Whether it’s from the start or as a substitute Brodie Allen hopes he can help Huntly move a step closer to Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup glory.
The Black and Golds tackle Buckie Thistle at Christie Park tonight in semi-final of the Shire Cup.
Striker Allen has only started four times this term but made a positive impact off the bench at the weekend by netting the winning goal against Lossiemouth in the Breedon Highland League.
The 26-year-old has had to bide his time but wants to make another good impression against Buckie.
Allen said: “It’s been difficult to push into the team at the moment because Angus Grant and Sam Robertson are absolutely flying.
“I’ve just had to wait for my opportunity and I got it on Saturday. I thought I did quite well when I came on and I was pleased to get the winner.
“When the team is winning and other boys are playing well I can’t grumble about not starting.
“I’ve just got to keep my head down and wait for my opportunity.
“When you’re coming off the bench and maybe only getting 10 or 15 minutes you put more pressure on yourself to try to make an impact.
“So it was good to get a goal on Saturday. I back myself and even if I’m not playing I always put the work in to make sure I’m ready to be involved.
“Whether it’s from the bench or from the start I’ll always back myself to contribute and help the team.”
Black and Golds’ seeking final say
Huntly haven’t won a trophy since lifting the SFA North Region Challenge Cup in October 2007, while their last final was in February 2022 when they lost to Banks o’ Dee on penalties in the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield.
Allen is eager to try to secure another shot at glory and added: “The cup competitions are always very important.
“We’ve been hurting since we lost that final in 2022 and we want a chance to try to put it right.
“This gives us an opportunity to get back to a final, it’s a one-off game so hopefully we can turn up and do enough to get through.”
Jags know importance of cup success
Meanwhile, captain Sam Pugh says the cup competitions take on even more importance for Buckie following their inconsistent start in the league.
The Jags’ 4-1 defeat to Brora Rangers on Saturday was their fifth league loss of the season, as many as they suffered in the whole of last term, when they won the championship.
Thistle’s last cup success was in the Aberdeenshire Cup in November 2016. Since then they have been defeated in four finals, the latest of which was in this tournament at the end of last season.
Midfielder Pugh, who joined Buckie in April 2020, wants to bring cups back to Victoria Park.
The 27-year-old said: “A midweek game is exactly what we want after a tough defeat like Saturday.
“It’s a cup semi-final so we need to pick ourselves up and go again.
“If we could get to a cup final and win a cup it would make things a lot more positive for us this season because we’ve been frustrated in the league so far.
“I hate looking at the stats but in my time at Buckie we’ve had a cup final every season basically and haven’t won any of them.
“Over that period we’ve been really consistent in the league and won it last season which was great.
“But we’ve wanted to do more in the cups and we want to be bringing cups to Buckie.
“We’ve still got a lot to play for this season, we’ve got to pick ourselves up.
“We want to do well in the cups and if we could win a couple of cups that would make it a good season.”
Conversation