Peterhead manager Jim McInally has challenged his players to compete against Queen of the South for the full 90 minutes when the Blue Toon play their first ever game at Palmerston Park.
The Dumfries men won the first encounter between the sides back in August when they hit back after going behind early with Jim saying: “We started that game very well and scored a good goal early on. We then went on to be on top for half an hour however Queen of the South started to show that they were stronger than we were, especially in midfield, and that started to turn the tide in their favour.”
“They got an equaliser and I would have been happy to get in level at the break however they scored just before the half-time whistle and that that lifted their confidence and dented ours. They came out for the second 45 minutes and showed their strength and experience well with the three points deservedly going to them.”
“What I have asked our players to do at the very least in this game is show that we have learnt from that and show that we can compete for longer than we did in that last meeting. I want us to compete for the full game and if we do that then we will have a platform to build on.”
The Doonhamers head into the game looking to bounce back from a midweek defeat at Kelty Hearts with Jim saying: “I am sure they will be out to make amends for that in front of their own fans. They will be disappointed when they look at the table and see a gap to the other full-time teams in the league, however we cannot concern ourselves too much with that.”
“We have to go out and show that we are improving as a team. We have to ensure that we do not allow ourselves to be overrun in the same manner as we were in the last meeting. We have a few bodies back and a few bodies feeling better about themselves than they were last Saturday and that will help.”
Team News
Jack Brown, Jack Wilkie, Ewan Murray and Christiano Kisuka are all included after injury with David Wilson, Conor O’Keefe and Ryan Dow now back to full fitness after facing Falkirk last weekend at less than 100%.
Injuries continue to hamper manager McInally’s plans with Andrew McDonald, Paul Dixon, Robbie McGale, Andrew McCarthy, Russell McLean, Hamish Ritchie and Ola Adeyemo all ruled out.
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