George Hunter in confident mood as Bonnyrigg Rose prepare for 'challenging' cup tie against Dundee

George Hunter's confidence is up heading into Bonnyrigg Rose's cup clash with Dundee

The Lowland League title hopefuls undertake the journey to Tayside tomorrow on Scottish Cup second-round duty where Championship opponents Dundee lie in wait, the match also broadcast live on BBC One Scotland.

Rose earned their crack at James McPake's men following their 5-2 triumph over divisional rivals Bo'ness United on New Year's Day – 24-year-old Hunter with a second-half double sandwiched in between a hat-trick of Lee Currie penalties.

‘Monkey off my back’

However, the former Newtongrange Star frontman admits his form in front of goal hasn't been what it should so far this campaign and says his match-winning performance in the previous round has come as a timely reminder of what he is capable of.

"It's been a slow season for me, I'm not sure if it's because it's been a bit stop-start but I have been frustrated," Hunter explained. "I haven't scored many goals, maybe only three of four in the league, have missed a few chances and it gets to that point where it starts to play on your mind. So, to score two last week against Bo'ness and provide three assists with the penalties gets that monkey off my back. It was important to score but to help the team was the main thing. I can now focus on tomorrow and try and take any chances that come my way. I definitely feel a lot more confident heading into the match than what I might have done a few weeks ago."

Rose ready to embrace challenge

Hunter revealed the New Dundas Park club couldn't have been handed a much more difficult tie to negotiate, Dundee having just swept aside Championship leaders Hearts six days ago on their own patch. However, it's a challenge Rose are ready to embrace.

"To be honest it's been a bit of mixed emotions within the team about the draw," he said. "Some of the boys wanted an easier tie with the view to getting through and getting a bigger team down the line. But, at the same time, you can't not look forward to going and testing yourself against a Championship side up at their bit. Obviously with it being on TV as well, it's great exposure for the club.

'Dundee should be in the Premiership’

"I watched Dundee against Hearts last weekend and they were very impressive – a lot better than what they were at Tynecastle in October. I don't know if it was exactly what we wanted to see but it has given us a rough idea of what we'll be up against. With the players they've got like Charlie Adam and Liam Fontaine, they should be in the Premiership so it will be a challenge.

"But we need to play our own game and have that hope that we can cause an upset. We're not going there to get turned over that's for sure.

"I'm gutted there will be no fans there to support us. The games last season against Buckie and Montrose in the cup were electric, albeit they were at home. They were brilliant games to play in. On the flip side Dundee would have had a couple of thousand in attendance so that may just work in our favour."

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.