Scottish Cup, Third Round, The Rock, 29/11/25.

Is this definitively the worst result in our history?

I know Talbot are only two divisions below us and Bonnyrigg were (nominally) four when they beat us in the same round nine years ago.

I said at the time that was the worst result we’ve ever had. But that was only 1-0.

This, by contrast, is an utter humiliation.

Surely manage Stevie Farrell has to go? (In his post-match interview he said he doesn’t run away from problems. However, if he had any care for the club’s future welfare he would resign. Now.)

If he stays we’ll certainly be renewing acquaintance with Talbot again next season as we’ll both be in the Lowland League West. (They are a stick on for that, being licensed, plus unbeaten in the West of Scotland League Premier from which ten clubs are likely to be promoted to the LLW in the reconstruction of Tier 5, while we’ll finish last in Tier 4 and lose the Pyramid Play-off.)

The fans have had more than enough of him but unfortunately I don’t have confidence that the powers that be at the club have the will to sack him.

Well, with one potential banana skin negotiated, we have ended up with an even bigger one, Auchinleck Talbot at home.

Talbot are second top of the West of Scotland League’s top division (two levels below us) but have won every game so far. Moreover, they have  beaten SPFL teams in the Cup before. (In January 2019 they beat Ayr United at home in Round 4, later that year they beat newly promoted Cove Rangers in Round 2 in the next season’s tournament and in 2021 they beat Hamilton Accies in Round 3.)

The game is due on the weekend of 29^th and 30^th November.

It’s that time of the year again. Well, this season we’re in the draw a little earlier due to being in Tier 4 rather than 3.

Anyway it seems we’ve got a home tie in Round Two against Tayport of the Premier Division of the Midlands League, which at the moment lies at Tier 6 of Scottish football; two levels below the Sons.

That league is relatively new, only being formed when the clubs of the former Scottish Junior Football Association joined the senior football pyramid.

Since Tayport FC  are an SFA licenced club (if they weren’t they could not enter the Scottish Cup) they are likely next season to enter the new Lowland League East Divison when the present Lowland League expands to two divisions, though I’m not sure if the promotion criteria have yet been firmed up.

The tie is a potential banana skin, as they say. Home advantage ought to favour us but our home record has been very poor this calendar year. Only two wins I believe. We’ve certainly lost two out of four games at home in the league this season and only won one.

The game will be played on the weekend of October 25^th, most likely on that day.

Scottish Cup*, Round Four, The Rock, 18/1/25.

Well; a hammering was not what we needed from this.

A win and the sponsor money for reaching the next round and the possibility of an away draw against a big team to also help the coffers was required.

Only Craig McGuffie’s goal right at the death spared us a whitewash.

The rest of the season is going to be brutal experience. (Unless the manager throws caution to the wind, which isn’t his MO.)

*Scottish Gas Scottish Cup

Sons’ reward for getting past Alloa Athletic in last weekend’s Third Round of the Scottish Cup* is a home tie against Airdrieonians to be played on the weekend of 18^th January.

Not the money spinner we hoped for but even though they’re in the league above us it’s still possibly winnable as they haven’t been going too well this season.

By the time the tie gets played all that could have changed of course.

*Scottish Gas Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup*, Round Three, The Rock, 29/11/24

What a good result for our first game after entering administration. And we motored into it, two-nil up after thirteen minutes, three-nil in 39. Mohammed Niang, Jinky Hilton and Michael Ruth on the score sheet.

The copy book was blotted a bit by losing a goal just before half-time and another on 65 minutes but we held out for the win which puts us into the next round and gets us a bigger tranche of prize money.

There’s also the prospect of getting a Premiership team away from home and the potential of a big gate which wouldn’t do the finances any harm.

(Knowing our luck we’ll get the team placed lowest in the pyramid, Musselburgh Athletic, away instead.)

*Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

In the Third Round of this year’s Scottish Cup Sons have been drawn at home to Alloa Athletic. To be played on the weekend of 30/11/24.

This is a bit meh as they’re a reasonably familiar opponent and we’ll be playing them three more times in the league too. In fact we’ll meet them twice in a week as we have an away game against them the previous Saturday.

Sons’ opponents in this year’s League Cup, now called the Premier Sports Cup, will be Aberdeen, Airdrieonians, Queen of the South and East Kilbride.

We have played Aberdeen a few times recently in the Scottish Cup, Airdrie most recently when in SPFL Tier 3 but they are now a level higher, and we will be renewing acquaintance with Queen of the South in next season’s Tier 3. Unless it was in a friendly I can’t remember, Sons have never faced East Kilbride before. They won this season’s Lowland League but lost out to Stranraer in the play-off for SPFL membership. Depending on how the ties turn out this might be a new ground for me to see Sons play at.

Sons reward for our 5-4 extra time win over Annan Athletic on Saturday (a topsy-turvy game where we went two up, then one down then all square at 90 minutes before going one down again but recovering to score twice) in the Scottish Cup* is a home draw against Rangers in Round Four.

We were second last out of the hat (which nowadays is a perspex bowl) with only us and Rangers left.

We won’t win the tie so I would have preferred the game to have been away so that we would have a financial boost from the much bigger crowd that would have turned up to Ibrox but we’ll have to make the mostof what we’ve got.

*The Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

Sons’ reward for scraping through the Second Round of the Scottish Cup* on Saturday (3-2 in added time after being 2-0 down against Highland League side Banks O’Dee) is an away tie at Galabank, the ground of Annan Athletic.

Galabank is of course the site of that disastrous 6-0 defeat in the first leg of last season’s play-offs.

Let’s hope the score is less lopsided this time.

*Now the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.