Premier Sports Cup: Hearts Cruise Past Dumbarton to Secure Seeded Knockout Spot

Hearts continued their impressive Premier Sports Cup showing with a win over Scottish League Two side Dumbarton at Tynecastle this evening. The Jambos finished their group stage campaign with a perfect 12 points from four games and progress to the knockout rounds as a seeded team. Dumbarton, entering a new era under Canadian owner Mario Lapointe and signing 16 new players, came into the match off the back of a heavy defeat to Dunfermline. Amongst the new arrivals at Dumbarton was former Hearts forwards Ally Roy, who started at the ground he began his career at. The hosts got proceedings underway, shooting towards the travelling Dumbarton support, and dominated the early stages, Lawrence Shankland going close within the first minute. Dumbarton’s Irish defender, Gordon Walker, produced a crucial early interception to deny Hearts, but the breakthrough came midway through the first half. Club captain Shankland met a pinpoint Stephen Kingsley cross with a diving header past Dumbarton keeper Shay Kelly, the 18-year-old  younger brother of Rangers stopper Liam. Hearts killed off any chance of an upset just before half-time. A Sander Kartum corner was nodded home by Michael Steinwender, breaking the resolve of Dumbarton’s stubborn defence. In the second half, Scott Tomlinson rattled the crossbar for the visitors after beating Kingsley, as the Sons pushed for an unlikely comeback. But Hearts extinguished any remaining hope when new signing Alexandros Kyziridis burst into the penalty area and drove a low effort across Kelly into the net. The Greek winger now has two goals in two games as the Jambos look to bounce back from last season’s disappointing campaign, with signs of smart summer business under new boss Derek McInnes. Hearts hit four for the fourth consecutive Premier Sports Cup match with another new signing Claudio Braga, tapping home a Cammy Devlin cut back. Hearts would continue to threaten for a fifth while Dumbarton huffed and puffed for some rare up field ventures. Both sides would make numerous changes as the game petered out. Hearts finish the group with four wins from four and look back to their best ahead of their Premiership opener against Aberdeen. The Jambos looking to return to the top-six this year and push for a European return. Dumbarton now travel to Hamilton knowing only a win and a huge goal swing from Dunfermline would see them progress. Dunfermline take on the group’s basement side Stirling in their final fixture. Dumbarton return to League Two this year and kick off their campaign against Clyde at the Marbill Coaches Stadium a week on Saturday as they look to return to the third tier at the first time of asking.  

Falkirk Boss Weighs Up Goalkeeper Options Ahead of League Opener

Falkirk claimed a 3–1 victory over Queen’s Park in the Premier Sports Cup on Tuesday night. A double from Ethan Ross and a late Brian Graham strike cancelled out Josh Fowler’s opener. But despite the result, much of the post-match focus turned to the battle for the No.1 shirt. Manager John McGlynn reflected critically on the goal his side conceded, suggesting that Nicky Hogarth, back in the starting XI, could have done more. “They get a free kick, their first time up the park, and we don’t defend it,” McGlynn said. “Nicky maybe should do better, and Keelan [Adams] doesn’t follow in. There are factors to us losing the goal.” Hogarth, who had been tipped for a Scotland call-up during the national team’s recent injury crisis between the posts, has been rotated with former Celtic keeper Scott Bain throughout pre-season and the early stages of the cup. McGlynn confirmed that Bain would return for this weekend’s tie against The Spartans but stopped short of naming a first-choice goalkeeper ahead of the new league campaign. “Scott is going to go back in goals on Saturday,” he said. “We’ve alternated pretty much every game, cups and friendlies. There’s been just a minute separating them overall. “Nicky played the first game against Brechin, Scotty played against Cove, then Nicky played tonight. To be honest, they’ve not had an awful lot to do, so I haven’t learned much. “But Scotty needed minutes. He hadn’t played a lot at Celtic, and I think the games have been valuable for him. “Both are very good with their feet, their distribution is excellent, which is something we value in a goalkeeper. “Nicky’s developing well, and for a goalie he’s still young, but he’s gaining experience fast. “It’s a decision we’ll have to make. Scotty will play again on Saturday, but for Dundee United, I couldn’t tell you just yet.” With both keepers pushing for the gloves and McGlynn still undecided, the final Premier Sports Cup group match could prove decisive in settling Falkirk’s goalkeeping hierarchy before the league campaign kicks off. The club boast one of the strongest goalkeeping divisions in the Premiership, with former Partick Thistle number one Jamie Sneddon also an option going forward.

Brian Graham Seals Comeback Win as Bairns Edge Past Queen’s Park

Back-to-back promotion winners Falkirk continued their preparations for their return to Scottish football’s topflight this evening by hosting Queen’s Park in the Premier Sports Cup. Both sides were in the Championship last season, but with very different fortunes, the Bairns securing the second of two successive promotions, while Queen’s fell into freefall following their famous victory over Rangers at Ibrox. The Spiders won just once in 13 Championship games after that shock win against their Glasgow rivals. Falkirk began their Premier Sports Cup campaign with a big win over Brechin City but followed it up with a disappointing draw away to Cove Rangers, though they did secure the bonus point on penalties against the Aberdeenshire side. Queen’s, on the other hand, had played two group fixtures already, losing away to The Spartans before comfortably defeating Highland League side Brechin in their second outing. Both teams still had everything to play for heading into kick-off. The hosts got us underway, wearing their change kit and shooting towards the Kevin McAllister Stand. Falkirk dominated the early stages without creating anything clear-cut, and they were punished as the visitors took the lead, Josh Fowler tapping home at the back post after a fine initial save from Nicky Hogarth, who had denied Charlie Fox’s diving header. The goal seemed to rattle the Bairns, and Queen’s almost doubled their advantage soon after. Fowler won the ball with some tenacious pressing on the byline, but the angle was too tight, and Hogarth managed to block. Falkirk drew level right before the break after a lung-bursting counterattack from Ethan Ross. He laid the ball off to Calvin Miller, whose shot was blocked, but Ross was on hand to poke the ball past Callum Ferrie and restore parity. After the interval, the Bairns completed the turnaround. A back-post cross from the left found Ross MacIver, and the target man cushioned his header back across goal, where Ross was waiting to double his tally. Sebastian Drozd, the Spiders’ Ibrox hero, had a huge chance to level the match, finding himself clean through inside the Falkirk penalty area, but the former Millwall man lost his composure and could only find the side netting. Both sides had late chances, with Brian Graham, on as a substitute, notably missing two great opportunities. However, the former Partick Thistle player-manager atoned for his earlier wastefulness by tapping home a deflected Scott Arfield effort at the back post to secure the points for the Bairns. Graham’s finish put the back-to-back title winners back on track for progression to the knockout stages of the Premier Sports Cup. Queen’s Park now travel north to Cove knowing anything less than a win will end their cup hopes while Falkirk can now breathe a little easier after their Cove Rangers draw as they host The Spartans in their final game where a win will be enough to see them top the table. Attendance: 2,387