Michael Clark says cup competitions are crucial for Huntly as they aim for a place in the last four of the Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup.
The Black and Golds take on what is expected to be a youthful Aberdeen side at Christie Park tonight in the quarter-final of the competition.
Last season Huntly reached the final of the Morrison Motors (Turriff) Aberdeenshire Shield.
Although the Strathbogie side were defeated on penalties by Banks o’ Dee defender Clark says that has made Allan Hale’s squad more determined to enjoy success.
The 27-year-old said “It’s a massive game for the club, we know where we are at the moment as a club, we want to have good runs and see how far we can go in the cups.
“We managed to get to a final last season which was a first for a lot of boys in the team.
“Everyone has had a taste for that now and we want more so having that experience will hopefully do us good in the future.
“But we know we’ll need to be at our best against Aberdeen, they have some cracking young players.
“We’ve had them watched and all the reports on them have been really good.”
Injury return
Clark made his first appearance since February in Saturday’s 1-0 Breedon Highland League win against Deveronvale.
The stopper has been kept on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury and he admits the physical nature of his job as a farmer hasn’t aided his recovery.
He added: “I was pleased to be back playing after a long lay-off, there’s not much time to recovery after Saturday but it’s good to be back.
“At the turn of the year I had a strain on my hamstring but we managed it ahead of the Aberdeenshire Shield final.
“But then straight after the final I tore my hamstring properly and I was out for the rest of the season.
“I probably should’ve been back sooner but my work and things like lambing didn’t help in terms of recovery.
“The nerves healed inside the tear and then the tear healed so when I move the nerves are pulled and it can be painful.
“It’s just taken a long time to recover from.
“I don’t know if there are many farmers playing in the Highland League.
“I’m maybe unique because the nature of my work means you don’t get the same recovery time after games as players with other jobs.”
Clean sheets key
The weekend win was also Huntly’s first clean sheet in the Highland League this season and Clark was pleased to play his part.
He said: “It was a very good win for us on Saturday, Deveronvale were good on the day and we had to get back to basics.
“You don’t always need to play fancy football, we got the ball forward earlier and played from there.
“That worked for us on Saturday and whatever works to win games is the most important thing.
“Clean sheets can make a big difference as well and every defender wants to keep clean sheets.”
