City host Inverurie Locos in the 2nd round of the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup tomorrow afternoon looking to avenge for the semi-final defeat against the Railwaymen in the same competition last season.

TEAM NEWS
City will continue to be without Anthony McDonald through injury whilst Ewan White sits out the second game of his 2-match ban. Despite being sent off for a second bookable offence last weekend, Marc Scott will be available however will miss the league fixture against Strathspey Thistle through suspension.

MANAGERS COMMENTS
Reflecting on the 2-0 victory over Rothes last weekend, Manager Andy Kirk commented, "I think we started the game positively and Rothes' shape was set up to try and stop us breaking through. We ended up with a lot of the ball and we looked quite comfortable. We managed to go in at the break 2-0 up which was deserved.

"Their Manager was sent off for saying the second goal was offside but looking back at the footage it certainly doesn't look offside.

"In the second half Marc (Scott) lets us down. He was frustrated because there was a clear push with two hands on his back right in front of the linesman. It should have been a free kick and he loses the head and goes into a stupid challenge then he does the same thing five minutes later.

"That made things a bit more difficult for us but the players worked hard to defend the lead and we had a couple of good opportunities on the counter. If we were a bit more ruthless in the final third then we might have nicked another goal.

"Rothes is a hard place to get a result, so to go there and win the game whilst keeping a clean sheet is very pleasing."

Strike duo Grady McGrath and Liam Duell both got on the scoresheet, setting up each other for their goals. Andy added, "Sometimes partnerships, especially strikers can take a bit of time and in some cases they don't work. The signs that they have shown in the few games is very positive and hopefully they can continue that relationship. Liam has come in from junior football and is still finding his feet in terms of the level that we train at. He's done great up to now and hopefully we will see more from him."

Looking ahead to the cup tie tomorrow, Andy said, "The first round at Formartine came off the back of a busy period and at that point it felt right to give some players a bit of a rest. We'll judge on what we've seen at training and this game may be completely different for us. We want to keep the momentum going and we have players who are desperate to play every week so we just need to get the right balance.

"Inverurie have always been a tough team to play against - they've had an up and down start to the season with some poor results and some decent results. It's an old cliche but we're preparing as well as we can - we know everyone is desperate to beat us and we want to progress in the cup."

ADMISSION INFORMATION
Tomorrow's match kicks off at 3pm. Admission prices are £10 for adults and £5 for concessions (Over 65's, Under 18's and students). Please note that season tickets are not valid for this fixture. Digital tickets should be purchased at the following link - PURCHASE TICKETS

CITY CLUB BAR
The City Club bar, situated within the David H Will Stand is open to both sets of supporters from 1:30pm and again following the match.

MATCH OFFICIALS
Tomorrow's match referee is Greg Soutar, assisted by Kieran Sharp and Shaun Telford.

PREVIOUS MEETING
Inverurie Locos 2-0 Brechin City - 4th March 2023
City crashed out of the Highland League Cup to Locos at the semi-final stage following a bitterly disappointing performance at Harlaw Park. Goals in each half from Sam Robertson and Sam Burnett sent the home side through to the final against a City side that struggled to get into any kind of rhythm throughout.

SPONSORSHIP & MASCOT
Our match sponsor tomorrow afternoon is David Holland & Guests whilst the matchball has been sponsored by Peter Blues. Our mascot will be Jenson Buist!