Elgin City manager Barry Smith rates Peterhead highly but is confident of a result if his Black and Whites play to their strengths at Balmoor Stadium
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BARRY Smith wants Elgin City to play on the front foot against a Peterhead side he sees as strong League 2 title contenders this season.
The City manager watched his team lose 2-1 at bottom club Clyde last Saturday, saying his men deserved to take something from the game after a poor first half.
The Black and Whites produced a stronger second half show, scoring through an own goal before Russell Dingwall fired a penalty over the bar with a golden chance to equalise.
Smith felt his team’s efforts in the second 45 minutes were more like the standards produced in the previous week’s win over Dumbarton, and he knows his men will have to replicate that display for the whole match when they visit second-placed Peterhead tomorrow.
“I think at the start of the season you would have said Peterhead were one of the favourites for the league.,” Smith said. “It’s nothing other than a very difficult game at Balmoor.
“They’ve got two good strikers if they choose to use them, Rory (McAllister) and Kieran Shanks who have both played at a higher level. We know they are strong going forward but we’ve got the belief that if we are resilient at the back and on the front then we can certainly cause teams going forward.”
City will still be without captain Matthew Cooper and midfielders Mitch Taylor and Matty Jamieson. Ross Draper and Ben Barron were on the bench at Clyde despite carrying injuries and Ross County loan striker Matty Wright was still feeling the effects of a recent illness, but should be fit to face Peterhead.
On the Clyde defeat, Smith added: “We didn’t do well enough in the first half but the pleasing thing was that we got a reaction. We certainly created numerous chances and on another day you get at least a point.
“After the Dumbarton game I said there is a lot of work to be done and we know that. The good thing is the boys are listening and learning and they will continue to grow as a team.
"There will be ups and downs and we just have to keep building on certain factors."
