Double: Ross County to bt Stirling Scottish Cup and East Stirling to bt Berwick Scottish Third Pays 2.96 Ladbrokes, Betfred (2.92 Stan James, Bet 365, Blue Sq, Skybet, 888Sport) 1pt

Take anything better than 2.41

Ross County to bt Stirling Scottish Cup

Despite last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Dundee’s fortress home of Dens Park the compilers continue to underrate unfashionable Ross County.

The Dingwall men are second in Division One in merit as emphasised by the fact that they are both four points and a game in hand over fellow highlanders Inverness.

There is a lot to like about a side with an excellent goalkeeper, two hard as nails centre halves and a supporting cast that revel in an intricate, high tempo passing game. The bad winter pitches may ultimately derail their title bid but they should have too much in store for sorry for themselves Stirling in the cup on Saturday.

Stirling boss Allan Moore said: “We have to go up there and be positive. It’s a hard game but you always have a chance. Earlier in the season we were the better team against Dundee in the Challenge Cup and the only difference was that Leigh Griffiths took a couple of chances.

“The league is the priority this season but getting to the quarter-finals of the cup would be massive for us. If we manage to get them back to our place for a replay then that would be a good result,” added Moore, whose side would welcome County to Forthbank on Tuesday, February 16 if that scenario unfolds.

Stirling head to the Highlands without a number of key players. Midfielder Stewart Devine is set to miss the rest of the season as he requires surgery on a double hernia while fellow midfielder Chris Aitken is cup-tied from his time with Ayr United.

Falkirk Amateurs frontman Derek Colquhoun, who featured as a trialist in the 3-3 draw with East Fife on January 23, is still a signing target but no deal is imminent and trialists are not permitted in the Scottish Cup.

And striker Martin Grehan left the club on Friday to sign for Partick Thistle in a deal thought to be worth around £10,000. The former Motherwell man almost moved to Raith Rovers in the summer but opted to stay and is Albion’s leading league scorer with seven goals.

Grehan is a player who has consistently made things happen for Stirling and his loss will be keenly felt.

Moore said: “We didn’t want to lose Martin but we can’t stand in his way. It’s a chance for him and I hope he does well but it does leave us short up front. Michael Mullen isn’t at full fitness at the moment and is perhaps better suited as an impact player and we lost Bryan Prunty to Alloa.”

Moore was at Alloa’s Recreation Park to see Prunty have a spectacular overhead kick harshly disallowed before he grabbed a 95th-minute winner against Arbroath to lift The Wasps above Albion and into second in the table, with the Binos idle due to a frozen pitch at Cowdenbeath.

The Central Park showdown was hastily rearranged for Tuesday, only to fall victim to the weather again and the postponement of Saturday’s home game with Arbroath due to the Scottish Cup means Stirling now have six fixtures to catch up on. I suspect that could also have a bearing on Stirling’s approach to this tie if Ross County start well and grab the led. I suspect a ‘beaten’ Stirling side could save their legs for the schedule ahead.

It is another underrated full time side against a part time team with selection problems and that is the kind of contest we really like for cup ties.

Even heavily odds on, Ross County are still value at 4/6 (60%). I make their chances nearer 70% (4/9).

East Stirling to bt Berwick Scottish Third

According to his local paper, Berwick manager Jimmy Crease's body language said it all as he slumped into his office chair after the 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Montrose.

I can easily imagine the scene as just a few days earlier Crease had said his players didn't want to be the first side to lose to Montrose in the league this year.

But after watching them turn in possibly their worst 90 minutes of the season to date he was forced to admit:

"That was a very, very bad defeat and it is one I find hard to accept.

"We just didn't compete, and to be honest we were all over the shop at the back.

"Even though we won 5-1 [against lowly Elgin] last week I had concerns about the defence, but after a scoreline like that it was difficult to make any changes. Now, however, I have to accept it was a decision which backfired.

"We couldn't cope with the long ball, there was a lack of communication and I have to say it is worrying.

"Very few of our players came out of this game with pass marks. The only thing I can say to their credit is that they never gave up."

He says: "We need to freshen it up," he said, "and there will be changes for the game against East Stirling."

But it is hard to know what levers Crease has to pull. Berwick have a small squad, with forwards possibly suited to better pitches. And now that the weather has turned we are hopefully seeing the true mettle of a side, we’ve long suspected, have been overachieving. The honeymoon period appears to now be over for relative new man Crease, back at Berwick again and there lack of form on the road is something we’ve been looking to exploit.

Berwick’s three away league wins have unsurprisingly come at the bottom three clubs – Montrose, Elgin and Stranraer and highflying Shire should have nothing to fear on the back of six straight wins – a sequence that includes a 1-0 win away at Berwick.

I have to confess the team expressed some scepticism when a trusted contact boldly stated back in September that East Stirling would notch up a six consecutive wins at some stage in the season – and credit to him, they have done just that. At various times The Shire have looked too gung-ho, too unbalanced and too flaky to complete such a feat. However, a look at their recent results shows four consecutive clean sheets and also the kind of pleasing 1-0 and 2-0 scorelines that suggest The Shire are maturing as a unit and capable of grinding out results. What has certainly helped them is an end to a mammoth touchline ban for manager Jim McInally that dates back to last season’s play off at Cowdenbeath and a double sending off.

In the summer we felt that Shire allocated too much of their budget to retaining ex-Mallorca player Jamie Stevenson but the flipside of a lack of new faces is that East Stirling are a settled side who have now played together for the best part of two seasons. Another plus is that key defender Craig Tully, who also features as a midfield enforcer, is available again.

Shire’s one seasonal addition ex-Celtic prospect Simon Lynch has weighed in with 10 goals so far – four of them in the current unbeaten run.

Shire and Lynch are flying right now just as The Borderers face another away day early start. As long as Shire start at a good tempo I’d expect them to make it seven wins straight. You’d have to think that the first goal would set the tone as Berwick look like a side, who even when in form, fluctuated between good and bad days.

I have the home side in at 4/6 (60%). A best price of 5/6 equates to a win chance of 54%.

Bookies Enemy

At last the weather has relented and there is plenty of racing to get stuck into this Saturday.

Our account bets today concentrate on three very promising novice chasers and all three selections are posted below, together with recommended staking plan.

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Recommendations:

3 points win TAZBAR, 1.20 Doncaster - take 5/2.

3 points win MAD MAX, 2.25 Doncaster - take evens.

3 points win KNOCKARA BEAU, 2.50 Wetherby - take 6/4.

Plus a 1 point win trixie (3 doubles and 1 treble) on the above selections.

For details of all today’s account bets visit www.BookiesEnemy.co.uk or call 0907 004 0074 (recorded message with today’s account bets).

The Mathematician

Doncaster 12.50 - Dan Breen 8/1 + Dr Livingston (Saver) Doncaster 1.20 - You4re The Top 7/2 Lingield 1.25 - Suhayl Star 8/1 Wetherby 1.45 - Jackday 9/2 Doncaster 1.55 - Sir Harry Ormesher 6/1 (E/W) Lingfield 2.00 - Jodawes 7/2 Doncaster 2.25 - Mad Max + El Dancer 5/1 Sandown 3.10 - Racing Demon 16/1 Wetherby 3.20 - Dzemin 11/2 Sandown 3.40 - According To John 8/1 (E/W) Doncaster 4.00 - Knighton Combe 10/1 (E/W) Doncaster 4.35 - Wayward Prince 7/4

I think SIR HARRY ORMESHER is no more than a sporting bet in a race thats too hard. JODAWES is a guess forced on my by a weak favourite. The MAD MAX - EL DANCER bet is a split stake bet that shouldnt lose money. I dont think the Novice Chase YOU'RE THE TOP is in has enough negatives. SUHAYL STAR is a win or come nowhere bet and most likely he will fail. DAN BREEN and the saver DR LIVINGSTONE may be the wrong way round and to much untapped potential from the opposition. RACING DEMON may be the jewel in the crown but a ferocious race and unlikely he will win. For an account bet on a short priced horse like WAYWARD PRINCE I want some compelling stats and they are not there and he is chosen more for the weakness in others. KNIGHTON COMBE is interesting but I dont know enough about him and I have shortlisted four in his race. ACCORDING TO JOHN should run well but he is hard to catch right and with Cheltenham looming I could have a horse primed for next time. DZEMIN is a mystery horse and could hack up or flop and I cant read him that well. I suppose JACKDAY looks the interesting horse but he isnt a banker. I'm betting 5 myself and would steer you to these all at smaller stakes than you would for a full bet.