City are headed for the heart of the Cairngorms tomorrow afternoon as they look to continue the momentum against Strathspey Thistle at Seafield Park.

With both Fraserburgh and Buckie Thistle winning in midweek, results were not on City's side but Manager Andy Kirk is keen to keep the winning run going in order to maintain the pressure at the top.

Highland League survival is the aim for the Strathy Jags this season and - despite defeat against Clachnacuddin in midweek - a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Turriff United last weekend has given them a 10 point cushion over bottom side Fort William.

TEAM NEWS
City will continue to be without midfielder Murray Mackintosh whilst Hamish Thomson is also a doubt after sustaining an injury in the warm-up last weekend. Manager Andy Kirk is hopeful of welcoming back Kieran Inglis to the squad whilst David Cox is also likely to return after missing the win over Nairn with a slight calf strain.

MANAGERS COMMENTS
Reflecting on the 5-goal victory over Nairn last weekend, Andy Kirk said, "It was another good win and it keeps the momentum going, but the performance was a bit of a tired one and a bit sloppy in terms of the quality however we've had a really tough schedule of late. It was five goals and a clean sheet which you can't really complain about."

On Julian Wade's hat-trick, he commented, "Any player to score three goals in a game is a great feat and he could have easily had two match balls to be fair to him! He netted the winner against Rothes with a great header and he seems to be amongst the goals again. All players are chipping in at the moment, we've had goals from all areas of the pitch and it's up to the players to keep that going."

Marc Scott also bagged a double including a spectacular finish for the 5th, with Andy adding, "My initial thought is that it was going over and then all of a sudden it seemed to dip. Some of Marc's goals have been brilliant this year and he scored a similar goal up at Turriff, coming in on his left foot and putting it into the far corner. Marc is back to where he was before he picked up an ankle injury which was followed up by covid. It took a bit of time to get his fitness levels back up and we missed him over that period. He's always a threat and when he gets a chance, 9 times out of 10 he hits the target."

Looking ahead to the trip to Grantown-on-Spey tomorrow, he commented, "They are all must win games for us now and we have just got to keep doing that so that teams above us are looking over their shoulders. We've had a bit of a break this week so it was nice to recharge the batteries and hopefully by Saturday the players will be firing again."

ADMISSION INFORMATION
Admission prices are £8 for adults and £4 for concessions (Under 16's and seniors). Parking is available in the nearby Grantown Golf Club. Strathspey will also be producing a souvenir programme priced £2 to mark City's first visit to Seafield Park.

SUPPORTERS TRAVEL
The Supporters Club are running a coach to the match which will leave St Ninian's Square at 10:30am. The cost of the bus is just £10 per person - to book please text 07740 856565 or email dwalker@brechincity.com.

The Supporters' Club would encourage everyone to wear a mask where possible and to carry out a lateral flow test before boarding.

MATCH OFFICIALS
The match referee tomorrow afternoon is Kevin Buchanan, assisted by Stuart Randall and Rhys Jones.

PREVIOUS MEETING
Brechin City 7-3 Strathspey Thistle -
City recovered from a horror start to record a comprehensive win over Strathspey Thistle at Glebe Park in October. The visitors stunned the home support with two goals in the first six minutes before goals from Hamish Thomson and David Cox brought City level by the quarter hour mark. Kris Duncan put the Strathy Jags back in front, only for David Cox to grab his second before Max Kucheriavyi put City ahead before the break.

City took control in the second half with goals from Murray Mackintosh, Garry Wood and Julian Wade as Andy Kirk's side ran out comfortable winners in the end.