THERE will be more than just a place in the third round of the North Regional Cup up for grabs when Banchory St Ternan entertain Culter in the Deeside Derby at Milton Park tomorrow.
While striker Martin Shand has been banging in the goals for Culter, younger brother Lewis has been helping keep them out at the other end for Banchory.
The brothers, who were on opposing sides when Banchory won 1-0 at Crombie Park in the opening match of the Superleague season, can’t wait to meet again.
Martin said: “We are brothers before and after the game, but Lewis will be like just any other opponent when the game starts.
“It will be a tough game for us. We haven’t been playing well, but we’ve been getting results. We haven’t played much in recent weeks and will be a bit rusty.”
Martin, 28, showed no sign of rustiness in Culter’s last match when he netted four in the 5-2 win over Hermes.
And he insists there is a big enough squad at Crombie Park to regain the Superleague title.
He said: “There’s a lot of competition for places this season, which is something we didn’t have last season when we had too many games.”
But while Martin has enjoyed title success in three out of the four years he has spent at Culter, it has taken longer for Lewis to reach the Superleague, following spells with Parkvale and Cruden Bay before joining Banchory.
He said: “We got one over them at the start of the season, and I am looking forward to getting stuck into my brother and giving him a kick!”
While the First Division champions’ away form has helped them to third place in the table, they have only taken two points from 18 at Milton Park.
Lewis is hopeful that tomorrow’s cup tie will see them return to winning ways on their home patch.
He said: “I can’t explain our home form when our away form has been so good. Tomorrow’s match would be a good time to get back to winning at home.”