I’ll shoot Reds to Scottish Cup glory

By Sean Wallace

Published:

DEADLY: Darren Mackie is confident ahead of tomorrow's cup clash.

ON TARGET: Mackie celebrates his first ever Dons goal in January, 2001.

DARREN Mackie aims to hit the goal trail at Alloa tomorrow to kick-start Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup bid.

The striker’s first ever senior goal for the Dons came at Alloa in a 3-0 Scottish Cup win in 2001.

And he is hoping Recreation Park will continue to be a happy hunting ground – by firing the Dons into the fifth round.

He said: “Alloa holds happy memories for me as it was where I scored my first senior goal.

“Hopefully, I can go back there and get a couple of goals to make it even more memorable.

“Playing Alloa away is a tricky tie, but we have the quality in the squad to get the win.

“Tomorrow will be like a cup final for Alloa and they will be out to show what they can do against an SPL side.

“We have to be professional and go into the tie with the right attitude.

“If we do, we will come out on top. Making the next round is all that matters.”

The 26-year-old will go head-to-head with Alloa’s powerful defenders like 6ft 4in centre back Scott Buist.

But he insists there is no way he will be muscled off the ball.

“Being up against big centre backs does not bother me at all,” said Mackie.

“I have played against some huge defenders before, and done well.

“I will just concentrate on my own game and try to score the goals to take us through to the next round.”

The Dons’ cup aspirations ended in disaster last season, when they lost 4-3 to First Division Queen of the South in the semi-finals.

But Mackie insists there will be no hangover from that setback.

“Losing the semi-final was disappointing, but we are all over that now,” he said.

“It is in the past and there is no point looking back, it’s all about looking forward.

“We need to go to Alloa with a positive attitude and get the job done.

“Ideally, we can get to the final and win it this season, and we will be doing all we can to achieve that.

“Aberdeen proved last season that we have the quality by beating Celtic in the quarter-finals.”

Mackie is one of six players who is out of contract at the end of the season.

He said: “I am still waiting to hear about a new deal. I just want to get the Alloa game out of the way, that is more important than contract talks.”