James Anderson aiming for special moment as Brora Rangers bid to take Aberdeen scalp

James Anderson would love to have a moment to remember when Brora Rangers face Aberdeen.

The Breedon Highland League champions welcome the new-look Dons to Dudgeon Park on Tuesday night in Group A of the Premier Sports League Cup.

Brora began their cup campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Queen’s Park at Lesser Hampden on Saturday.

The Cattachs took the lead through Sam Nixon and striker Anderson almost added a second when he hit the post, before their Championship opponents came back to win.

Although Anderson appreciates Brora are underdogs against Aberdeen, he is dreaming of finding the net against the Premiership outfit.

The 24-year-old, who scored 30 goals last season, said: “Aberdeen will be the best team and the biggest team that I’ve played against in a competitive game.

“They’re a big club in the north of Scotland and I’m sure there will be a big turnout in terms of supporters so it will be a great experience for us at Brora.

“You always want to test yourself against the best players possible to see how you get on.

“We played a full-time team on Saturday and I was gutted to hit the post rather than score.

“But I’m looking forward to facing Aberdeen and hopefully if a chance comes my way I take it because scoring against Aberdeen is something I’d always remember.

“We’re not expecting to have a lot of chances, but if we get a chance or two hopefully I can make the most of them.”

Positives as part-timers try to spring a surprise

Brora famously dumped Hearts out of the Scottish Cup in 2021 and as they try to cause an upset against another of Scottish football’s biggest names, Anderson believes they can take encouragement from Saturday’s performance against Queen’s Park.

The current Highland League player of the year added: “It’s going to be tough, we know we’re probably not going to have a lot of the ball.

“It’s a free hit for us, nobody will be expecting us to get a result, but we need to be well-organised and disciplined and give it our best shot.

“We know Aberdeen are a good few levels above us, but if we can do what we did in the first half on Saturday I think we’ll be competitive within the game.

“There were a lot of positives to take from that performance. We kept our shape well, pressed Queen’s Park in the right areas and we were hard to break down.

“When we get the ball we need to make the right decisions and try to use it well on the counter-attack.

“If we can do that and frustrate Aberdeen we’ll see what happens.

“It will be a really good night for the club and a really good experience for us as players, we’re all looking forward to it.”

Mackay running the rule over defender

Brora Rangers boss Steven Mackay will continue to assess Kerron Samuels after the defender joined the Breedon Highland League champions on a short-term basis.

The 19-year-old featured as a substitute for the Cattachs in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Queen’s Park and could be involved when Aberdeen visit Dudgeon Park on Tuesday night in the Premier Sports League Cup.

Samuels is a former Liverpool and Brentford youth player, who left the Bees in the summer of 2025.

Mackay said: “Kerron had a bit of an issue last summer with a cracked bone in his shin and that’s kept him out of football.

“But he’s working his way back and we’ve been in contact with Kerron and his representative for a wee while.

“He’s been up training with us and has signed a short-term deal to allow us to assess him.”

This summer Mackay has signed former Inverness Caledonian Thistle players Sam Nixon and Ben Gardiner as well as Connall Ewan from Elgin City.

But he has also looked at recruiting players from further afield and added: “I think the Highland League market is so competitive and everyone is fishing in the same pond so we thought we’d try to do something a little bit different and think outside the box.

“We’ve looked at other players from different locations and we’re working with a few representatives who are helping us.

“What we can offer for players is the opportunity to play at a good level, compete for trophies and put themselves in the shop window.”

[Source: Press and Journal]