Stoneywood-Dyce captain Ewan Davidson has urged his teammates to seize the moment when they face Meigle in a relegation decider this weekend.
The People’s Park side sit bottom of the Eastern Premier League ahead of the final game of the season and a point adrift of their Perthshire opponents.
But Davidson knows a home victory this weekend would ensure the Aberdeen side preserve their top-flight status.
He said: “You have to treat it like any other game in terms of going through your own processes.
“But at the same time it is the chance for someone to be the hero.
“It is the chance for someone to be remembered as the person who kept us up at the end of a tough season.
“You have to use the occasion to your advantage as well.
“We know this is an important game and one that we need to win.
“Hopefully the occasion inspires a few as that is what we need.”
Stoneywood-Dyce’s penultimate league fixture against Forfarshire fell victim to the weather but Meigle gave Grange an almighty scare last weekend.
They managed to set an impressive total of 207 which Grange eventually managed to overhaul having already lost eight wickets.
The bonus points gained moved Meigle off the foot of the table and above Stoneywood-Dyce ahead of a crucial tussle tomorrow.
Davidson said: “Everyone is looking forward to it.
“It has been hyped up for a while so it is good it is finally here.
“I just hope the weather plays ball.
“There were a few groans when they went ahead of us on the bonus points but it really changes nothing as we have to play them anyway.
“The only thing it would change is if the weather is bad and we can’t play this weekend.
“But I have looked at the forecast a few times and I’m pretty confident we will get a game.”
If the result doesn’t go the way of Davidson’s side then it will mean Aberdeen’s two main cricket teams – Aberdeenshire and Stoneywood-Dyce – will be playing in the North East Championship next year.
Davidson said: “It shows the predicament that Aberdeen cricket is in.
“It has been neglected by Cricket Scotland for years as everything seems to happen in the Central Belt.
“It wasn’t that long ago that Aberdeenshire won the league and now they are in sitting mid-table in the division below.
“We try our best and we punch way above our weight in terms of the budgets of the teams we play against.
“We will keep fighting.
“It has been a tough season but hopefully we can get the result we want on Saturday and look to rebuild over the winter.”
And whatever the result this weekend, Davidson believes there is plenty of reason for positivity at People’s Park.
He added: “The club as a whole is doing very well.
“Our second and third teams, our juniors and our women’s team are all doing well.
“It has been really positive.
“But when the first team isn’t doing as well it maybe puts a shadow over some things.
“If we stay up then everything will feel positive and there is a really good foundation at the club with everything else that is going on.
“Even if we were to go down I think we could still reflect on it as a fairly successful season for the club as whole when we consider everything else that has happened over the past year.
“We are a family club and that is what we are all about.
“But we would love to give everyone something to cheer about on Saturday.”
In the final round of matches in the North East Championship, fourth-place Aberdeenshire head to Lochside Park to meet Strathmore.
Huntly, sitting in third spot, have home advantage against Freuchie while Gordonians make the journey to Forthill to face Forfarshire 2.
Aberdeenshire Cup up for grabs
Meanwhile, as the race for the Grade 1 title, involving Master Blasters Aberdeen, Bon Accord and Gordonians goes down to the wire, for many Sunday’s final of the Aberdeenshire Cup at Mannofield could be the highlight of the season.
The two finalists this year will be Gordonians and Knight Riders who have both reached the final in recent years, while going close in the top league at the same time.
This year the Countesswells side are only three wins away from a league and cup double, while the Groats Road men are finding form at just the right time, recovering from a poor defence of their first ever Grade 1 championship win.
A good turnout will be expected for what is regarded as the most prestigious competition in the area.
One glance at the list of winners on the recently refurbished bearing testimony to the status of a tournament which was first won by White Star, a shipping company, in 1885.
In the tense run up to the Grade 1 title, the two protagonists meet each other tomorrow at Countesswells on the penultimate weekend of fixtures, while leaders Master Blasters are away to Crescent who are not yet safe from relegation.
Second-placed Bon Accord are also on the road here a tricky test awaits them at Mannofield.
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