Scottish Cup

hampden park, glasgow

Scottish Cup First Round Roundup: Cup Magic Returns

After Auchinleck Talbot secured the Ayrshire bragging rights with their 2-1 victory over Cumnock in the first match of the Scottish Cup’s first round weekend live on television Friday night, the rest of the inaugural round proper kicked off yesterday. The whole of tier five joined the competition, adding to the 38 junior sides who successfully advanced from the preliminary rounds at the end of August, with some shocks across the country, setting up the chance for some big ties against SPFL League 2 opposition in the second round later this month. Cumbernauld Colts also secured their place in round two on Friday, defeating Glasgow University 4-0. Here is a full rundown of Saturday’s results: Bo’ness United 0-3 Banks O’ Dee The Aberdeenshire side showed no signs of travel fatigue as they returned North from Falkirk with a thumping victory over their East of Scotland Premier Division opponents who had lost their goalkeeper to a red card late in the first half. Berwick Rangers 0-2 Nairn County The longest away day of the round did not phase the Highland League outfit one bit as they travelled across the border to the only English side in the competition and returned with a 2-0 victory, becoming the first ever Highland League side to defeat The Wee Gers in the competition. Brora Rangers 0-1 Fraserburgh The Broch emerged victorious from this all-Highland League encounter. Having already defeated Brora 3-0 in the league fixture in early August at home, they secured the double over their opponents thanks to a Logan Watt goal inside the opening five minutes. Carluke Rovers 0-4 Gretna 2008 2008, the phoenix club of 2006 Scottish Cup finalists Gretna edged one step closer to another cup final with a thumping victory at the John Cumming Stadium. The Lowland League’s bottom side getting a much needed victory with a quartet of second half goals. Clachnacuddin 2-1 Kilwinning Rangers Another Highland League victory seen Inverness’s oldest club emerge victorious over the Buffs at Grant Street Park, coming from behind with two second half goals to send the visitors back to Ayrshire dejected and eliminated. Cowdenbeath 1-2 Benburb The shock of the round as West of Scotland First Division (tier 7) side Benburb defeated one-time quarter finalists and Lowland League side Cowdenbeath at Central Park. A goal behind at half time the visitors scored twice in five minutes to turn the match around and secure their place in the hat for tomorrow’s draw. Forres Mechanics 0-2 Caledonian Braves Lowland League outfit Caley Braves defeated their Highland counterparts away from home to make it through. The 2025 Fenix Trophy winners kept their Scottish Cup dreams alive thanks to a duo of late goals from Ross McNeil and Cammy Breadner. Huntly 1-3 Buckie Thistle Buckie emerged victorious from this Highland League tie, three second half goals turned the tide as Thistle make it through. They memorably faced Celtic in 2023/24 and are one step closer to a cash-generating tie with this victory. Jeanfield Swifts 0-4 Clydebank Clydebank are unbeaten in the Lowland League and their mentality and confidence was on full show with a thumping victory over Jeanfield away from home. Clydebank memorably drew Premiership side Hibernian last season and will be dreaming of another big tie after today’s win. The 1990 semi finalists victory was secured via goals from Neil McLaughlin, former Aberdeen midfielder Nicky Low and a Kier Samson double. Lochee United 1-3 Brechin City Now a Highland League side, Brechin were playing Championship football as recently as 2018 but have dropped out of the football league since. They did, however, show signs of a more promising future with a 3-1 win at Thomson Park to earn their place in this evening’s draw, where they could once again face SPFL opponents. Musselburgh Athletic 2-0 Bonnyton Thistle East of Scotland Premier Division champions Musselburgh secured their place in the next round of the cup with two second half goals against eighth tier Bonnyton. The hosts lost out on a place in the Lowland League at the end of last season, losing to West champions Clydebank but could earn a rematch against the Bankies in the next round. Strathspey Thistle 1-2 Dundee North End Highland outfit Strathspey took the lead over their opponents, the Midland League champions, but a late equaliser and extra-time winner would see the Dundee based side emerge victorious, leaving the hosts to concentrate league football up North. Turrif United 2-1 Hill of Beath Hawthorn Turiff took the game to their opponents from the off, racing into a two goal lead at the interval, with both goals coming within the first quarter of the half. Hill of Beath would respond with a goal ten minutes from the end and would push hard for extra-time but had left themselves too much to do and would drop out of the competition. Bo’ness Athletic 2-1 Keith Bo’ness have had a dramatic rise in recent years, winning three consecutive promotions from tier 9 to tier 6, scoring a record breaking amount of goals. They continued their journey by progressing to the second round for the second consecutive year by defeating Keith 2-1. The visitors famously faced Rangers in this competition in the mid-90’s but there will be no repeat this season as they exit at round one. Johnstone Burgh 4-0 Threave Rovers Last season’s Junior Cup winners advanced in the Scottish Cup proper with a comfortable victory over their Second Division opponents at Keanie Park. Four different goal scorers for the Burgh, with a goal of the competition contender from captain Del Esplin, who spoke with SNN in pre-season about lifting the Junior Cup for his side. Bonnyrigg Rose 2-1 Broxburn Athletic Two East coast rivals met in this crunch cup tie, Bonnyrigg recently relegated from League 2 emerged victorious despite conceding a goal late on, and will be relishing the chance to face opponents who contributed to their relegation once again to prove they can compete at their level again in the near future. Camelon

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Thomson Penalty Pushes Auchinleck Talbot into Scottish Cup 2nd Round

Auchinleck Talbot 2-1 Cumnock Juniors Boyd (69′) Thomson (90′)                        Roulston (9′) Auchinleck Talbot progressed to the Scottish Cup 2nd round, coming from behind to defeat their bitter rivals, Cumnock Juniors Cumnock burst to life after nine minutes, Lee Roulston glanced an inswinging cross past William Muir to silence the home faithful. The visitor’s positive start continued. Roulston found space at the edge of the box, but Talbot captain Neil McPherson blocked his strike. Talbot currently sit top of the West of Scotland league with 7 wins from 7 games, but they struggled to settle as Cumnock continued to dominate possession and create the prominent chances. The home side slowly grew into the tie towards halftime. Luke Gillies broke down the left, but no one in yellow could get a touch on his inviting cross. Connor Boyd had an opportunity for the homeside on the stroke of halftime, but his low shot was well blocked in the box. Cumnock boss Stephen Swift would have been pleased with his side’s lead and resolute defensive performance. Talbot started the second half strongly, as they pushed for the equaliser. A corner kick from the right fell kindly to Luke Main, but he smashed over the bar from the edge of the box. The home side threatened again ten minutes into the second period. Ewan Thomson dispossessed the Cumnock midfield, but could only roll his strike into Blair Currie’s arms. The Juniors could have doubled their lead on the hour mark, but Talbot did well to scramble the ball clear in the six-yard box before Jon Craig could connect. Roulston flashed a half volley wide shortly after, looking for his second of the game. The home side equalised through striker Connor Boyd on 69 minutes. The striker raced onto a flick and finished low past Currie to haul Tommy Sloan’s side level. Talbot pushed for the winner, Ross Clark clipped the crossbar with an arrowing strike after positive play by Kyle McAvoy. The home side hit the woodwork again after 88 minutes, a smart turn and strike by Thomson on the edge of the box cannoned off Currie’s right post. Ewan Thomson won Auchinleck Talbot the cup tie in the 90th minute, Clark was bundled over in the box, and Talbot’s talisman coolly dispatched the resultant penalty past Currie. Calum McEwan gave away the penalty and was sent off minutes later, an unfortunate night for the substitute. Beechwood Park erupted at the full-time whistle. Auchinleck Talbot are the first name into the hat for the Scottish Cup 2nd Round Auchinleck Talbot: Muir, Clark, Shoneville, Wilson, McPherson, Sime, Main, Gillies, Boyd, McAvoy, Thomson Cumnock Juniors: Currie, Craig, Brindley, McDonald, Brownlie, Roulston, Forde, Buchanan, Orr, Dykes, Conn  

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Celtic Crush Saints in Semi-Final Showdown to March Into Final

Celtic unleashed a breathtaking blitz of first-half brilliance to dismantle St Johnstone 5-0 at Hampden Park, booking their place in next month’s Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen and staying firmly on course for an unprecedented ninth domestic treble. Brendan Rodgers extended his perfect personal record at the national stadium to 14 wins, as his side lit up the semi-final with a ruthless display of attacking football, scoring four times in just 12 minutes before the break. The tone was set early. From the opening whistle, Celtic pinned St Johnstone deep into their own half, probing and pressing with increasing menace. The breakthrough arrived courtesy of Callum McGregor, who guided in a pinpoint finish to cap a dominant opening spell. That goal opened the floodgates. McGregor turned provider moments later, slipping in a sublime pass toward Daizen Maeda. Sam Curtis’s attempted interception only redirected the ball kindly into the Japanese forward’s path, and Maeda made no mistake. From there, the goals kept coming. Adam Idah tapped home the third after slick build-up play, and Maeda struck again almost immediately to make it 4-0—his 33rd goal of a remarkable season. St Johnstone, who had upset Celtic in the league just a fortnight earlier, were left shell-shocked. The team that once dared to dream of another Hampden upset now looked desperate for half-time refuge. But Celtic weren’t done. Rodgers brought on fresh firepower in the second half, with Jota and Nicolas Kuhn joining the action. Jota added a fifth from a tight angle, just minutes after James Forrest saw a penalty award overturned by VAR. Mackenzie Kirk had a stunning finish chalked off for offside, rubbing further salt into the Saints’ wounds. For Celtic, this was a statement—a warning shot fired not only at Aberdeen but at anyone questioning their domestic dominance. Alistair Johnston had said the recent league defeat in Perth had been a needed jolt. If that was a wake-up call, this was Celtic wide awake and in full flight. Maeda and Forrest tore down the wings, the midfield controlled the tempo with authority, and the relentless press never let up. With five players coming off the bench who would walk into most starting XIs, Rodgers has an enviable depth. His side looked every inch the champions-in-waiting, with only 90 minutes now standing between them and another historic clean sweep. As for St Johnstone, they’ll need to shake off this bruising loss quickly. Simo Valakari’s men were simply outclassed, and though they managed a league victory over Celtic earlier in the month, they were nowhere near the same level here. There were glimpses of effort, but mistakes proved fatal. Misplaced passes, failed clearances, and a struggle to break Celtic’s press led to an afternoon of damage limitation. With five Premiership matches left to secure survival, the Saints must regroup fast. Post-match reactions Brendan Rodgers, Celtic manager:“I’m delighted with the performance. After the first goal, we really took control. Five goals and it could’ve been more – a great display to reach another final.” Simo Valakari, St Johnstone manager:“Celtic can do that to any team. They’re ruthless. We didn’t do enough to get a result and gave away soft goals. But I’m still proud of the team’s effort throughout this cup run.”

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