Buckie braced for toughest test yet as Broch come calling

Buckie Thistle boast a 100% record this season, but manager Graeme Stewart has warned his players they will face their biggest test yet when they host Fraserburgh in the semifinals of the Aberdeenshire Cup tonight.

The Jags are aiming to carry on their momentum from an impressive start to the league campaign which has taken them top of the Highland League.

Fraserburgh are chasing their third successive Aberdeenshire Cup win, and Stewart knows his side will face a step up in quality in its efforts to set up a final date against Cove Rangers or Turriff United.

Stewart said: “The cup is massive for a team such as Buckie when we’re up against the likes of Brora, Cove and Formartine in the league. We were 27 points off third place last year.

“If we are going to win anything it’s likely to be the cup, so we’ll be taking it very seriously, although Fraserburgh are well known for being a good cup team.

“It will be the hardest challenge we’ve faced so far this season. We’ve had five wins, four in the league and one in the cup, but the four league wins have come against four of the bottom five so we are trying not to get too carried away.

“We have the three leading scorers in the league in Chris Angus, John McLeod and Sam Urquhart, but we have let in seven in our four league games which is a concern.”

Fraserburgh assistant manager James Duthie is eager for the Broch to carry on their fine record in the competition, and he said: “The cups are always important to us, and we’ve done quite well in both Aberdeenshire competitions in the last couple of years.

“It’s no bad thing being seen as a decent cup side so we’re going to try our best, although it couldn’t be a tougher game with Buckie the form team. There was nothing in the quarter-final win against Formartine and I would expect Buckie to be equally as tough, some would say even tougher.”

Buckie will be without midfielder Kai Ross through a long-term knee injury, while Fraserburgh hope to have midfielder Willie West back in the side after a stint working offshore.