Arthurlie boss Duncan Sinclair has branded tonight’s crunch match against Cumbernauld at Guys Meadow Stadium as “season-defining.”

The Barrhead team currently sit in third place in the West Championship – the coveted last promotion spot – with Cumby breathing down their neck in fourth, just one point behind but with a game in hand.

Victory for Sinclair’s side would ensure Cumbernauld are out of the running for promotion, with just Rossvale down in fifth with two games in hand left to contend with.

READ MORE: Arthurlie boost promotion with impressive Benburb win

Arthurlie travel to Cumbernauld on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over league leaders Benburb, with Sinclair insisting the confidence from that result and performance will play a part in tonight’s must-win clash.

“The Benburb win does a lot for our confidence,” said Sinclair. “We played really well in that against the team most likely to win the league. We were really brilliant throughout.”

Sinclair continued: “We’ve got the ability to beat anyone in this league as we’ve shown, we just need to do it on the night against Cumbernauld.

“Cumbernauld is a massive match for us. They are a really good team. We travelled to watch them win 6-0 against Whitletts Victoria on Saturday. However, with all due to respect to Whitletts, they never offered much which allowed Cumbernauld to be comfortable.

“There’s no denying it will be tough, though, but this is a season-defining match for us. We’ve got everything to play for so all of the boys will be up for it and we’ll be ready to go.

“The Benburb result was big for us last week and we’ve also taken points from Rutherglen so we shouldn’t fear anyone in this league. What we need to do is remain focused and make sure we take chances when we get them, which we did against Bens.” With promotion now a real possibility if victorious tonight, Sinclair was keen to praise his side’s efforts throughout the season regardless of whether they get over the line.

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He added: “First and foremost I’m delighted to be in this position with this chance at this stage of the season to be honest. We joined here with one or two players on the books, built a team from the ground up and have got progressively stronger as the season has gone on.

“We know it’s not fully in our hands but we must take care of Cumbernauld tonight to put them out of the equation then hope results elsewhere go our way with Rossvale.”

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