James Anderson would love to reach a century of goals for Clachnacuddin and Jordan MacRae says he’s ready for another Brora Rangers cameo if required.
The Cattachs host the Lilywhites at Dudgeon Park tonight in the Breedon Highland League.
Clach striker Anderson bagged a brace in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Lossiemouth to reach 50 goals for the Inverness outfit.
However, the 23-year-old doesn’t want to stop there and said: “Getting to 100 goals for Clach is something I’d like to achieve.
“I’m still under contract for another couple of seasons, I enjoy it at Clach and things have been moving forward at the club.
“So I don’t see why I can’t aim for that. I missed last season with injury but it’s good to be back and to have reached 50 goals.
“Hopefully I can continue to be a regular scorer for the club, things are going well so I’ll try to keep going.”
MacRae back in action
Meanwhile, Brora marksman MacRae made his first appearance since October 12 in their penalty shoot-out victory against Formartine United in the R Davidson (Banchory) Highland League Cup on Saturday.
The 26-year-old is awaiting surgery on a shoulder problem but is still willing to feature if required.
He added: “The shoulder is OK. On Saturday I wasn’t really expecting to be involved and I had my boots in the car.
“But when I walked in David Hind (assistant manager) asked if I’d go on the bench.
“I was asked if I’d be willing to go on if necessary and when we were getting beat the manager Steven Mackay looked around at me and asked if I could give him 20 minutes so I went for it.
“I was sent on to try to poach and see if I could help us get something by winning flick-ons and things like that.
“When I was on my shoulder felt OK and it held up so I can’t really complain.
“If I’m called upon for this game then I’ll be happy to make an appearance and try to help the team.”
The Cattachs took last clash
The last meeting between the clubs saw Brora run out impressive 6-1 winners in the North of Scotland Cup final on October 19.
But MacRae doesn’t expect a similar scoreline this time in what is one of the Cattachs’ two games in hand on league leaders Brechin City, who are currently seven points ahead.
He said: “In the cup final we were very good, but I also don’t think Clach were at their best. They’ll be a different proposition from that game.
“You could say because it’s a game in hand it’s more important, but we’re going into every game knowing we need to win and looking to win so nothing really changes.
“Brechin are a very good side and they’re in the driving seat at the moment.
“They’ve got the points on the board and we need to catch them, but we’re playing well and I’m hopeful we can keep winning.”
Anderson is hoping for a stark contrast in Clach’s performance this evening compared with the final.
He added: “It was good to take our chances against Lossie, to score five and be clinical stands us in good stead for facing Brora.
“The last time we played Brora it didn’t go to plan, but we’ve got a gameplan to try to nullify them.
“We want to show the cup final was a one-off. We know Brora are a good team, but we want to show the cup final wasn’t a reflection of us as a team.”
Fraserburgh ready to get back in action
Greg Buchan is looking for Fraserburgh to put a good run together in the Breedon Highland League.
The Broch face Huntly tonight at Christie Park – provided frost doesn’t put paid to the fixture – having not played a league game since November 2.
Outwith the league in the last month the only match Fraserburgh have played was their Scottish Cup win against Annan Athletic on November 30.
The Buchan outfit are currently ninth in the table, but sit only seven points off third spot.
Midfielder Buchan, 26, said: “Our league form hasn’t been what we wanted it to be this season.
“It’s pretty bunched up from third down to where we are in the table. We could be doing with a run of wins in the league to move us up a bit, hopefully that can start against Huntly.
“If we can put a run together then we could get ourselves up towards the top four which would look better for us.”
Sewell seeking start
Meanwhile, Huntly’s Ryan Sewell is hoping he’s done enough to return to their starting 11 this evening.
The midfielder has been benched for the Black and Golds’ last two matches.
However, when Sewell came on as a sub in Saturday’s R Davidson (Banchory) Highland League Cup loss to Deveronvale he scored once and set-up two goals as the Black and Golds came from 3-0 down to force penalties.
The 26-year-old said: “I was disappointed to be on the bench on Saturday, but that’s football.
“There’s competition in squad and when I came on I had a little point to prove.
“Hopefully I can get back in the team. Top six is our aim in the league, but we’ve got to take it game by game and see where we end up at the end of the season.”
Buckie can bounce back
Dale Wood wants Buckie Thistle to kick on in the second half of the season to repay their supporters.
At the halfway point in their Breedon Highland League season the Jags are 10th in table ahead of facing Inverurie Locos at Victoria Park tonight.
Buckie have yet to recapture the form that saw them win the title last term, but Wood – who can play in midfield or defence – believes things will improve.
The 27-year-old said: “Things haven’t really gone to plan this season. But we need to stick together and start producing better performances.
“We know we are capable, you don’t turn into a bad team overnight, hopefully things will start to click.
“The target for us in the league is to finish as high as possible and try to claw back points on the teams above us.
“We’ve also got the Highland League Cup to play for and that gives us the chance to win some silverware and repay the fans.
“They’ve been going through a hard time, but the fans are still behind us and sticking with us.
“We share their frustrations, but we want to repay them by kicking on in the second half of the season.
“All of us want to do well for Buckie and make the club successful.”
Ellis has lofty ambitions
Inverurie Locos are fourth and goalkeeper Zack Ellis, who returned to action last week after six weeks out with an abductor injury, is determined to keep them at the top end of the table.
The 24-year-old added: “It’s disappointing to be out of the cup competitions after winning the Aberdeenshire Cup last season.
“In the league we’re looking at being in the top four and there’s no reason why we can’t push for that with the squad we’ve got.
“If we want to be up there though we’ve got to get results away from home against sides like Buckie.”
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