Buckie can be tonic for Pars
Friday, 25th Nov 2016"I think it will be a hard game and I wouldn`t go up there expecting to win.
David Hopkirk is expecting to be available for selection soon. After injuries to his back, hamstring and ankle he now feels that he is not far off a return to action:-
"My ankle is better but I kept going over on it when I was doing extra running so I have had to build it up using weights. Hopefully I will be back next week."
The 23 year old will be excused the journey to Buckie but it is one he knows from previous trips there. Hoppy played two ties for Annan Athletic against Buckie Thistle in the Scottish Cup in October 2013. After a goalless draw in the north, Annan scored four in the replay to progress. He recalled:-
"When I played for Annan we were everywhere - Elgin, Peterhead, Formartine and Buckie. Buckie have a nice wee stadium, we drew up there. I remember it being a wee park and they were throwing long balls in to the box."
When it was pointed out that none of the four had been scored by him, he very quickly responded:-
"In that game I was going through a spell where I was getting chance after chance and I just kept missing. I was setting goals up and I just couldn`t score."
With Dunfermline facing a 350 mile round trip that is almost 200 miles less than Hoppy`s last club faced. He confessed the journey stands out more than the matches and Annan were drawn away to Buckie the previous season and required a replay on that occasion as well to get past them.
"These were hard games for Annan because Buckie stopped you playing. It was a different type of football, not like football in this league. I think it will be a hard game and I wouldn`t go up there expecting to win. One of their players has scored over thirty goals, it is not even Christmas yet, so he is going to have a bit about him."
Hoppy has just made seven appearances for Dunfermline this season and has been frustrated watching from the sidelines. Following the win against St Mirren last Saturday he feels that Dunfermline should take confidence from that into the cup tie and a win would just the tonic required going into the important league schedule through December:-
"We play good football at times and lately we have kept clean sheets but not scoring as much. Before we were scoring and giving stupid goals away, if we can just get the balance right it would be even better."
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