Thistle out for revenge against Stirling Uni

The two clubs met at the Falkirk Stadium back in November when the students demolished Thistle 8-0 in the final of the Alex Jack Cup.

Fraser Ogilvie, the Lothian co-manager, does not - for obvious reasons - want to dwell on his side's performance that day. "That was a one-off freak result and since that game we have come on in leaps and bounds," stressed Ogilvie. "Nothing went right for us that day. We had a player sent off after 15 minutes, our goalkeeper broke an arm and had to be replaced at half-time by an outfield player and we did not have a full bench of substitutes.

"However, that result is well in the past and in our 14 games since then we have lost only one and that has given the players great confidence going into the semi-final tomorrow. Our form has been phenomenal and on Tuesday night we beat Berwick Rangers Reserves away from home in a League Cup tie. Our players showed great character because we were down to the bare bones with only two fit central defenders and we had Conran McDiarmid sent off early in the second half when we were leading 2-0. We were under pressure after that but it was a cup tie and we got the correct result."

Ogilvie is determined that there will definitely be no repeat of that 'freak' scoreline, saying: "We want to take to the park and prove it was a fluke. People only have to look at the Premier Division table and see that we are sitting in fourth position and we still have ambitions to finish higher than that which would be a fantastic achievement considering we had to rebuild a side at the beginning of the season.

"As far as this King Cup semi-final goes I have tried to shut Stirling University out of my mind for the past five months and tomorrow I will be demanding from my players that they give me 100 per cent. I am not particularly looking for revenge as such but I am eager to make up for the nightmare that was that day."

Lothian have Daniel McAleavy available so their only absentee is the suspended McDiarmid.

Stirling, needless to say, are determined to achieve the same outcome of that Alex Jack Cup final - if not the same scoreline. Head coach Raleigh Gowrie said: "It is fair to say it was a positive day for Stirling University because we won an East of Scotland League trophy. The outcome of the game was decided by two things - the size of the pitch was in our favour and Lothian Thistle had a player sent off very early on. As a result we dominated but I don't think that the scoreline was a true reflection on the abilities of both clubs.

"Since that cup final Lothian Thistle have found form and gained a lot of points in recent weeks whereas we have stuttered a little bit lately. We have, however, played Lothian three times this season and had the better in all of them, although we are showing signs of fatigue after a hard season.

"I would expect Lothian Thistle to be committed and they will want to make amends but it is an opportunity for Stirling to qualify for another cup final and possibly add to our silverware collection for the season. A cup final appearance would be a nice way to end a season."

Stirling are likely to be without Jason Atkins, Liam Corr and Abraham Keller, although Emmot Parr-Gallagher, Lee Nichol and Craeg Robertson are all back in contention.

The game kicks off at Saughton Enclosure at 2.30pm with admission prices, adults 3.00 and concessions 1.00.

"[8-0] was a one-off freak result and since that game we have come on in leaps and bounds" FRASER OGILVIE