Formartine United midfielder Graeme Rodger knows his side will have to keep a close eye on one of the most lethal finishers in Europe this weekend.
The North Lodge Park outfit travels to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South in the third round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
Stephen Dobbie has netted 26 goals in 22 appearances for the Doonhamers this campaign with the 35-year-old having hit the back of the net more times this season than the likes of Paris Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich and even Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
The goals have dried up slightly for Dobbie with only two strikes in his previous seven games but Rodger is well aware of the threat the former Crystal Palace and Swansea forward poses.
He said: “They are doing quite well in the Championship and Dobbie is currently one of the top goalscorers in Europe so we know it won’t be easy down there.
“But we go into the tie with absolutely nothing to lose. We just need to go out there and enjoy it. I’ve not played at Palmerston before so I’m really looking forward to it.
“We went down to Cliftonhill and beat Albion Rovers 2-0 in the previous round so we can definitely take a bit of confidence from that performance, although we are well-aware that there is a big difference between playing a team currently at the foot of League 2 to facing a club who are doing fairly well and sitting in sixth place in the Championship.
“It’s a massive step up for us but we have a decent cup record and over the last few years we have had some big Scottish Cup ties, including a trip to face Partick Thistle at Firhill.
“We’re not putting any pressure on ourselves. We’re going to enjoy the experience. We’ll do our best and hopefully we can get something on the day.”
The 27-year-old former Deveronvale midfielder added: “It’s a really long trip but all credit to the club for doing things in the right way.
“We’re leaving on Friday evening and stopping in Glasgow overnight before completing the journey to Dumfries on Saturday morning.
“In preparation we trained on an artificial surface in Westhill earlier this week. We also train every Wednesday at the Sports Village in Aberdeen and we’ve played a couple of competitive games on Cove’s artificial pitch so we’re used to playing on surfaces like the one at Queen of the South’s Palmerston ground.
“Our manager Paul Lawson and his assistant Russell Anderson have done their homework on Queen of the South but we know we are going into the tie as massive underdogs.”
