Spartans v East Kilbride: Kennedy on guard for Scottish Cup clash in first meeting of double-header
Kilby travel to the capital wary of a side that has beaten them already this season
East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy says they won’t fear Spartans in Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie in the capital, but they must be wary of being caught on the break by their speedy stars.
Kilby have been burned by their League Two title rivals already this season, with Dougie Samuel’s men inflicting a 3-1 defeat at K-Park on the opening day of the season.
Since then, the two have exchange places at the summit of the League Two table and, as it stands, Spartans hold a three-point lead over EK going into a double-header that will see them clash in the second round of the cup this Saturday and then in the league next weekend, both at Ainslie Park.
Kennedy believes his squad, though hit by several injuries, is now stronger than the one that faced the Edinburgh outfit in August, but he knows his side need to be one guard against Spartans if they are to progress.
He said: “It will be difficult. Spartans have been in the league a few years now and you can see they have built the perfect squad at this level.
“They are very well organised defensively, they don’t take many risks and they have a lot of pace and power at the top end of the pitch. That makes them difficult to play against.
“I am sure we will go and dominate possession but they are very dangerous on the break because their two wide men [Mark Stowe and Cammy Russell] are so quick.
“We’ll need to make sure we stop as many transitions as possible, don’t give the ball away too easily at the top end of the pitch and defend well in the big moments.
“The team that started in August will be very different to Saturday. I don’t think Joao Balde and Nathan Flanagan were involved and, obviously, [new signing] Connor Young wasn’t there at the time, so there’s a lot of changes.
“Hopefully we have a team strong enough to go and win the game.
“It is a massive game on Saturday and another big one the following week but we’ll take them a game at a time.”
Kennedy faces a defensive headache with Jamie Hamilton coming off in Saturday’s 3-0 league win over Elgin City
And he added: “We can’t get a settled team in the backline. Jordan McGregor is out, Rhys Breen is out with his hamstring and Jamie Hamilton came off on Saturday.
”We have been ravaged by injury since the start of the season. Taking all things into consideration, it will take another couple of weeks for us to settle down.
“Spartans are top of the league with the League Two teams coming in at this stage of the cup, so it is the toughest draw we could have got.
“No disrespect to Spartans, but I don’t think East Kilbride should be fearing anyone at this level.
“I think it is just about us playing well and if we go there and reach the levels we know we can, we will have a good opportunity to reach the next round. If we don’t do that then we will have a really difficult day.”