The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Hungry to tame Wolves
Highland head coach Davie Carson hopes tomorrow’s Scottish Cup home tie against Stirling Wolves can pave the way for another strong run in a knockout competition.
The Inverness outfit reached the final of the National League Cup last season, where they were defeated by an Aberdeen Grammar side which has since been promoted to the Premiership.
Carson insists cup competitions are no less significant for his side following their own step up to National 1, where they currently sit fourth.
He said: “Some people will tell you if you are not in the cup you get a rest weekend, which gives the boys a bit of time to recover.
“It has been quite a heavy schedule since the start of the season.
“If you are playing at home, you want to keep winning and keep momentum going.
“A few guys will be out, but it will give another couple of guys a chance to have a go at playing National 1 opposition and see how they come on at that.
“If we can win the game, it will just keep the momentum going for the next stage of the league until Christmas.
“It finished off the season well last year.
“We got promotion, and we got to a national cup final.
“Regardless of the result of the final – we didn’t win it – it gave us a higher profile. Everyone gets a pick-up from a run in the cup.
“We want to do the same this year again.”
Highland will have Iain Chisholm, Sean Blair, Andrew Simpson and Jonny Milton back from the flu bug which kept them out of last week’s 38-20 win over Boroughmuir.
However, skipper Stuart MacDonald is sidelined by a hamstring injury.
Although Highland have yet to face fellow National 1 outfit Wolves, Carson expects a difficult match against a side who sit just two points behind the Canal Park men in the table.
Carson added: “They had a bit of a slow start, they have slipped up now and again but they have started to gather a bit of momentum.
“They are just like all the other sides, though. They will be a good side.
“They have had some good results, most of them close games.
“We will face our player from last year, Calum MacPherson, who will be playing for Stirling, having gone down there to university.”
Caithness’ troubles continue, with the Greens forced to withdraw from their National League Cup trip to GHK due to insufficient players.
The Millbank outfit, who were deducted three points for failing to fulfill a fixture against Carrick earlier in the season, parted company with head coach George Sutherland prior to last weekend’s defeat by Lasswade.
Caithness could not be reached for comment.