'I fancy us against anyone' - Caledonian Braves boss Ricky Waddell confident after reaching Southern Counties Cup semi-finals

Braves – who at time of going to press didn’t yet know their semi-final opponents in the tournament – impressed their manager Ricky Waddell during the win at Palmerston Park.

Waddell told GlasgowWorld Sport: “The result probably flattered Queen of the South a bit. I put a strong team out, we had a lot of the ball and we probably should have scored more.

"Our goal came just after a series of good saves from their goalkeeper. Marc Kelly passed to Jamie who’s found himself free in the box and just slotted it into the goal.

"It was a good goal which had been coming. Marc missed one just before that and we created a lot of chances.

"The attitude of the boys was excellent, we kept plugging away, didn’t get too frustrated and finally got through to score.

"I don’t see why we can’t win a cup this season (Braves are also in the Lowland League Cup quarter-finals).

"We’re playing well and I fancy us against anybody in our league and even higher than that.

"The boys can play, they’re a good side, they’re still young, still got a bit to go in terms of learning and understanding the game fully.

"We have a willing changing room and a good team spirit. The fact that people are asking me if I think we can win a cup this season is a good reflection on what we’re doing.

“We want to just keep doing well, keep progressing and we would love to do well in a cup and win it, which would be fantastic for us.”

Waddell stressed that Queen of the South – who weren’t playing any first teamers – did also have a couple of good chances to score although Braves dominated overall.

Braves, who had no competitive fixture on Saturday, were playing an away Scottish Lowland Football League game at bottom club Vale of Leithen after we went to press on Tuesday.

This Saturday, they host Gretna 2008 in the league with kick-off at 3pm.