In a Cup full of glory, shrouded in history and the host of a few upsets, it’s time to recap on last weekend’s Scottish Cup action.
Last weekend witnessed 32 teams battle it out for a coveted place in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. In a weekend full of anticipation, some teams delivered massive results whilst others cruised through to the next round.
Rangers kicked proceedings off at Ibrox on Friday night as they sailed past Annan Athletic in a 5-0 victory. Bojan Miovski’s hat-trick, along with Dowell and Aasgard goals, helped the Glasgow side cement their name in the next round.
Saturday hosted 12 games across the country, many of which had to be settled through penalty shootouts. Airdrie bagged themselves a place in the next round after defeating Arbroath on penalties. Spartans against Inverness concluded with a shootout after a stalemate- with the Edinburgh side edging their way into the draw. Livingston played St Mirren, and that caused a similar outcome of penalties, as the Paisley side advanced to the next round. League One sides Kelty Hearts and Cove Rangers couldn’t be separated during additional time, and the same fate awaited them as Kelty Hearts secured fifth round football in front of a home crowd.
The final game to be nail bitingly decided on penalties was league leaders Hearts against Premiership newcomers Falkirk. Some may have believed Hearts could cruise this game given their current form, however John McGlynn’s Falkirk had other plans in store. Falkirk led Hearts for 27 minutes before Hearts captain, Lawrence Shankland, converted a late penalty to send the game to extra time. The two sides still couldn’t be separated after 120 minutes of football so penalties it was. They were once again at a stalemate, that was until Kabangu missed for Hearts leaving Falkirk with a real chance of throwing the league leaders out of the cup. Up stepped Ben Parkinson for Falkirk who superbly converted his penalty and blasted Falkirk into the last 16. This was easily an unforeseen result in the Scottish Cup, but that’s the magic of such a cup competition.
The other games of the afternoon saw highflying Motherwell defeat Ross County after a scrappy game. League Two side, Elgin City brushed Camelon Juniors aside, in a four-goal thriller, to book their place in the fifth round. Dundee United eventually defeated Scott Brown’s, Ayr United, leaving the action to the final 13 minutes. Stenhousemuir stunned Greenock Morton as Gary Naysmith’s team defeated the Championship side 4-0 at Ochilview Park- extending their unbeaten home run to 17 games across all competitions. The penultimate fixture was a battle of the struggling Premiership sides as Dundee secured fifth-round football after defeating Kilmarnock. Neil Lennon’s, Dunfermline caused what could be classed as an upset as they knocked Hibernian out of the cup in the 92nd minute. Although the final touch came off a Hibs player, Dunfermline didn’t care as they were through to the next round.
Sunday’s action wasn’t quite as eventful as the previous day. Aberdeen held onto their early goal in the ninth minute as the holders cruised to the next round after defeating Raith Rovers. As probably expected, Celtic were victorious over Auchinleck Talbot, although maybe disappointingly, they only manged to convert two goals against sixth tier opposition. Auchinleck definitely made Celtic work for their win as they played defensive football for all of 90 minutes and frustrated the Glasgow side.
After a previous postponement, the final match of the fourth round took place on Tuesday night as Stranraer faced Queen’s Park- yet another game that was decided on penalties. Both teams found the back of the net in normal time before taking it all the way to a shootout. Both sides converted one after the other but as we moved to sudden death, Stranraer held their nerve and Lewis Hunter converted the winning penalty, after Carlo Pignatiello missed for Queen’s Park.
After another exciting weekend for Scottish Cup football, we can only begin to imagine what the next round has in store as we edge closer to the final. Could a giant be slayed? Do we have unexpected winners on our hands? Only time will tell?
5th Round Ties (7th February)
Airdrie vs St Mirren
Stenhousemuir vs Falkirk
Celtic vs Dundee
Dunfermline Athletic vs Kelty Hearts
Elgin City vs Partick Thistle
Dundee United vs Spartans
Aberdeen vs Motherwell
Rangers vs Stranraer*
*Pending outcome of SFA Notice of Complaint against Stranraer.
I have a keen interest in sport journalism and broadcasting.
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