Scottish Challenge Cup*, The Rock, 16/8/17.

The good news is that we actually won a Challenge Cup game (and a first “proper” game this season.) The bad news is it was against a team that shouldn’t be in the competition in the first place.

I am of the opinion (shared with many fans of smaller clubs) that the inclusion of “Colts” teams in this cup is a stalking horse for introducing them to the league system, an innovation which would then destroy the SPFL lower leagues as a meaningful competition.

If the “big” clubs want their younger players to develop why not play them in the first team, or bring back their reserve league, or loan them out to other clubs as happens at the moment? I know in Spain, for example, “reserve” teams are allowed in the league at a lower level but in Scotland there is only the short-lived and quickly scrapped C Division in the late 1940s and early 1950s in which such participation was allowed. It is simply not part of our footballing culture and would only contribute to the further disregarding of the smaller clubs – whose interests are routinely not taken into account by the authorities, swayed as they are by the influence of the most supported clubs. In any case there is no way in which Scotland could ever in the future resemble Spain in footballing terms.

In the next round Sons have the unusual prospect of a game against a Welsh club, Connah’s Quay Nomads. I don’t know if we’ve ever played a Welsh club before, certainly not in a competitive match.

*Officially the Irn Bru Cup

The league fixtures for next season have come out.

It might seem ridiculous given Hearts and Rangers have gone from this division but every year it just looks harder.

I don’t like the fact we’re facing Dunfermline at their place for the first game. They ought to be on a high after promotion. Mind you, what sort of form either side might be in after the League Cup section games is anyone’s guess. Their group looks reasonably tough.

Scottish Cup Final, Hampden Park, 21/5/2106

And so the long running saga of Hibs not winning the Cup has ended. Well, I did suggest this might happen.

Looking at the chances created and shots saved you have to say the result was the correct one. But it did look like Hibs had Hibsed it when they went 2-1 down. Rangers didn’t press their advantage though. Maybe they Rangersed it.

SPFL Tier 2, Easter Road Stadium, 26/4/16.

Not a surprising outcome given the balance of incentives.

I wonder if manager Stevie Aitken would have “rested” those he did had we needed a result. As it is our outside chance of finishing in 7^th place has vanished. But 8^th was the target and we’re there.

It’s even more annoying that we didn’t get anything from Rangers this season now that Livingston have beaten them. Unfortunately we played them when they had something to play for.

Party time for the away fans at Alloa on Sunday I should think. (Its traditional for Sons fans to turn up in fancy dress gear for the last away game.)

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 16/4/16.

It started well. It finished; well…..

Pity about the bit in between. And the injury to big Christian Nade is a blow as we’ve only looked a team this season after he joined us.

I watched this courtesy of BBC Alba of course and things were looking okay at half time. Tom Walsh had even hit a good cross!

What happened in the second half though? We totally fell out of it even before Nade’s injury. Jamie Ewings didn’t have much of a hope with any of the three goals; a poorish kick-out led to one of them but the defence should still not have let Raith through so easily. They seemed to just walk through for two of the three, the other coming from a not deep enough clearance by Fraser Wright.

Despite never having hit a decent cross before this game Tom Walsh ended this with two assists, and doesn’t Steven Saunders love a goal against Raith? Too little too late of course.

We really need something from Saturday now but a draw against St Mirren might not be good enough. We don’t want to be relying on Rangers and Raith even if Queen of the South do the needful.

I note that with Rangers and Hibs progressing to this year’s final East Fife’s record of being the only team outwith the top division to win the Scottish Cup has now been lost. And wouldn’t it be just the thing if Hibs finally win the thing again after totally horsing up the league? (Or Hibsing it as now seems to be the parlance.)

Mind you it’d be a laugh to see them navigating a European campaign from the second tier.

Then again maybe not.

SPFL Tier 2, Ibrox Stadium, 5/4/16.

I meant to post about this yesterday but for some reason it slipped my mind.

This could have been worse. Given the significance of the evening for Rangers we could have been in for a doing and I feared that. I also feared the outcome even more when Livi went one up on Hibs, but that went our way as well in the end.

But how can a team go from an abject surrender to Queen of the South to what seems to have been a resolute performance against the best team in the division? Unless, of course the players tried harder on a bigger stage: but that would be a form of cheating all the other times.

Queen of the South up next on Tuesday, but we could be a point behind Livi by then.

On a more cynical note: how long will it be after Hibs get back to the top tier once again before we in the lower leagues are cut off once more (as we were by the SPL)? That’s the subtext I read into this “good for Scottish football” spiel which has greeted Rangers Tier 2 win. The way things were was only good for two clubs, not Scottish football as a whole.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 2/4/16.

Well. It’s as you were in the league what with all five games being draws but the failure of Rangers to win means they have an even bigger incentive to beat us on Tuesday night as that will make them champions. They might not have to beta us if Hibs don’t win – but that’s a situation I wouldn’t like as then Livingston would have avoided defeat against them; on which point thanks to Alloa for getting the draw (which sadly wasn’t enough to prevent them being relegated.)

It’s all getting far too tense. It’s possible, if results go against us, that by the time we play Queen of the South on the 12^th we could be four points behind Livi with a much worse goal difference; very much worse if our usual Ibrox thumping takes palce..

SPFL Tier 2, St Mirren Park, 20/2/16.

Looking at the team sheet it’s not surprising we lost this. Not a striker to be seen in the starting line-up.

It’s still disappointing as we could have done with drawing this but at least the two teams below us lost too.

Seems the best we can hope for now is eighth. (I’d take that right now, though.)

The Cup game at Dundee is something of a freebie. The attraction of playing Rangers at Ibrox should we get through lies only in the share of gate money we’d receive, though. Our record against them is dire. A bit like against Gretna.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 2/1/16.

Beyond “this is an embarrassment” words fail me.

Except….

Are we the only club in this division not to take any points off this mob since they climbed up into it?

Double embarrassment.

So, Livingston have sacked manager Mark Burchill.

That’s three opponents in a row whose managers Sons have seen off.

First Alloa, then St Mirren and now Livingston.

Can we dare hope to polish off the next two as well? Falkirk’s Peter Houston and Rangers’s Mark Warburton?

No; me neither.

Well, maybe Warburton.