Following a two-week break, City return to action tomorrow afternoon as they make the relatively short trip to Thomson Park to face Lochee United.
Andy Kirk’s side will be looking to pick up where they left off and continue their unbeaten start to the Lowland League East campaign, with a fifth consecutive league victory firmly in their sights.
Standing in their way is a Lochee United side who have also made an impressive start to the campaign. The Bluebells sit level with City on 13 points, albeit the Dundee outfit have played a game more.
There are also a number of familiar faces amongst the home squad, with Lochee boss Stevie Fallon having previously served as assistant manager to Ray McKinnon at City. The Bluebells’ side also boasts a considerable contingent of former City players with Jamie McCabe, Ewan Murray, Michael McArthur, Ruari Henry, Ryan Ferguson, Connor Coupe, Finlay Allan and Jamie Richardson all now plying their trade at Thomson Park.
TEAM NEWS
After missing the last fixture against Musselburgh, Darren Watson returns to the squad but Spencer Moreland, Kyle Bell, Kieran Inglis, Euan Spark & Adam Hutchinson all continue to miss out through injury. Brad McKay will also sit out the first game of his 2 match suspension after his sending off a fortnight ago.
MANAGERS COMMENTS
Casting back to the victory over Musselburgh Athletic a fortnight ago, Manager Andy Kirk commented, “It was frustrating to concede the opening goal again – it was the second phase and something that we need to work on. Otherwise I thought we dominated the first half in terms of possession but we maybe didn’t create an awful lot of good openings but we went in level at half time which I thought we deserved overall.
“It was a bit of madness from Brad for the sending off and it put us under a bit of pressure. I have to say the level of effort and determination that the players put in in the second half to go on and win the game was brilliant. and full credit to them. There are different ways to win football matches and in that game they had to roll their sleeves up and they fought for each other and overall I was thoroughly delighted with the result.
City’s fight was epitomised by Mitch Taylor for the second goal with Andy adding, “That’s exactly what I want my team to be and every week in training and matches Mitch covers a lot of distance and works hard for the team. You had the likes of Dale Hilson out there grafting, not wanting to come off the pitch and fighting to the end but they were all doing it. For the second goal it’s just pure determination from Mitch to shut the goalkeeper down and he got his reward for it.“
Young defender Alfie Joss made his first competitive start for the Club and impressed. Andy commented, “Alfie is a player that we brought in for pre-season from the Under 20 squad and as soon as he came in he’s looked comfortable and good on the ball. He’s just turned 17 so he’s still learning his way but I thought he was brilliant against Musselburgh. We’ve needed the players from the U20’s and a lot of them have been involved in pre-season friendlies, training with us during the week and included in the squad for league games. There’s a pathway there and if they are good enough then they will get an opportunity, as Alfie showed.”
With a two-week break ahead of the fixture against Lochee tomorrow, he said, “When you’re on a good run of form you just want to keep the games going but we also have to remember the players that we have missing and it has given us an extra two weeks to get some of these boys a bit closer to a return. Corey was involved in the squad against Musselburgh so that’s one back and hopefully over the coming weeks we’ll see players returning back. The break will have also allowed some of our players to freshen up as some of them have played a lot of games since pre-season“
MATCH OFFICIALS
Tomorrow’s match referee is Terry Ormiston, assisted by Joshua McCallum and Robin Taylor.
ADMISSION INFORMATION
Tomorrow’s match at Thomson Park kicks off at 3pm. Admission prices are £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and free for U12’s Cash/card accepted at the gate. City supporters should enter via the Liff Road entrance where there is also ample on-street parking.
SUPPORTERS TRAVEL
Given the relative close proximity of the fixture, there won’t be a Supporters Club bus running to the game. Ember coaches run hourly from Brechin to Dundee and tickets can be purchased online HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
City were last in action a fortnight ago as they ran out 3-1 winners against Musselburgh Athletic at the Carnegie Fuels Stadium at Glebe Park. City had to show their character and determination as they fought back from a goal behind despite being reduced to 10 men early in the second half.
Nathan Evans had given the visitors the lead on 19 minutes but Mitch Taylor restored parity on the stroke of half time. Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Musselburgh were awarded a penalty following a tussle inside the City box and in the aftermath of the incident, Brad McKay was shown a straight red card for retaliation. Craig Stevenson stepped forward to take the penalty but thankfully for City, Stevenson blasted his spot-kick over the crossbar.
Despite being reduced to ten men, City refused to retreat into their shell and Mitch Taylor put City ahead with 11 minutes remaining and as the game entered stoppage time, Dale Hilson converted from the spot to seal the win.
Lochee United meanwhile were in action last weekend as they thumped Tweedmouth Rangers 5-0 in the South of Scotland Challenge Cup. An own goal set the Bluebells on their way before further strikes from Jamie Richardson, Ewan Murray, Kyle McClements and Ross Clark added to the scoring.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Lochee United 1-3 Brechin City | Scottish Cup 2nd Round | 27th September 2025
The sides met just last season at Thomson Park in the second round of the Scottish Cup as City ran out comfortable winners. City almost struck early when home goalkeeper McKelvie brought down Allan inside the box on eight minutes. McGrath stepped up but blazed his penalty over the bar, letting Lochee off the hook.
The opener arrived on 21 minutes when skipper Euan Spark rifled a volley high into the net from close range and the advantage was doubled 10 minutes later when Mitch Taylor sent a deflected strike into the net from range.
Just before the hour mark, City more or less ended the game as a contest as Mitch Taylor let fly with a tremendous 25 yard volley into the top corner to make it 3-0. The visitors would go on to pull a goal back 6 minutes from time when experienced defender Paul Lunan sent a looping header into the far corner.
Preview by Steven Mew
