Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stewart sounds note of caution as Staggies chase Hampden dream
ROSS County forward Ross Stewart has urged the Staggies not to get carried away in their pursuit of a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
County will t ake on Highland rivals Inverness in a last-16 replay at Caledonian Stadium next Tuesday after the sides drew 2-2 at Dingwall on Monday.
Should t he Staggies progress, their reward will be an all-Championship quarter-final tie away to Dundee United but Stewart is wary of looking too far ahead as County dream of a first national stadium outing since their League Cup final victory over Hibernian in 2016.
Stewart said: “With it being another team from our league, hopefully we can get through. But we don’t want to look too far ahead as it is going to be a really tough replay against Inverness.
“Looking at where teams left i n the Scottish Cup rank Dundee United is not a bad draw but they will probably feel the same at home to us or Inverness. It will be another good advert for the Championship, with one team in the semi-final now regardless of what happens. We certainly want to be there for a game at Hampden.”
Stewart netted to make it 1-1 within 60 seconds of being i ntroduced as a substitute against Inverness on Monday and, having netted the winner in the previous Highland derby i n December, the 22-year-old hopes his derby scoring habit continues. He added: “The manager just told me to go on and bring energy to the game – get myself a goal.
“Being a striker, you’re a lwa y s trying to get yourself into the box and Michael Gardyne has put in a great ball.
“Let’s hope my own derby impact continues. That’s obviously twice in a row I’ve scored in them.
“We’ve got a really strong squad here and, whatever team the managers go with in the replay, every player will be right behind it.”