Melrose want to take Scottish Cup challenge to final stage

Rob Chrystie’s side have a BT Premiership play-off match at home to Currie in the diary next weekend but, for the moment, the spotlight is on their bid to reach a second successive BT Cup final.

Their opponents are Stirling County, who are aware this could be their last game of the season and will pose a formidable challenge.

Head coach Rob Chrystie said the feeling in the Melrose camp was good and there was excitement about getting the “the business end” of the season.

“The players are excited and have worked really hard to get to this point,” he said. “It’s a matter now of trying to put it all together.”

Success in the cup was equally as important to Melrose as any other contest, he added.

“We are keen to do well in every competition we enter, be it the cup or the actual league, or the Border League as well,” said Chrystie.

The Currie game was not figuring too highly in anyone’s thoughts at the moment.

“One job at a time – all the focus and effort just now is gong into the Stirling game at the weekend and seeing how well we can perform there,” said Chrystie. “If the boys play as well as they can, we’ll have a good chance of progressing.”

County too would fancy their chances as they will be desperate to get to a cup final, he added.

Melrose hoped Neil Irvine-Hess and Craig Jackson would be back to full fitness, while everyone else had a clean bill of health.

“We are dealing with it like any other game we have dealt with all year,” said Chrystie. “We are in good shape and, hopefully, that transfers into the game on Saturday.

“Everything is based towards Stirling just now – on Saturday night, we will start working towards Currie.”

Ayr will be hosting Glasgow Hawks in the other BT Cup and Premiership play-off semi-finals.