Stenhousemuir wary of Scottish Cup shock as Highland League high-flyers visit
Having racked up a brilliant 4-1 away victory against Peterhead last weekend in Scottish League One, Stenhousemuir boss Gary Naysmith says his attention has swiftly turned to the Scottish Cup.
The Warriors, who sit second in the league and have recently reached the last-32 of the KDM Evolution Trophy, host Highland League high-flyers Clachnacuddin this Saturday in the Scottish Cup with a spot in coveted fourth round – where Premiership sides enter – now on offer.
And Naysmith admits that a shock is always on the cards at this stage of the competition with tough opposition from the lower tiers regularly dumping out SPFL sides at this stage.
“We know what we are coming up against,” he said. “They are only two points off the top of the Highland League. They are having a great season. It’s an opponent that maybe isn’t a ‘big Highland League name’ like a Brora or Brechin but they are a top side. We’ve watched them closely and out of every opponent this season it’s the one we’ve done the most work on because they deserve that. We’ve got a detailed match report from someone we sent up to watch them on Saturday.
“It’s a game you have to take seriously. We aren’t changing formations or trying new things for this one – it’s a big cup game and it’s about getting through. And we know that Clachnacuddin will be a tough test. Look back to a couple of seasons ago, we were doing well but lost at our place to Brora Rangers. Every single manager in charge of a team expected to win in the third round will be saying the exact same thing to their players – there will be a shock or two this weekend, let’s make sure that it’s not us.”
The Warriors come into Saturday’s tie on the back of a brilliant win at Balmoor with doubles from Euan O’Reilly and Ross Taylor easing the visitors to three points.
Looking back on that victory, Naysmith said: “We got ourselves in front early which helped because we could hit them on the break and we have that real pace and drive with the likes of Euan and Ross out wide. We looked like were always going to score going up the park which is the most pleasing thing as we’ve lacked that cutting edge recently.
"I was delighted with the response from the players against a Peterhead team who are very strong at home.”