Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stars well up Braehead are
DUNDEE Stars, still reeling from the walkout of Canadian forward Justin Fox, are now concentrating on Sunday’s important away Gardiner Conference and Elite League fixture against Braehead.
The Hogmanay match has an early start with a 2pm face-off.
The last time the two clubs met in Braehead was in November and the home side edged it 3-2.
Clan currently sit second in the Conference on 12 points from their nine games, two points behind leaders Fife Flyers who have played one game less.
Stars sit bottom with four points from their six games.
If they were to win their matches in hand to Clan they could draw level on points with the west coast club.
Coach Omar Pacha said: “There is no doubt it will be a tough game, it always is against Braehead.
“However, we ran them close last time round and I felt then we deserved to take something from the game.
“We will have a short bench but the guys are up for it.
“And we need to make sure we play hard for the 60 minutes, stick to our systems, defend well and take the chances when they come along.
“We are a good team. On our day, we have proven we can beat anyone.”
On the Fox departure Pacha added: “His departure was a real surprise.
“When he announced he wished to return home right before Christmas Day, I immediately began an active search for a replacement.
“We know the importance of the next few games so, with the backing of the owners, we have approached a couple of guys. We are hoping to have one in for the weekend.’
“The timing of this was made even harder because of the holidays and the difficulty in getting contact with players, also setting the paperwork in motion. However, we are making progress and should have news imminently.
“We have had our fair share of bad luck so far this season.
“Though, in saying that, as a club we are solely concentrating on the second half of the season which presents a great opportunity for us.
“The players have faced a lot of adversity thus far but we are now focused and excited for this second half of the campaign.
“We have numerous i mportant Gardiner Conference games coming up