BRECHIN City manager Jim Duffy is sweating over the fitness of his two creative midfield players – Charlie King and Darren Smith – for tonight's First Division play-off semi-final first leg against Ayr United.
Both are rated doubtful, with Duffy explaining: "Charlie missed Saturday's game with a calf problem that has still not cleared up and Darren came off after a knock on the knee, which left him unable to kick the ball properly. It will be a last-minut
e decision if these guys play."
Better news for the Glebe Park manager was that experienced defender Barry Smith will be fit to play, with his substitution at Alloa on Saturday perfectly timed to avoid the recurrence of his foot problem.
Duffy is not entering into a grand plan of how to win the tie over 180 minutes, preferring to focus on tonight's match first. He added: "We only have a squad of 14 or 15 players, so you cannot make some grand scheme over a two-legged game. We will play this match to win and then look at the next leg later."
Ayr United manager Brian Reid's approach to tonight's play-off is as straightforward as his managerial rival. "We will go out to win, as we do every game," said Reid, whose side finished runners-up to Raith Rovers in the Second Division and missed out on automatic promotion to the First Division.
Reid expanded on his thinking, saying: "Some people may want to complicate things but to me it is very simple; there are two games of football to be played so why not go out to win both of them."
The Honest Men lost at Glebe Park just over three weeks ago, but the trip holds no fears for Reid, who said: "They beat us 1-0 up there recently but we deserved something from that game. We have won at Brechin already this season so we will be travelling there in confident mood."
Reid has no injury or suspension worries for this first leg. Midfielder Ryan Stevenson is available before a suspension kicks in for the second leg.
The full article contains 360 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
