Fraserburgh attacker Scott Barbour hopes to prove the gap between the SPFL and the Highland League is closing by beating Montrose this weekend.
The Broch will be one of three Highland League teams in action in the third round of the Scottish Cup when they host the Gable Endies at Bellslea on Saturday.
Brora Rangers will welcome Stranraer following their second round heroics when they knocked Championship leaders Hearts out of the competition.
Formartine’s reward for beating League Two Annan Athletic is a home tie against Scottish Premiership side Motherwell.
Montrose moved up to third in the League One table on Tuesday night by beating East Fife 3-0.
Barbour is optimistic about his side’s chances, although Stewart Petrie’s side’s 7-1 win against Nairn County in the previous round highlighted the task ahead.
He said: “A few of the boys from the team were watching the game against Nairn, but I think they put it off after 20 minutes.
“Montrose are a quality team and they are doing well in League One and up there with Falkirk and Cove Rangers.
“They will be favourites for Saturday’s game, but we are going to be right up for it.
“It was great for the Highland League to see Brora Rangers beating Hearts.
“I don’t think there is a big difference between the Highland League and the couple of leagues above us.
“We want to get through. Every time you go into a competition like the Scottish Cup you hope you draw one of the big teams.
“Fraserburgh played Rangers in the competition a couple of years ago.
“I was at Formartine at the time and missed that one, so I would love to be part of a big game like that.”
HIGHLIGHTS | Nairn County 1-7 @MontroseFC #ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/7uya5IxXqf
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) March 24, 2021
Barbour already knows what it takes to beat Montrose in the Scottish Cup having been part of the Broch side that won 2-1 against the Links Park men in the third round of the Scottish Cup in 2013.
He said: “I don’t think the weather will be as bad as it was on that occasion.
“It was very windy and pouring with rain, which suited us.
“It would be handy if it was like that this Saturday, but I don’t think it will be.”
Barbour knows this could be his side’s final match of the heavily disrupted 2020-21 campaign after the Highland League season was halted on Tuesday and Brora Rangers crowned champions on a points-per-game basis after only three fixtures.
The 29-year-old is desperate to win this weekend to keep the season going for a little bit longer.
He added: “I wasn’t sure if they were going to null and void the season because of the number of games that have been played.
“Brora should have been in the play-offs last season.
“We were on the same points, but it is only three games played.
“It is quite right that Brora get put forward to play in the play-offs against Kelty Hearts from the Lowland League.
“It looks strange to see a team crowned champions after three games, but we just need to look forward to the league starting again next season.
“We weren’t expecting the league to get restarted so we knew the Scottish Cup was going to be our last chance to play games this season.
“Hopefully we can get a result and have another game to look forward to in the next round.”
The match will be Fraserburgh’s first competitive match since they defeated junior side Banks o’ Dee 2-1 in the second round of the competition on January 9.
Barbour added: “We managed to play a friendly against Keith a couple of weeks ago when they were warming up for their Scottish Cup tie against Clyde.
“We’ve been training for a couple of weeks now and the boys have kept themselves in good shape.
“We are just lacking match sharpness, but hopefully the boys will be buzzing and that will take care of itself.”
