Match Preview: Peterhead v Cowdenbeath

The Blue Brazil face old foes Peterhead at the Balmoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the 3rd round of the Scottish Cup.

Jimmy Nicholl's team had a disappointing result in the league last weekend against Queen of the South but will be looking to bounce back and progress into the later stages of the Scottish Cup. 2nd Division Peterhead stand in our way and, despite their current league position, will be a significant barrier to progressing into the 4th round draw at Hampden Park on Monday morning. The two clubs' were in the 2nd divsion together last season with the league spoils shared with two wins each but Cowden triumphed in the Alba Cup.

"We are keen to make an impact on this competition and go on a cup run but so will Peterhead", commented Nicholl.

"The cup offers a breather from league business and the chance to earn some additional revenue for the club. We couldn't have started with a much more difficult game than away to Peterhead so we will need to show a vast improvement from last weekend if we are to realise our cup ambitions.

"I know a lot about the Peterhead team from my time up north with Aberdeen. We played them a number of times in pre-season games and a good part of their squad came through the ranks at Pittodrie when I was there. They have maybe not had the best start to the season but they are a good young side with some quality experienced campaigners like Bobby Mann, Dennis Wyness and Martin Bavidge in their team.

"If we are to stay in the cup and beat Peterhead we will need to do things differently from the performance against Queen of the South. We gave them too much time on the ball, were too deep with the midfield sitting on top of the back four, and allowed them to play. Overall it wasa lack lustre and shot shy display and we have worked extremely hard at training this week to rectify things."

On loan Kilmarnock defender Stevie Old is unavailable as the Ruby Park side do not want the New Zealand internationalist to become cup tied. However, Mark Ramsay has made a remarkable recovery from the ankle injury he sustained last weekend and is set to feature. Mark Baxter, John Armstrong and Joe Mbu all trained this week and are part of the squad but the game will probably come too soon for them.

Listen to the pre-match chat at Kick Talk radio.