TWO Dumfriesshire football clubs face crunch clashes tomorrow afternoon in their respective play-off semi-final ties.
Fellow League One sides Queen of the South and Annan Athletic currently find themselves in battles at opposing ends of the table.
The Doonhamers are vying for promotion out of the division and into the Championship, while the Black and Golds are seeking to keep a hold of their place in the third tier.
Queens travel to Aberdeen to face Cove Rangers. On Tuesday night, in the first leg, the two clubs played out a goalless draw at Palmerston Park, so everything is sill to play for at the Balmoral Stadium. A spot in the Championship play-off final awaits the winner.
Meanwhile, relegation threatened Annan welcome Elgin City to Galabank. The Black and Golds will start the game with a two-goal advantage after they defeated the Black and Whites 4-2 at Borough Briggs midweek.
QOS midfielder Harry Cochrane is on a mission to get the Dumfries outfit back into the Championship.
The 24-year-old midfielder suffered a painful relegation with the club to the third tier in his first season at Palmerston in 2022.
He said: “I joined the club in the Championship and unfortunately we got relegated. Queens should be in the Championship, that’s where we deserve to be. There’s no reason why we can’t go and achieve that.
“This is my fourth season at the club and this is the first time I’ve been involved in the play-offs to try and get us back up.”
Queens boss Peter Murphy admits his side missed the opportunity to take a stranglehold of the tie but insists tomorrow will be a different story.
He said: “It’s only half time. I thought we deserved to score but it just wasn’t to be. Cove did have a couple of good counter attacks but our defence were absolutely outstanding. Jack Hannah and Matty Douglas were rocks.”
Wullie Gibson’s Annan Athletic players raced out of the traps at Elgin to gain a crucial advantage going into the home leg. All six goals in their 4-2 victory were scored in a thrilling first half, with Tommy Goss, Max Kilsby and Tommy Muir, at the double, getting on the scoresheet for Athletic.
Gibson said: “I’m delighted to get the win and take the advantage down to Annan on Saturday.
“I thought the boys put a terrific shift in. We conceded a couple of goals, which were maybe a bit sloppy on our behalf.
“On reflection, we could maybe have been more than two goals better off at halftime. I thought that we created a number of chances and we were unlucky not to get a few more.”
Gibson added: “I know the fans will be turning out in their numbers (at Galabank) on Saturday, so we look forward to seeing them.”
