If we could get to another final and potentially win the cup it would be a massive achievement for the club.”
Williamson eyes more glory
Brora have been the dominant force in the North of Scotland Cup over the last decade, winning six of the last 10 tournaments.
Cattachs defender Colin Williamson is hungry for more success as they try to reach another final.
The 34-year-old, who arrived at Dudgeon Park in January 2014, added: “It’s a big game and the aim is to try to get to finals and win them.
“Brora have been doing that for a while now and that’s the aim for us again.
“Every season bar one (2018-19) I’ve won something with Brora and it’s been a good run.
“My mentality is that I play every game to win, the aim in football is to win trophies and that gives you the most enjoyment.
“We’ve played Lossiemouth already this season (2-0 win at Grant Park in the Breedon Highland League) and we have a fair idea of what they’ll look to do.
“I’d imagine they’ll try to frustrate us and then try to cause us problems on the break.
“Earlier in the season they did a good job of frustrating us and it took us 70 odd minutes to break them down and I’d imagine it might be similar this time.”
Clach out to capitalise on semi-final chance
Conor Gethins wants to lead Clachnacuddin into the North of Scotland Cup final to continue the feel-good factor at the club.
The Lilywhites face North Caledonian League side Inverness Athletic at Grant Street Park tonight in the last four of the cup.
In his first full season as manager Gethins, with the support of a new board, has revamped the Clach squad.
As well as reaching this semi-final Clach are sitting sixth in the Breedon Highland League and have reached the second round of the Scottish Cup.
For Gethins getting to a final would be another objective achieved.
He said: “I think it’s the biggest game of our season, I don’t think we were expected to do much in the league and we’re probably surprising people just now.
“For the people behind the scenes who have worked so hard for the last four or five months and for the fans we have to give them the excitement, belief and the hope that we can win a trophy again.
“So getting to the final would mean a lot to a lot of people connected with Clach and they deserve it for what they’ve put in.
“I’ve had some good feedback on Inverness Athletic, it’s a cup semi-final and in one-off games anything can happen.
“We need to ensure we go about it in the right way and have the right attitude.
“I won’t allow the attitude to not be right, we’ve talked about trying to get the club back in finals and challenging for trophies.
“We didn’t really think we’d have the chance to be in a final this quickly so we need to try to capitalise on this opportunity.”
Athletic aim for major milestone
Meanwhile, Inverness Athletic boss Stuart Ross says reaching the final in their first season playing in the North of Scotland Cup would be an “unbelievable achievement”.
Inverness have defeated Golspie Sutherland and Halkirk United to reach this stage.
Ross added: “It will be a very difficult challenge, Clach are riding high in the Highland League, but we’ve had two fantastic nights to get here.
“It’s the first time we’ve been in the North of Scotland Cup so getting to the semi-final is a great achievement and the players deserve credit for the work they’ve put in.
“It would be an unbelievable achievement if we could reach the final. It’s been a bonus for us to be involved in the North of Scotland Cup.
“You can see there’s an extra wee glint in the boys’ eyes, everyone’s treated as something special for us to be involved in.”
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