Petriewary of Blue Toon goals threat

Any team that finishes above Peterhead will have a great chance of winning the League Two title, according to Montrose boss Stewart Petrie.

The unbeaten Links Park men may be four points ahead of them in the table but Petrie is wary of a side with attacking options that would be the envy of any manager in the division.

“The likes of Rory McAllister, Willie Gibson and Nicky Riley can win games on their own,” he said.

“They are worthy favourites to win the league and there’s no doubt that anybody who gets above them will be right in the mix at the top.”

With three wins and a draw out of four – not to mention a place in the last 16 of the Irn-Bru Cup – Montrose have laid down their promotion credentials.

And Petrie has now got the competition for places he has been craving as they head north today.

“It was a great result down at Ayr in the cup,” he said.

“All of the boys who had been on the bench the previous Saturday got a start. The younger lads were great.

“We’ve trained hard this week and are ready to go again.”

Terry Masson and Gary Fraser are nearing a return.

“They are two big players for us,” said Petrie. “And they both trained.

“There are no fresh injuries and the competition for places is there. There will be players sitting in the stand.”

Meanwhile, Blue Toon manager Jim McInally is not surprised by the impact Sean Dillon has made for the Gable Endies.

Former Dundee United captain Dillon has played every minute in the Angus team’s unbeaten start to the season in League 2, where they sit in second place with 10 points from four games.

McInally, who tried to sign the 34-year-old Irishman when he left the Tangerines in the summer, said: “They have a lot of experience with Sean Dillon at the back. He has been a big help to them, which is why we tried to sign him. I felt we had a good chance of signing him in the summer but he chose Montrose.

“There are no hard feelings. He was a nice guy but hopefully we can put one over on him this weekend.

“Montrose have made a brilliant start to the season. They won at Annan Athletic and then they defeated Ayr United on penalties in the Irn-Bru Cup.

“That was no mean feat considering Ayr are a full-time team. So Montrose will come to Balmoor full of confidence. We know what to expect.”