Petrie not afraid to tweak formation to ensure safety

Stewart Petrie has seen his Montrose side reap the rewards of a tweak in formation in back to back victories on the road, but that doesn’t mean he won’t change things again for their return to Links Park.

Wins and clean sheets at Cowdenbeath and Arbroath have all but secured the Angus club’s League Two status for another season. Petrie knows, however, that Edinburgh City at home will provide a different test.

He said: “I was delighted for the boys and the fans at Arbroath last weekend.

“It was maybe a wee bit smash and grab and we rode our luck at times but you need a few breaks when you’re playing one of the strongest teams in the league on their own ground.

“The game plan was to frustrate them and we went to a back three. To keep the likes of Steven Doris and Bobby Linn from scoring is a good effort and it was a big, big three points.” Petrie added: “It horses for courses. “This is a home game and we didn’t get forward as much as we might have liked at Arbroath. Edinburgh City are a difficult side to break down and they’re coming off a fantastic result (against Elgin) as well.”

Until Montrose are safe (which could happen this weekend), Petrie won’t be resetting his team’s goals.

But, with only six points between them and the last play-off place, he may have to do just that in the very near future.

“We’ll see where we are after Saturday. We’re inching close to safety, which was the biggest thing when we took over,” he said.

Ryan Ferguson should return to training but isn’t available today.

Gable Endies boss Stewart Petrie.