The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Arbroath will have a new recruit watching today’s cup tie at Gayfield
Arbroath’s new recruit Dale Hilson will be in attendance at Gayfield when the Lichties host Falkirk in their fourth round Scottish Cup clash today.
But he will not be playing as he is cup-tied after featuring for Forfar Athletic in a previous round.
A transfer fee and Lichties favourite Steven Doris have moved in the opposite direction ahead of today’s showdown with the Bairns, who have got themselves involved in the League 1 title-race under the stewardship of Lee Miller and David Mccracken.
Arbroath manager Dick Campbell said: “I am glad to get the deal agreed for Dale – however talk about him is for another day as all my concentration is on Falkirk. The only thing I would add is that Steven Doris has been a terrific player for Arbroath and we wish him well at Forfar.”
Hilson first joined Forfar in August 2010 on loan from Dundee United and spent three further loan spells with the Loons before signing on a permanent deal in 2014.
After spells with Queen of the South and St Mirren he returned to Station Park two years ago and played a key role in the Loons’ surge into the Championship play-offs last season.
Doris first played for the Lichties in 2009 and in three spells with the club has made more than 240 appearances in maroon and won three league titles.
Meanwhile Campbell is relishing what he describes as a “unique cup tie” in that the Lichties will be classed as favourites.
He added: “They are a full-time team, will bring more than 1,000 fans with them and have been unbeaten in eight games under their new management team, but we have been marked down as the favourites.
“There cannot have been too many games between the clubs where Arbroath have been in the higher league and are the side expected to go through.
“We have to show that we can handle that tag but it will not be easy.
“As a club we have done brilliantly over the past few seasons in terms of winning leagues and being promoted, however cup runs have eluded us.
“We have had ties at home where we have been expected to win against the likes of Edinburgh City and Stranraer and been knocked out.
“It would be great to add a cup run to what else has been achieved here. The only way we can do that is by beating Falkirk.
“We have done our homework and are aware that Declan Mcmanus is in fine form and will be looking to add to the hat-trick he scored against Peterhead last weekend. Connor Sammon is a good foil for him but we have seen things that we feel we can exploit to our advantage. It should be a cracking tie.”
New loan signing from Dundee United, Logan Chalmers, is available with Jason Thomson set for a recall after injury.
Meanwhile a decade on from the competition serving up his most bittersweet moment, Paul Dixon is eager to build new cup memories with the Bairns.
The 33-year-old was forced to watch from the stand at Hampden as Dundee United lifted the trophy with a 3-0 victory over Ross County in 2010.
Having played in the wins over Partick Thistle and St Johnstone, the left-back broke a bone in his foot in the semifinal victory over Raith Rovers and was ruled out of one of the biggest days of his career.
Dixon, who scored his first goal for the club in their victory over Linlithgow Rose in the last round, said: “I have some good memories of the Scottish Cup – up until the point I broke my toe in 2010.
“But I was still part of the team and the squad that won that cup at Dundee United. So, that’s a great memory.
“This is a good chance for both us and Arbroath to get into the next round of the cup, so we’ll be looking to build on what we’ve been doing recently.”