Stoneywood-Dyce may be missing a number of regular first-team players but skipper Jamie King believes they are capable of causing an upset at Heriots.
The Aberdeen side face the Eastern Premier Division favourites without player-coach Jan Stander, who has a broken thumb, as well as Lennard Bester, Ryan Williams and Shaun Coetzer.
Stoneywood-Dyce have lost their last three games and sit second-bottom in the table, ahead of facing another Edinburgh-based outfit.
King believes it is a chance for those coming into the side to stake their claim for more regular action, but also to put a marker down for the rest of the division.
He said: “I don’t think anyone would have us down to get a result at the weekend. So it would be massive.
“It would put a bit of a marker down to say there’s no guaranteed positions in our team. It would also say to the rest of the league there are no guaranteed results this year.
“We have got games we’re targeting, where we feel we need to win. If we win a game that’s not a list then it’s a massive result.
“It’s difficult when we’re asking players to come in who maybe have not played at this level before. I’ve got full faith in anyone who comes in.
“They have got three or four Scotland internationals, overseas professionals and regional players. If you don’t want to test yourself against these guys, you shouldn’t be playing at this level.”
Stoneywood-Dyce were beaten heavily last weekend by Grange, who top the table with four wins from four games. That came on the back of losses against Arbroath United and ion8 Forfarshire.
King insists their start to the season cannot be sugar-coated, after winning their opening league game.
Week 4 summary: https://t.co/qHiD2RgdFH – another tough weekend, although still positives to take!
— Stoneywood Dyce (@StoneywoodDyce) June 14, 2021
He added: “It’s a challenge and a learning curve and that’s how we have to take it.
“Any positives? Positives is maybe the wrong word. I don’t want to celebrate failure – that’s what it’s been. We have been beaten comfortably and you can’t sugar-coat it.
“We have to learn from it. We’re playing against extremely good cricketers. It’s trial by fire, for sure.
“At the end of the day, you’re at the highest level in Scotland. It’s a seriously good standard of cricket and I don’t want to make up the numbers.
“It’s up to every person to raise their game and learn from it.”