Galabank welcome for Annan

Aug 8 2008 by Craig Robertson, Dumfries Standard Friday

ANNAN Athletic have another history making match in the waiting tomorrow when they bring Third Division football home to Galabank for the first time.

But at the end of a week which saw the SFL’s newest team soar to the top of the league after a 4-1 defeat of Cowdenbeath and force Dumbarton to a dramatic penalty shoot out in the Challenge Cup, gaffer Harry Cairney fears a wake-up call may be coming.

When his side line up against Stenhousemuir on their home turf, the week’s events must be cleared from memory, with the sole focus on putting on a show for the loyal support who themselves will want their own memories to savour from the day.

Cairney said: “I think our results this week have shown that we can be competitive in this league.

“But there is a danger that the players are riding on the euphoria of that and drop their standards a little bit.

“We need to make sure we guard against that.”

After Tuesday night’s hectic challenge cup game which the Galabankies eventually lost 5-4 on penalties, Cairney put his men through a lighter training session than usual last night.

The word tiredness is often used very easily in Scottish Football but the Annan gaffer didn’t want his men to be worn out ahead of tomorrow’s game.

He said: “I am worried that a couple of them might get a bit tired so we’ll take it easy in training.

“Hopefully, they’ll be ready for Saturday as it will be a decent match in front of our home support and our players will get a lift from that.

“Stenhousemuir are a good side and are probably one of the promotion favourites so we need to watch out for the problems they will cause us.”

Cairney will wait until the last minute to assess the fitness of defender and assistant manager, Derek Townsley who has suffered a neck injury and also has injury concerns over striker Steven Archibald and defender Stuart Hill who was violently sick after Tuesday’s match.

With this being Annan's opening home league game there will be considerable interest from ground hoppers around the country. Supporters are urged to arrive early tomorrow and not leave it to the last minute.

The club is undertaking major ground improvements and in order to assist with spectator management fans are urged to come early. Parking around the area will be limited and restricted and fans are urged to utilise parking in the town car parks.