Scottish Cup: Bo'ness must turn up and play against 'benchmark' club Auchinleck, says boss Christie
Bo’ness United manager Max Christie wants to see his players hit peak consistency going into their Scottish Cup second round tie against Auchinleck Talbot on Saturday.
It has been an up-and-down season so far for the Newtown Park side, who sit tenth in the Scottish Football Lowland League.
Last weekend they scraped past West of Scotland outfit Thorniewood United 2-1 in the South Challenge Cup second round.
“It was one of those matches where you just move on quickly,” Christie admitted. “We didn’t play well and the tempo was pretty low. We’ll have to be so much better this weekend. The recent form has been frustrating because we keep fading in and out of matches.
“I am looking forward to the game. Auchinleck have been the biggest team in the non-SPFL leagues for a long time and they deserve a huge amount of respect because they are the benchmark in my eyes. They are a great football club with a massive support.
“It is a unique situation for them down in Auchinleck as they really have the whole place behind them and the continuity they have behind the scenes is a big positive for them. Tommy Sloan has been the manager for a long time and he has a really strong, fit team that attracts good football players.
“We will need to be ready for that and we will need to play with a tempo that troubles them. When the chances come we need to take them.
"We aren’t going to win the Scottish Cup but getting through to the next round would be a big achievement and of course it opens up the chance of another tie that helps the club out.”