Morton motor to meet Livingston at the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium, also known as Almondvale by those Scots opposed to the concept of stadium naming rights. If you can't think of ever having seen a Braidwood on the road, you haven't; Braidwood Motor Company is a used car dealer. Almondvale Stadium should not yet count as an old football stadium, as it was constructed as recently as 1995, but already there's talk of tearing it down and building a smaller version. Almondvale's 10,000 capacity makes it inconveniently large for the SFL. I have a different suggestion for Livingston FC: get promoted and have Rangers and Celtic over once in a while.
Today is also the Second Round of the Scottish Cup. I neglected to mention last round that the Scottish Cup is now sponsored by William Hill, the bookmaker, and is officially the William Hill Scottish Cup for the next three years. So three major Scottish football competitions, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, and the Scottish Challenge Cup, are backed by a bookie, the Proceeds of Crime Act, and a pawnbroker. I think that qualifies as a comment on the state of the Scottish economy.
Round Two mixes in the ten Third Division clubs with the 22 survivors of Round One. As always there are lucky draws and unlucky draws. Alloa and Annan Athletic, two of the best clubs in the round, face each other; whereas red and black Inverurie Locos should have an easy time of it with Clachnacuddin. I'm pulling for a Morton/Inverurie pairing in Round Three. Yatagarasu!
Apparently, the rivalry between East Stirlingshire and Buckie Thistle is so intense that their fans have to be segregated.
Livingston's year so far: in the first quarter they beat Dundee and Partick Thistle, tied Queen of the South, Hamilton Academical, Falkirk, Ross County, Raith Rovers and Ayr United, and lost to Morton. In the League Cup they beat Arbroath, then lost to St. Johnstone. In the Challenge Cup they beat Airdrie, Stirling and Berwick and then lost to Hamilton in the semifinal.
To recap Morton's first quarter: they defeated Livingston, Dundee, Ayr United and Falkirk; tied Ross County; and lost to Queen of the South, Partick and Hamilton. In the League Cup they beat Alloa, then lost to St. Mirren. In the Challenge Cup they beat Stranraer and Forfar, then lost to Hamilton.
Morton is in the process of securing former Aberdeen captain Derek Young, in an effort to shore up the midfield.
In other fitba news, Clyde FC might be preparing to abandon Cumbernauld, where they have rented Broadwood Stadium since 1994, in favour of another new town, East Kilbride, where they could own their own place. BBC story. Me, I'm all for all five new towns having SFL clubs, and while you're at it add Edinburgh City too.
[Livingston 1, Morton 1. Clachnacuddin 1, Inverurie Locos 1.]
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