East Stirling V Dundee United – Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

Saturday sees Dundee United enter into the Scottish Cup and they will face a tricky away tie to East Stirling in the fourth round.

With a decent run in the Co-Op Cup this season United will be looking to add to that with a good showing in the Scottish.

East Stirling, perennial struggler’s in Scottish Football, will be no pushovers however.

Former United player Jim McInally is now in charge of the 3rd Division outfit and has had them performing beyond all expectations.  They are currently sitting 4th in their division, in the play off places.

Shire gaffer McInally has no fitness or suspensions worries ahead of the weekend clash and this could see Eddie Forrest return to the team following suspension last weekend.  David Dunn is also available for selection.

Talking in the build up to the match, McInally commented that there is no need for his team to fear United and hinted that they may even go on the attack.

“We know there will be a huge gap between the teams but we will just have to do our best to bridge it.”

“One thing I want from the players is to let Dundee United know they have been in a game. If I  were out there I  would be getting stuck in about their shins. Too often players from the higher level go through these games without being tackled.

“I  don’t want that to be the case on Sunday. I want our players to be aggressive and we will take it from there.”

“Lee Wilkie’s out and Scott Robertson won’t play because he’s got an injury and they won’t risk him. Personally, I  hope they leave Jon Daly out as well as he is a huge threat up front.

“We have some thinking to do ahead of Sunday. Do we shut up shop and try to contain them or do we set up to try and score against them ?

“At the moment I  am leaning towards setting out to attack them because if you don’t score how are you going to win the match ?”

For United, the boys will have to keep their heads right to ensure an upset is not on the cards.

Lee Wilkie will miss out through suspension, although it is unlikely he would have played due to the artificial surface at Ochilview.  Darren Dods, currently in contract talks with the club, will come in to partner Garry Kenneth at the back.

In midfield, Ghanian midfielder Prince Buaben is expected to be favoured ahead of David Robertson to replace Scott Robertson, who misses out due to a groin injury.

Other than that, the team is expected to been unchanged from that which drew 2-2 with Celtic last week.

A big win is expected for the away team on Sunday but gaffer Craig Levein is taking nothing for granted.

“It’s a horrible game for us. I can’t sleep at night for worrying about these games because you are expected to win. I prefer to go in as underdogs.

“I started my managerial career in the lower leagues, so I know what it’s all about at those levels.

“There is no way we will be treating East Stirling lightly; I’ve got far too much respect for them to do that.

“Jim McInally is doing a great job there. They used to be annual struggler’s, but he’s gone in there and really given the place a big boost.

“We’ve had plenty of reports in of East Stirling’s games recently and we’re going down there to train so the lads can get used to the artificial surface.”

The Arab Blog Prediction

This is going to be a tough one methinks.  It could be an absolute massacre but then again, it could be one of those where the underdogs dig in and we only pick up a narrow win.  Hell, we might even get beat!

But I’m confident that we will have the edge and fitness to overcome this tricky tie.  3-0 United.

For a round up of the rest of the weekends Scottish Cup action, check out Inside Left.