Betfred League Cup – First Round Draw
The Black & Gold were drawn last night in Group F of the Betfred League Cup First Round as the newly re-structured competition moves into its second year.
Betfred are the title sponsors of the League Cup.
We were joined in the Southern Section group by first seeds Motherwell, second seeds Greenock Morton, aswell as fellow unseeded clubs Edinburgh City and Queen’s Park FC.
For those new to the cup the teams in each group play each other once over four matches. The format sees drawn matches in the group stage go to a penalty shoot-out after 90 minutes with the winners receiving a bonus point. The eight group winners and the four best-placed runners-up will progress to the last 16 knockout stage in August where they will be joined by Scotland’s four European club competition representatives – St Johnstone, Rangers, Aberdeen and current Betfred Cup holders Celtic.
The best thing about the moving forward of the League Cup scheduling is that football fans don’t have to wait long to get their fix of action, with the matches expected to take place on the 15th, 18/19th, 22, 25/26th and 29th July. This fast paced roster is bound to lead to some exciting ties, especially with the looming spectre of a few penalty shoot outs.
We will be hoping to fare better than in the inaugural competition last season where we exited at the group stage, without a win in 90 minutes to our name. The draw could have been worse and fans will have recent fond memories of playing Edinburgh City as our recent survival was confirmed against the same opposition in our final home match of last season. Let’s hope for more of the same!
Elsewhere in the draw, the stand out tie is a Dundee derby where newly appointed Dundee Manager, Neil McCann, won’t have to wait long to taste local rivalry.
We will bring you details of the fixtures on this site as they are confirmed, which is expected in the next week as television scheduling is settled.
The final (we can dream!) will be played at Hampden on 26th November.
