Getting back to winning ways is a top priority as far as manager Jim Weir is concerned as his side return to the Capital City on Saturday to face a Spartans side who will be under temporary management after the club announced earlier in the week that long serving number one Dougie Samuel would be taking a break from his duties.
Jim also realises that his players will have to bounce back from what could best be described as a disappointing performance against Stranraer last weekend, the manager in no doubt that on the day his side contributed greatly to their own downfall.
A depleted squad then headed north on Tuesday past, a late equaliser from Martin Rennie rescuing a point at Banks O’ Dee in the KDM Trophy, this after the Athies had dominated the first period without really troubling the home custodian.
The ‘Loons’ will head to Edinburgh on Saturday still minus a handful of senior squad members.
A wee up date for the fans. Sadly Craig Slater and Matty Allan are still at least a couple of weeks away from full training, while concussion protocols will see Adam Livingston remain sidelined for at least a similar period. Ross MacLean his injury apart has also been struck by a nasty virus and his recovery is being monitored.
Marc McCallum is likely to be absent for a fairly lengthy period.
On the plus side the Station Park management team have been delighted to see the arrival of three new faces in the last seven days.
Ethan Crombie and Luca Perrie arrived on loan from neighbours Dundee less than 24 hours before the Stranraer clash and both subsequently made their debut from the bench. Both youngsters have been targets of Jim and Gavin since the start of the campaign and they are delighted to get them on board. Both Ethan and Luca were very keen to make the temporary move up the A90, to hopefully further their career not always the case with young players from higher echelons these days.
Former Arbroath wide player Rocco Hickey-Fugaccia arrived in midweek and entered the fray for the second period at Spain Park. Jim was again delighted to get Rocco on board.
All three players will no doubt play some part in proceedings in the Capital City.
Our opponents on Saturday go into the contest on the back of a 2-0 success in their last league outing at Stirling, Mark Stowe and Bradley Whyte their marksmen. The previous Saturday they rescued a point at home to Clyde, despite being 3-0 down early in the second period.
Last season’s games between the pair were extremely tight affairs. Two 1-0 victories for Spartans, the other two fixtures ending in a 1-1 score line. To be fair one or two vital decisions went the way of our opponents over the 360 plus minutes of on field action!
The ‘Loons’ will hopefully glean some reward on Saturday, but all concerned know how difficult a ninety minutes lie ahead for Angus Mailer and his colleagues.
Experienced match official Graham Grainger is Saturday’s man in the middle.
Admission charges at the Vanloq Stadium are as follows;-
Adults £19
Concessions (over 65, 16-18 year olds and Students) £14
Under 16’s £5
Tickets can be purchased in advance through Fanbase, see the Spartans website for full detail.
Cash and card payment is also accepted at the turnstiles on match day.
Saturday’s other William Hill League2 fixtures;- Annan Athletic v Elgin City, Clyde v Kelty Hearts, Edinburgh City v Stirling Albion, Stranraer v Dumbarton
