The romance of the cup is once again upon us, as the Bell's Scottish Cup Second Round kicks off tomorrow at 3pm.
In a victory for alphabetical fetishits nationwide, Arbroath take on Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill. The Rovers languish near the foot of Division 3 alongside East Stirlingshire; Arbroath will be going into this game looking for a convincing victory and the possibility of a lucrative Round Three tie.
Alloa vs. Stenhousemuir may be a good deal closer. Despite one division separating the sides, both seem fairly close in quality and consistency. Home advantage might put the Wasps through, but Stenny will not be taken lightly.
Ayr United face Edinburgh City, who most likely will face a tanking from their 2nd Division opponents. However, one cannot underestimate The City: they finished 2nd in the East of Scotland Premier League last season, only a few points below the 2003 giant-killers Spartans FC. However, Ayr have experience and skill on their side, and above all, will be looking to secure a home victory so that they don't have to face a replay at Meadowbank - the closest thing to purgatory available in Scottish football.
Match of the day probably takes place at Glebe Park, where Brechin City play host to Stirling Albion. Due to the wonderful ten-team division structure of the SFL, this will be the 5th occasion for the two sides to meet in nine months. No chance of them forgetting each others' names, then. But, with Stirling currently losing the form they had at the beginning of the season, and City starting without new Morton signing Chris Templeman, this tie could be as interesting as it is stale.
Finally, to conclude Part One, we look at Cove Rangers vs. Greenock Morton. The temptation just to write "we'll hump these Grampian, teuchter sheep-lovin', part-timin', dole-cashin', tofu-eatin' breasts" is tangible, but instead I'll pretend to be impartial and write a little bit about Cove. Is that OK?
Cove currently reside towards the foot of the Highland League, with only three games won and one drawn all season; compare this to league leaders Clachnacuddin, who have won eleven and only seen three defeats. However, due to the arcane and frankly quaint nature of Highland League football, Cove have played five fewer games than their Inverness counterpart; they have 10 points from 9 outings and thus cannot be written off yet. That said, Cove may be feeling somewhat rusty; other than their 1-1 draw with Forres Mechanics and their 4-1 win over Dalbeattie Star to reach this round of the cup, all of their November games were postponed. On the other hand, that could mean they're simply fit and rested. Don't ask me. I'm no football-ologist.
Anyway, Cove's side is one of experience and youth mixed up into a potent brew of inconsistency. (Sounds familiar, doesn't it?) Ex-Peterhead campaigner Kevin Tindall lines up alongside journeyman pro John Brown to provide a solid backbone to a side not short on youthful enthusiasm; 18-22 year old players from the Aberdeen Junior leagues often find themselves signed by Cove to add a bit of spark to their play. Even with a fully-fit squad, however, Cove will find it heavy going against a Morton side - particularly as the Cappielow strikers have everything to prove to boss Jim McInally following last week's signing of Chris Templeman.
In a victory for alphabetical fetishits nationwide, Arbroath take on Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill. The Rovers languish near the foot of Division 3 alongside East Stirlingshire; Arbroath will be going into this game looking for a convincing victory and the possibility of a lucrative Round Three tie.
Alloa vs. Stenhousemuir may be a good deal closer. Despite one division separating the sides, both seem fairly close in quality and consistency. Home advantage might put the Wasps through, but Stenny will not be taken lightly.
Ayr United face Edinburgh City, who most likely will face a tanking from their 2nd Division opponents. However, one cannot underestimate The City: they finished 2nd in the East of Scotland Premier League last season, only a few points below the 2003 giant-killers Spartans FC. However, Ayr have experience and skill on their side, and above all, will be looking to secure a home victory so that they don't have to face a replay at Meadowbank - the closest thing to purgatory available in Scottish football.
Match of the day probably takes place at Glebe Park, where Brechin City play host to Stirling Albion. Due to the wonderful ten-team division structure of the SFL, this will be the 5th occasion for the two sides to meet in nine months. No chance of them forgetting each others' names, then. But, with Stirling currently losing the form they had at the beginning of the season, and City starting without new Morton signing Chris Templeman, this tie could be as interesting as it is stale.
Finally, to conclude Part One, we look at Cove Rangers vs. Greenock Morton. The temptation just to write "we'll hump these Grampian, teuchter sheep-lovin', part-timin', dole-cashin', tofu-eatin' breasts" is tangible, but instead I'll pretend to be impartial and write a little bit about Cove. Is that OK?
Cove currently reside towards the foot of the Highland League, with only three games won and one drawn all season; compare this to league leaders Clachnacuddin, who have won eleven and only seen three defeats. However, due to the arcane and frankly quaint nature of Highland League football, Cove have played five fewer games than their Inverness counterpart; they have 10 points from 9 outings and thus cannot be written off yet. That said, Cove may be feeling somewhat rusty; other than their 1-1 draw with Forres Mechanics and their 4-1 win over Dalbeattie Star to reach this round of the cup, all of their November games were postponed. On the other hand, that could mean they're simply fit and rested. Don't ask me. I'm no football-ologist.
Anyway, Cove's side is one of experience and youth mixed up into a potent brew of inconsistency. (Sounds familiar, doesn't it?) Ex-Peterhead campaigner Kevin Tindall lines up alongside journeyman pro John Brown to provide a solid backbone to a side not short on youthful enthusiasm; 18-22 year old players from the Aberdeen Junior leagues often find themselves signed by Cove to add a bit of spark to their play. Even with a fully-fit squad, however, Cove will find it heavy going against a Morton side - particularly as the Cappielow strikers have everything to prove to boss Jim McInally following last week's signing of Chris Templeman.