by John Reid
Celtic are embarrassed and the holders are out were the big stories in this week’s Scottish Cup special edition of the Stramash.
Celtic were held to a 1-1 draw by second division Arbroath, Celtic’s goal an own goal by Arbroath’s Alex Keddie, with Steven Doris getting the late equalizer as Celtic’s poor home form continued. Celtic now face a tricky trip to Gayfield on the 12th of December.
Hibs gained a measure of revenge on Hearts after last year’s final defeat by winning the Edinburgh derby 1-0, due to a late deflected strike by David Wotherspoon. The game didn’t have a lot of quality but that won’t matter to the Hibs fans. Expect Hearts manager John McGlynn to come under big pressure now.
The Highland derby between Ross County and Inverness was arguably the game of the weekend, as the teams fought out a 3-3 draw, with three goals coming in the last five minutes. After Iain Vigurs scored for County to make it 2-2, they looked certain to have won thanks to a a 93rd minute goal from Richard Brittain. But Caley went down the field and scored through Philip Roberts. The replay takes place on the 11th of December.
Aberdeen and Motherwell drew 1-1 in a game marked by two late goals, Jaime Murphy giving ‘Well the lead before the prolific Niall McGinn scored a last minute equaliser for the Dons. They will play again on the 11th of December.
Rangers went through comfortably with a 3-0 win over Elgin, with goals from Shiels, Kyle and Naismith. Dundee United had an easy 5-0 win over Stranraer whilst Dundee won 2-0 at Livingston.
St. Mirren defeated Brechin 2-0, Falkirk won 1-0 at Stenhousemuir, Forfar beat Ayr 2-1 whilst Raith edged out non-league Devronvale 2-1.
Kilmarnock edged past division two leaders Queen of the South 2-1, in a game where Queens played with ten men for almost the whole game, after Stephen McKenna was sent-off. This allowed Killie manager Kenny Shiels to have another go at referees, something he seems to do on a weekly basis.
The battle of the first division leaders ended with Dunfermline winning 1-0 at Partick, in a game that was marred by two red cards and a missed penalty by Thistle’s Ross Forbes.
Finally, non-league Turriff United had a highly creditable 1-1 draw with first division Morton, in a game which showed that the romance of the cup still lives on. Two games were postponed, St. Johnstone’s visit to Cowdenbeath and Dumbarton against Hamilton, these games are due to be played this Tuesday.
Back to league football next week, the most intriguing games look to be Celtic’s visit to Kilmarnock, in-form Inverness taking on second placed Hibs and the second Dundee derby of the season.
