Scottish football is much maligned around the world for being desperately predictable these days. That is certainly something that can be rightfully sighted against the top flight, but the cup competitions and the lower leagues are far from such tedium. The Scottish Cup in particular can sometimes throw up lesser names progressing far, or even occasionally winning it. Indeed at one point between 2008 and 2016 no country in Europe had as many different winners of the principal cup competition, with nine different clubs claiming the prize winners in consecutive seasons. Good heavens, even my own charges Inverness CT got in on the act winning the cup in 2015, and lo and behold the very next year, even Hibernian got a 114 year monkey off their back, becoming only the second ever club outside the Premiership to win the trophy, and in the first ever final that had no top flight involvement no less!
The FA Cup in England is an older tournament, but the Scottish Cup is the oldest club trophy in the world as the FA changed theirs at some point. The cup is always a big day in both lands, where the lack of any seeding etc means it has a lot of intrigue around the draw for each round. The early rounds are where the non league sides can shine, and with Scottish football now finally woken up to the 21st century where we finally have a pyramid system, the number of entrants (they still need a necessary licence) is increasing year on year. This throws up some fascinating ties, and having covered two debutants (Luncarty and Loch Ness) previously, the scheduling of League Two’s basement duo Elgin City and Clyde being handed tricky away ties at ambitious East of Scotland Premier sides seemed like the perfect tales for the next chapter in this season’s road to Hampden. These match ups are particularly appropriate as both of these league clubs have also shared in slices of Scottish Cup history. Elgin were the first non-league team to reach the Quarter-Finals in the late ‘60’s, while Clyde have won the competition three times! Will we ever see the likes again? Sadly, I think we know the answer.
Jeanfield Swifts are the second team of Perth, and their Riverside Stadium isn’t so very far away from where St Johnstone used to play at Muirton Park, indeed the area is known as North Muirton. Like many sides in the pyramid now, Jeanfield were what was known as a “Junior” side, playing under a separate jurisdiction and league system altogether. And while many in the Tayside and Angus region stuck it out until the final demise of the Junior world at the end of 2019/20, the more progressive Perthshire sides, Jeanfield, Kinnoull and Luncarty had already jumped into the East of Scotland system that forms part of Scotland’s pyramid the season before and avoided either starting at the bottom of the pyramid or having to choose between the East set-up or the newly formed Midland League, which being north of the Tay River is affiliated with the Highland League.
The pyramid has been good for clubs at this level, community funding and a pathway up the leagues has inspired some to not only make improvements to their ground, but make strides in attempting to reach the next level. Jeanfield are no different, and having made certain alterations to the Riverside, they have had a licence to compete in the Scottish Cup since 2019/20. They have always progressed through a round, and while in previous years they lost away to Kelty Hearts and Annan Athletic, Elgin, who were once a Highland League club, became the first ever league visitors to the Perth clubs stadium.
Elgin entered the league in 2000, but haven’t really kicked on, still in the bottom division nearly quarter of a century later. It is a great pity as Elgin is a “city” with potential to draw big crowds. They were previously one of the most successful sides in the Highland League, but they just haven’t managed to replicate that in the National Leagues. Last season they just avoided the dreaded “club 42” (bottom team who enters a play off to retain their place), and trotting out the Riverside they were bottom on goal difference from Clyde!
A good crowd was inside the Riverside for the game that had passed a 9am pitch inspection, but a thunderous downpour an hour before kick off was just a little reminder of the dreadful quantities of rain this area had suffered in the previous weeks. The vast majority of fans weren’t for trusting the weather and opted to watch from the safety of the covered terrace. The rain stayed off during the match, with blue skies appearing in the second half, leaving the only deluge to come from the goals Jeanfield whacked by Elgin. They started like a tornado, scoring in the first couple of minutes, and when a thunderous first time shot was glanced into the top of the net by the Swifts centre forward, the clock had merely ticked round to 30 minutes and they led 4-0! As a contest it was over, and while they may have eased off slightly, a brace of well taken second half goals made sure Elgin headed back up the A9 with their tail firmly between their legs. In the cold light of day, 6-0 was the biggest win by a non-league side over a league opponent since 1896! An historical fact that Elgin will not wish to be reminded about.
*****
Musselburgh is a town in its own right, but if you are driving out of Edinburgh through Leith along the coastal route by Portobello and Joppa, the “no man’s land” before you hit Musselburgh is non-existent. However, its citizens are proud of the fact that it is the oldest town in Scotland. It also comes under East Lothian jurisdiction, not the City of Edinburgh Council, which also helps distinguish it from Scotland’s capital.
You might have come across the name Musselburgh from the horse racing circuit, with the racetrack a good mile or so over the Esk river and beyond from the football ground, but a lesser known fact is, that while St Andrews is known as the home of golf, Musselburgh Links pre-dates the Old Course, with golf balls being hit in anger here since 1672. The town has a population of 21,000 and is known as the “Honest Toun”, a moniker that stuck from as far back as 1332, when the townsfolk helped the local Earl in his last days. The new regent wanted to reward the people for their devotion and assistance, but they said they were only doing their duty, and that accolade of honesty stuck.
Similar to Jeanfield, Musselburgh Athletic jumped out of the Junior world a season before its demise, and both finished high enough up their respective one season Conference’s to win a place in the East of Scotland Premier League. Musselburgh were a season behind Jeanfield in entering the Scottish Cup, starting out in ‘20/21 with a tie as far away from home as it is possible to get in Scotland for them, with a fruitless trip to Wick where they went down 3-1 after extra-time. Curiously, for two clubs in the infancy of their Scottish Cup story, the Swifts have also played at Wick, starting this campaign with a win up on the North East shores of the Caithness town. Unlike Jeanfield though, until this season, Musselburgh had only won one cup tie, beating Penicuik Athletic away last season. This season has already seen them triple the wins, seeing off Coldstream and Gretna from the Lowland League, ahead of a third home tie on the trot, a first ever clash with a league side in Clyde, a match that was chosen to be shown live by BBC Scotland, all very exciting stuff for the Honest Toun.
Tickets for this one became almost like the gold tickets in Willy Wonka’s chocolate bars with a seemingly low number of briefs actually going into the public domain. However, good fortune came our way with the club contacting my friend Keith to say fresh tickets had come available, which was an unexpected bonus, and made this article possible.
Olivebank, the quaint name for Musselburgh’s ground, has been given the more expansive addition of “Arena” these days, but with a trim 1,000 capacity, which surprisingly wasn’t restricted for TV gantries etc. However, a regular arena it is not, but with a proper terrace and a couple of sheds, it has more of a traditional football ground feel than Jeanfield.
The demise of Clyde has been stark. It is yet another lesson in how homeless clubs can only truly spiral one way. From the moment Inverness CT stormed back to beat them 2-1 at their then home in Cumbernauld in the penultimate game on 2003/04 to leapfrog Clyde at the top of the Championship en route to the Premiership, it has been a slow burning twenty year fall down the leagues. It culminated in being joint bottom of League Two, with no manager as they took to the Olivebank pitch. It is all a far cry from the halcyon days of Scottish Cup wins (1939, 1955 and 1958) as well as regular high league placings, where it once saw the club denied a shot at Europe courtesy of a bizarre UEFA ruling regarding the Inter-City Fairs Cup, where only one team from any given city could compete, and Clyde were the second potential entrant.
Before a ball was kicked in the second encounter, one of those regular occurrences pulled these two tales neatly together as the winner at Olivebank would be hosting Jeanfield in the next round.
Thankfully the rain had stayed away on match day meaning the superb surface had time to dry out, and an expectant crowd filed into the “Arena” well ahead of kick off hoping to see some more “giant” killing.
The game itself was cagey, with Musselburgh paying perhaps too much respect and sitting in. There was no Jeanfield tactic of up and at them straight from the off, but gradually they settled down, and despite a two league difference, you’d be hard pressed to know which was the lower ranked, they were well matched. In the end it was a brace of goalkeeping errors that brought us goals in the ninety minutes. The lanky Musselburgh keeper flapped and let a softish effort spill over him for the opener with less than twenty minutes to go, but that was soon cancelled out by a nifty dinked header by a Burgh centre-back who was sent up for a free kick. His contact lifted the ball over the stranded Clyde goalie who had made a faint effort to come and claim the ball. The equaliser stirred the home fans who had been rather muted up to that point.
With no replays in Scotland now, the game went to extra-time, and for the first time Musselburgh looked a little leggy on a heavy surface, and for a brief period Clyde started to dominate. It must have been a tight call, but the assistant ref didn’t flag, and they took advantage going in front again from a well drilled shot. When the third was tucked away from a route one punt by the keeper, the game was up, but Musselburgh kept on plugging away, and with practically the last moment of the game they reduced the score to an altogether more commendable 2-3.
The curious thing about this match was, it was never a five goal thriller, neither keeper had a save of note to make, but while it might have lacked the one sided rip roarer of Jeanfield, it was always engaging. Clyde will now host the Perth outfit in Hamilton, a third league club visit for the Swifts, and it might well be third time lucky on progressing, as based on what I have seen in both these ties, Jeanfield are the most useful team involved in this quartet. It promises to be intriguing.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 