Hat trick hero aiming to fire Brora Rangers into Highland League Cup final
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Andrew MacRae is looking to fire Brora Rangers into the Highland League Cup final when they host Keith in the semi final clash at Dudgeon Park on Saturday.
Fresh from scoring a hat-trick in the 5-1 Scottish Cup first round victory against Berwick Rangers last weekend, he is now looking to ensure the team keep up their ruthless form in front of goal.
Brora Rangers will be looking to book their place in the final of the competition which they won two seasons ago when they beat Buckie Thistle 2-1.
The Cattachs faced Keith two weeks ago when they edged a 1-0 win at Kynoch Park.
MacRae is expecting another tough contest tomorrow, but is confident they can carry on their momentum and secure a semi final victory.
“In the last game against Keith, they were pretty solid against us,” he said.
“Although their goalkeeper had an outstanding game, we should have scored a couple more with chances in the first half.
“Towards the end it did get a bit ropey, but we were also a bit ropey.
“But we now know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and it will be a different sort of game compared to the last time.
“Their manager will have done his homework on us and will likely approach the game differently.”
MacRae says he would relish the chance to get Brora to the Highland League Cup final, with their triumph two seasons ago still fresh in player’s memories.
“It would be great to get to the final again and winning it was a good experience for us.
“We won the Highland League the season before, but that was impacted by Covid.
"So the cup final was a different experience of celebrating with the fans.
“We know what to expect on Saturday and we are all hungry to get to another cup final.”
MacRae’s hat-trick in the 5-1 Scottish Cup first round win against Berwick Rangers was also the first time he had scored in the competition.
He was pleased to tick that box and is now looking forward to the challenge of heading to League Two leaders Stenhousemuir in the second round later this month.
“The win against Berwick Rangers was probably the best performance of the season,” he said.
“It was great to get a hat trick on Saturday, particularly as I had never scored in the Scottish Cup before.
“My first game in the Scottish Cup was playing for Forres Mechanics and I actually got sent off.
“The next Scottish Cup game that I played was when we beat Hearts, but I never scored in that.
“Away to Stenhousemuir is probably the toughest draw we could have got as they are currently top of League Two.
“They are the highest seeded team in the second round, but you want to test yourself in the Scottish Cup.
“Hopefully we can build up confidence to do anything in the Scottish Cup.”
