Scottish Challenge Cup,* The Rock, 13/8/24.

This is a competition in which our record is truly dire. The worst of any club to play in it, in fact.

We do sometimes win our first tie but usually not our second. (The only time we did do so we went on to the final. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.)

Nevertheless, a 4-0 win (all goals in the first half, Craig McGuffie with two, Michael Ruth and David Wilson the others) is not to be sneezed at. Even if our opponents are two levels below us they have still had an impressive start to their season.

There are harder tests to come though.

*Call it the SPFL Trust Trophy if you must.

SPFL Trust Trophy,* Third Round , The Rock, 09/08/23

I went to this since it was the first ever meeting between the two sides. It was also an opportunity for me to buy the new home top as seen in the photo below – white top with black and gold stripes down left side of chest.

As to the game; it’s something of a wake-up call. We dominated early possession and made their keeper make a few saves. Then they scored in their first meaningful attack with our defence failing to deal with both the first and the second balls from a corner. Their second was a farce, a defensive error presenting Botti Biabi with a one-on-one he wsn’t going to miss. Declan Byrne did just that though about halfway through the half when beautifully played in, putting his shot just wide of the post.  In all we had no less than four gilt-edged chances in the first half which we spurned, plus another one in the second. Their keeper was certainly player of the first half. Michael Ruth did manage to pull one back after he twisted and turned his defender and sent his shot past the keeper.

Despite Kethen that they would scorelty having a sharpness about their approach play it looked more likely we would equalise but their third was another defensive disaster. We’d been trying to play it out from the back passing across the penalty area and such all second half (manager Steve Farrell must be encouraging this) but a short pass put Harry Broun in goal into bother and his attempted clearance had no chance of escaping Biabi’s challenge for the ball. It rebounded into the net.

I’ve no worries at all that we can create chances. It’s the taking of them that may be a problem. If I was a Kelty fan I would be worried at being so defensively open even though their keeper is certainly up to the job.

It was my first sight of a few of our new faces. Michael Ruth looks a player: whether he is one time will tell.

*aka the Challenge Cup.

Well, we managed to navigate (albeit narrowly) a first tie in the Challenge Cup* – not a common achievement for Sons. We usually get papped out at the earliest opportunity.

Our reward is a home tie against Kelty Hearts, most likely on Sep 9^th.  This will be the first time we’ve played them.

It’s a pity it’s not an away game as Kelty is not far from where I live and it’s a ground I’ve not yet visited.

*SPFL Trust Trophy.

It’s not been great. Two 1-1 draws so far. Nothing like as good as last season. But that start was a mirage.

Tomorrow we have a Challenge Cup* tie away to Kilmarnock B. It’s a game we could do without. Fair enough the competition is a supposed chance to make progress in a national cup but our record in it is seriously poor.  One final apart, we have never made any deep inroads into it. And B teams should be nowhere near it. We might as well not bother. I doubt many of our fans will. We would be much better preparing for our next league game.

*SPFL Trust Trophy.

So it all starts over again.

Another round of Saturdays spent in anticipation/dread to be folowed by delight or despair depending on the result.

Sons kick off against Bonnyrigg Rose at New Dundas Park this afternoon. We drew with them only a couple of weeks ago in the League Cup and might have been playing them again in ten days if they hadn’t lost to Kilmarnock B in the Challenge Cup. As it is we’ve got a trip to Ayrshire (or wherever Kilmarnock B play their home games) now.

But this is the real stuff.

I can’t imagine we’ll start off winning seven games in a row again, though.

Sons have been given a bye in Round One of the SPFL Trust Trophy (once known as The Challenge Cup.)

It will be either Kilmarnock B or Bonnyrigg Rose away in the second round.

Since we play Bonnyrigg in the League Cup as well, and first up in the League, then, should it come to pass, we’ll soon be sick of the sight of them.

Sons’ opponents in Round 2 of the Challenge Cup (aka the SPFL Trust Trophy) will once again be Rangers B.

Well actually it might be Spartans if they manage to win the first round tie. That could mean another visit to Ainslie Park of fateful memory.

Failing that it will be the second year in a row we’ve played Rangers young team (yes I meant that) in this competition – and the third in total. This would be the first time outside Dumbarton though. (Or not, since they actually use our ground for home games in the Lowland League. Not that they should be in either competition.)

Scottish Challenge Cup,* Round One, The Rock, 11/8/21.

A rather ignominious result, this. I didn’t watch it even though it was a home game since I don’t agree with the concept of B teams playing in Senior competitions. The vast majority of lower league teams’ fans don’t and won’t attend these games.

Someone on Pie and Bovril posted the picture below (credited to Pix by Pedro) claiming to show the attendance tonight. Look at the empty spaces. Despite the suggestions made by proponents of B teams that fans of top division clubs (OK the Old Firm) would boost crowds the evidence strongly confirms that they do not. Old Firm fans only care about their first teams. Quite rightly.

We were apparently 3-0 down at one point before striking twice late on.

It is another in our very unprepossessing set of results in this competition. We rarely venture beyond the first round and despite the run to the semi-final in the season of Froxy still have the worst cumulative record of any club ever to take part in it.

I suppose it means there will now be no distractions from the league until the Scottish Cup comes around and as far as I know we sustained no injuries, which is a small mercy, and a few players who had been out got a bit of game time in.

But playing the game on a Wednesday means we will have one fewer day to prepare for the fixture away to Queen’s Park on Saturday.

*SPFL Trust Trophy

The Challenge Cup is now apparently the SPFL Trust Trophy.

The Sons have been drawn to play Rangers B at The Rock in Round One. The game is to be played in the midweek of August 10/11.

This is just rubbish. There is no good reason for B teams to be playing in SPFL competitions. Most fans of lower league teams totally hate the concept as a stalking horse to them entering the SPFL itself. (Their inclusion has not led to any increase in gates at such games, in the way its proponents suggested it would. Nor will it benefit the Scottish national team in any way, as has also been put forward.)

Partly that is because lower league fans boycott these games as a matter of principle but it is also partly because fans of the respective first teams don’t give a stuff about anything but their first teams and wouldn’t cross the road to watch a B team.

The only silver lining I can take from this match-up is that the last time we played Rangers Colts (as their under 20s) was that we actually went on to reach the final.