Stoneywood-Dyce captain Ewan Davidson hopes they can rediscover their fighting spirit to survive in the Easter Premier League.
The Aberdeen outfit hover just above bottom-of-the-table Meigle with two games remaining.
Tomorrow Stoneywood-Dyce face fourth-placed Forfarshire at Forthill, before next weekend’s potential relegation-decider against Meigle at People’s Park.
Skipper Davidson was at the club when they were last relegated seven years ago and is trying to draw on that experience.
He said: “When we got relegated in 2016, it was slightly different because we knew we were down a lot earlier than this.
“The writing was on the wall earlier that we would be relegated.
“It was a tough season. I was 16 then and was on the fringes and not an established player.
“It’s tough on the club, but other than George Ninan, it’s probably just myself that’s left from that.
“Maybe a little bit of the fight has been missing so far this season.
“In previous years when we’ve been under threat we’ve perhaps had the players with the experience and mantra to get the results so we didn’t find ourselves in a position like we are now.
“But I’m still confident we’ve got the ability and experience to get ourselves through it.”
Free hit – but better display needed
Stoneywood-Dyce will be underdogs to beat Forfarshire ,and rivals Meigle will also be up against it as they tackle table-toppers Grange at Victory Park.
Despite that, Davidson is looking for an improved Stoneywood-Dyce performance having been beaten by 196 runs and nine wickets in their last two outings against Corstorphine and Watsonian.
He added: “For both clubs it’s effectively a free hit to try to do something before we play Meigle next weekend.
“It’s been a shame – we felt we were turning a corner, but the last two games we’ve played haven’t been good.
“There was an abandoned game against Falkland in the middle which was disappointing because we felt that was winnable.
“Even last weekend we were in a good position with Corstorphine 90-5, but we couldn’t capitalise.”
Sides seek strong finish
Meanwhile, in the North East Championship, Huntly, Aberdeenshire and Gordonians are playing for pride with two games remaining this season.
Huntly’s hopes of title glory were ended by last weekend’s loss to table-toppers Arbroath United.
The defeat meant Jack Mitchell’s side slipped to third, but they could move back up to second if they beat Kinloch at Lochside Park and Arbroath get the better of Perth Doo’cot.
Fourth-placed Aberdeenshire take on bottom side Falkland 2nds at Mannofield and Gordonians (seventh) also enjoy home advantage with Strathmore (eighth) visiting Countesswells.
Grades top two meet in crunch clash
In the Aberdeenshire Grades, the Grade One title race will go a long way to being settled tomorrow when leaders Master Blasters Aberdeen take on second-placed Bon Accord at Inverdee – the area’s newest cricket ground.
Although neither side will be able to lay claim to the championship, a defeat with only two more Saturdays left in the season would almost certainly take the losers out of the equation.
That would give third-placed Gordonians a flicker of hope, but only if they can overcome the tricky challenge of Inverurie at Kellands Park.
The venue for the top-of-the-table clash has been changed due to Allan Park being unplayable after the heavy rain of recent weeks.
At the other end of the division, relegation looms for the losers as Crescent meet AberGreen at the Links.
In Grade Two, Aberdeen Grammar are all but promoted and will be hot favourites to beat misfiring Methlick at Lairds.
Fraserburgh can also nudge nearer to the top flight should they beat Banchory at Burnett Park.
Meanwhile, the final of the prestigious Aberdeenshire Cup will be contested between Gordonians and Knight Riders on August 27 at Mannofield.
The Groats Road side claimed the right to meet their Countswells opponents last Sunday when they defeated Crescent by one run in a low scoring affair at Hazlehead where the visitors failed to hunt down the 86 set by Knight Riders.
