Clachnacuddin manager Jordan Macdonald preparing to face best Formartine United side possible as Pitmedden outfit prepare to make trip to Grant Street Park in Inverness
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Jordan Macdonald is warning Clach to be ready to face top of the table quality in Formartine United this weekend at Grant Street Park.
The Lilywhites’ manager is an admirer of the calibre of player within Stuart Anderson’s squad and aware of big results of late for the Aberdeenshire club.
Just how they will approach their visit to Merkinch, though, was less certain ahead of comprehensive homework this week on the Pitmedden side.
Formartine suffered a surprise defeat away to Keith at the start of the month, but have beaten Brora Rangers already this season and were excellent in Saturday’s 3–1 Scottish Cup victory over East Stirlingshire.
Clach, fresh from their own exit from the national competition, are looking to rebuild momentum gained from back to back cup and league victories over Rothes.
Last October, Macdonald’s men went down 4–2 to Formartine at North Lodge Park under previous manager Paul Lawson.
Then in March they were squeezed out by a single goal at Grant Street.
“We always face a difficult test against Formartine – they are a quality side,” Macdonald stressed.
“When we played against them with their previous manager, they looked to get the ball down and play.
“Then, in the second meeting with the new manager in place, they were much more direct. It was two very different styles.
“At this point in time, we don’t really know what to expect from them, but we will get our reports and prepare through the week.
“They have started well and it’s always a tough game. They have quality players and we will need to be ready for what they bring.”
After a struggle for points early in the campaign, Clach have shown signs of improvement and performed very well in the second half of their eventual 3–2 defeat away at Dunbar United last weekend.
The Formartine game begins an extremely difficult, but exciting spell for the young and currently fully fit Clach side who will then face Brora in the North of Scotland Cup Final.
After that Clach square up to Buckie Thistle and Fraserburgh, last season’s top two. Macdonald, true to form, is only focused on the next challenge.
“We’re always looking for improvement,” he added.
“We just need to get going again after the Scottish Cup defeat,” he said.
“We let ourselves down a wee bit in the first half especially, but there were a lot of positives in the second half.”
