Thomas McHale admits Elgin City have a “great opportunity” to reach the last 16 of the Scottish Cup – but he is fully focused on staying in League Two’s promotion hunt first.
The experienced Black and Whites goalkeeper is thrilled to have played his part in their hard-fought 2-1 win at Hill of Beath from the East of Scotland League Premier Division last weekend.
Their reward for coming through the third-round tie – despite a red card for Angus Mailer just after the break – was landing a home clash against West of Scotland League First Division shock troops Drumchapel United.
Drumchapel are the lowest-ranked team left in the cup, but they pulled off an impressive 1-0 win against League One FC Edinburgh to reach round four.
That tie won’t happen until January 21 at Borough Briggs, and Elgin will aim to be firmly among League Two’s play-off places by the time they take to the pitch for that encounter – which they will be expected to win.
Chance to turn heat on top two
On Saturday, Elgin host Stenhousemuir on league business, looking to remain in third position and knowing defeat would see Stenny overtake them by one point.
Since drawing 3-3 with the Warriors on September 17, Elgin have shown superb consistency, having won eight and lost just three since then.
McHale, who has replaced the injured Daniel Hoban in the last three matches, insists the Moray squad are determined to keep adding to their league tally before thinking about Scottish Cup prospects.
He said: “With the fixtures we now have coming up into the festive period, we really need to be focused on those. We will focus on the Scottish Cup when that tie comes around.
“We have shown a really good level of consistency. We lost 4-0 against (leaders) Dumbarton, but we’ve had that discussion – that just wasn’t us that day.
“We’ve turned it around by winning at Annan, which is a really tough place to go – Fingers-crossed we can get another win on Saturday.
“Stenhousemuir won’t be pushovers.
“We want to make Borough Briggs a really tough place for opponents. A win would push us further away from them and hopefully move us closer to the top two (Dumbarton and Stirling Albion).
“We feel we should be in that position – but we have to prove it. We want to keep pushing on and keep exciting the fans.”
Team clicking into gear – McHale
Kane Hester has netted 21 goals in all competitions, with midfielder Russell Dingwall now on 11 after both players scored at Hill of Beath.
McHale, who has 10 appearances this term, acknowledges the firepower in forward areas and stout defending, as well as competition for places, is a good mix.
He said: “Kane and Russell have been unbelievable this season.
“For Russ to get 11 goals from midfield already shows the work he’s putting in. He’s been unbelievable and he’s a good lad to have in the group.
“Kane’s record speaks for itself – to get 21 goals before December is no small feat. Teams know what threats he holds and they try and shut that out.
SCOTTISH CUP
We are facing Drumchapel United in the next round of the Scottish Cup!
It will be played at Borough Briggs on the weekend of January 21/22. pic.twitter.com/uRIHgiDMx1
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) November 28, 2022
“Credit to all the boys in the team, though. It was a long period for me not playing, so I’m pleased to be back in the side and we all need to prove ourselves when we get our opportunities – we need to grab it with both hands.
“If we can do that, it pushes the squad on that little bit more. That will hopefully put us in a good position leading into the New Year.”
Homework vital ahead of cup clash
The 27-year-old shot-stopper is respectful of a Drumchapel team who have knocked Nairn County and Gretna 2008 from the Scottish Cup already this year.
He said: “It’s a great opportunity for us, but we won’t underestimate any team we come up against in the league or the cup.
“Drumchapel have earned their place with that great win against Edinburgh – that is no easy task against an Edinburgh side who have done really well this season.
“When it comes around, we will be ready.
“We have really picked up on the analysis aspect of the game this season, in terms of watching opponents and learning what we can capitalise upon in games.
“We will get everything in place, because this is a really good opportunity for us to push into the last 16. It’s a real incentive for the boys – you never know who you could draw.
“You could face one of the top three sides in Scotland or face a lower league opponent and get a real shock, as happened to us last season (when Elgin lost against Clydebank).
“We won’t take our foot off the gas when the game comes around.”
Learning to dig out positive results
Reflecting on the gutsy win away to Hill of Beath, McHale felt it showed a sign of Elgin’s development as a team from 12 months ago.
He added: “All credit to Hill of Beath – it was tough for us. They scored an early goal and had a real push early on.
“But credit to our boys for turning it around in those conditions. It was tough for both sides and it was a real leveller.
“We scored two quickfire goals in the first half to get ahead and we defended resiliently with 10 men in those conditions.
“It shows a different side to us that we maybe haven’t shown as much in the past. With the position we were in last season, that kind of response would have been great for us.
“It’s good to see we’re actually doing that now. Let’s hope we can keep doing that.”
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