East of Scotland Premier Division side Dundonald Bluebell are the opposition for Monday night’s Scottish Cup First Round fixture, in front of the BBC Scotland cameras and under the floodlights at New Central Park, Kelty. It’s the last of the first round ties to be played and both sides will know what fixture lies ahead in the second round should they progress, with the draw being made just half an hour before kick off at Kelty.
Manager’s thoughts
“We are very much looking forward to the game, as we know Dundonald Bluebell will be as well. There’s no question that they will be up for it and it’s likely to be a very tricky game. They have some experienced players amongst their ranks that have played at senior level. We need to approach the game properly, as we look to do with every game, and look to go out there and play to our strengths.
“We’ve managed to do some analysis on them watching footage of their previous matches and speaking to people who play in their league. It goes without saying, we will give them the same level of respect as we do every team we come up against. We will do all we can to ensure we get the right result.
“We know it won’t be easy and the weekend has shown, as the Scottish Cup does every year, that shocks can and will happen. We don’t want that to be us so we need to make sure we are professional and we do the job that we set out to do.
“It goes without saying that we would love a run in the Scottish Cup this year. I felt the Betfred Cup came around too soon for us in terms of us not having played enough games prior to it and not having the squad the we now have in place. We are now in a much better place now and very much ready and looking forward to it all starting tomorrow.”
Squad news: The gaffer was delighted to confirm that he has no fresh injury concerns to contend with ahead of the match which gives him a fully fit squad to choose from.
The opposition: The Bluebell have reached this stage of the Scottish Cup for the first time in their history and go into the match on the back of three wins on the bounce. They currently sit eighth in the East of Scotland Premier Division, having picked up 15 points from their first eight matches. They sealed progress to the first round courtesy of a 4-2 win over Easthouses Lily at Stair Park in the second preliminary round a fortnight ago. They are managed by Raith Rovers, Brechin City and East Fife (amongst others) player, Kevin Fotheringham.
Last matches: 19/12/2020 Annan Athletic 1-2 Queen’s Park; 12/12/2020 Dundonald Bluebell 4-2 Easthouses Lily.
Recent form (all competitions): Queen’s Park LWWWDW; Dundonald Bluebell – LWDWWW.
Top scorer (all competitions): Queen’s Park – Bob McHugh (4).
Match officials: Referee – Scott Lambie; Assistant Referees – Alastair Mather and Paul McAvinue; Fourth Official – Euan Birch.
TV: The match will be shown live on the BBC Scotland channel with coverage starting at 7.30pm.
Facebook: Get the team news at 7.00pm followed by live goal, half time and full time score updates via our Facebook page.
Twitter: Get the team news at 7.00pm followed by live updates throughout the match via our Twitter account @QueensParkFC.
Instagram: Get the team news at 7.00pm followed by live goal, half time and full-time score updates via our Instagram.
QPTV: Post match reaction from the manager will be available shortly after the game. Match highlights to follow on Tuesday on our YouTube channel.
Next match: Saturday 2nd January, v Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill. Kick off 3.00pm.