Defender Morgyn Neill thinks Cove Rangers’ experience of knocking Queen of the South out of one cup competition will serve them well as they look to do it again.
Cove host the Doonhamers at the Balmoral Stadium on Tuesday in the Challenge Cup last-four (7.30pm kick-off), with the Aberdeen club keen to remind fans tickets can be bought online.
In December, League One’s part-time leaders upset Championship strugglers Queens 3-0 at Palmerston in a Scottish Cup replay, earning a bumper January tie with top-flight Hibs in the process.
As a result, Cove’s chances of reaching the Challenge Cup showpiece – a first cup final since their step up to the SPFL – look good.
Centre-half Neill said: “It obviously gives us a wee bit of confidence.
“Queen of the South will want to get one back on us obviously.
“When we played them recently and knocked them out of the cup, I thought we were outstanding in both games.
“We probably should’ve beat them in the first game (2-2 draw). Then in the second game, we done enough.
“It was a horrible night for football and we had a good wee turnout of fans, especially for during the week, who decided to make the trip. That bit of support helped us.”
Neill thinks ambitious Cove, who are in a strong position to move up to the second tier – a division Queens may drop out of – showed more hunger than Tuesday’s opponents when they made the long trip to Dumfries before Christmas.
He was keen not to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of their rivals, but the 25-year-old added: “Going into every game, we concentrate on ourselves more than the opposition. That’s no disrespect to the opposition.
“I think some teams need to be wary of how we are as well.
“That night we beat them 3-0, we were missing some key players in our team. We were missing Shay Logan, Rory (McAllister) was on the bench, (Iain) Vigurs – these are players who’ll play week in, week out for us.
“But our squad’s that strong, it doesn’t matter if one person’s not playing.
“The difference was we were all hungry to show the team from above we were capable of competing against them.”
Getting to the Challenge Cup final, and meeting another Championship side in either Kilmarnock or Raith Rovers, would be the latest step on Cove’s ascent in the Scottish game – and could also fuel their ambitions during the League One run-in.
Neill said: “It’s massive, not just for us players, but the club as well.
“There’s boys and people round about the club who have come right through from the Highland League, used to beating most teams back then, then seeing the competitiveness of League Two, now League One, and it’s good to be part of the journey now.
“I just think, whatever cup we’re in, or league game, we set ourselves out to win what we can.
“It’s such a great opportunity for the club and the players to have a chance of being in a final.”