It’s back to earth with a bump this week for the Old Firm as League action resumes. The Second round of the Scottish Cup also takes place this weekend, so there’s plenty to get our teeth into as we pick the four games you should follow.
Inside Left continued – like Walter Smith and Tony Mowbray – on a bad run of form in our predictions.
If nothing else, at least we now know it’s nothing personal. New Inside Left correspondent Craig Hynd took to the keyboard last week to bring you our latest ‘Four to Follow’ selection, but, somewhat against the kindly, well-meaning advice of yours truly, he went and gave some predictions.
Of the four games, we (let’s use the royal “we” here,we’re all in this together), got none of them right; Queue much self-depreciating humour.
The game between Inverness Caley and Dunfermline ended in a 1-1 draw (we had a 2-1 win for the Pars), Alloa got pumped 3-1 by Dumbarton (we went for a 2-1 win for Alloa), Berwick and Livi fought out an entertaining 1-1 draw, despite our best attempts (namely a 1-0 win for Livi) while in our final game we really went to town: a predicted 3-2 win for the Dons resulted in a share of the points with Hearts (1-1).
Ah well. We really hope you didn’t go out and do something silly like go the bookies to put a bet down. So, with all that said, on with this weeks Four to Follow (standard disclaimers apply).
Rangers v Hibernian
Following Rangers’ self-destruction in Europe in midweek, all eyes are back on the league. Hibernian travel west to try and compound Smith’s misery with what would be their first win at Ibrox since October 2007.
Hibs have made a cracking start to their first league campaign with new manager John Hughes. Hibs have only lost twice this season in the league (against Celtic, understandably, and Hamilton, bafflingly) and are pushing the Old Firm all the way; with a win over Rangers and a Celtic defeat at Hamilton on Sunday, Hibs would be top of the table this time on Monday.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
Rangers are hurting. Their supporters boo-ed them off the pitch on Tuesday, Walter Smith called the result one of the low points in his lengthy career and Maurice Edu has been Twittering about the racial abuse he received from his own fans during the game. All in all, this has not been a good week for the blue half of Glasgow and Smith will want to get results back on track pretty darned soon before the noise of all those sharpening knives becomes too deafening to just ignore.
Hibs will not be under any pressure here; after all, no team ever goes to Ibrox – or for that matter Glasgow – expecting very much. But with neither Celtic and Rangers playing particularly well at the moment, there’s never been a better moment to take on the Old Firm. We actually fancy Hibs to take something from this game, given the mood of optimism currently doing the rounds at Easter Road.
No score predictions, but a point is certainly achievable; everything after that is a bonus, or another nail in the coffin depending on your point of view.
Ross County v Partick Thistle
In a weekend where the top four teams all play each other, there’s bound to be lots of change this weekend. The potential winners of this situation could well be Queen of the South who take on bottom side Airdrie; should the Doonhamers win and the games involving the four teams above them all draw, they could well be back at the top of the tree.
The game between Dundee and Raith is probably the tastiest of the top-of-the-table clashes. Both are former SPL teams hoping to make a return to the top flight. Dundee are unbeaten at home so far, while Raith’s away form is actually better than their home form; all the ingredients then for a humdinger of a game.
However, we’re heading back north to Dingwall for our second pick of the day, where Ross County take on Partick Thistle.
Regular readers of Inside Left will know of our penchant for all things Northern. We make no apologies for that, it’s the corner of the football world we’re most familiar with. But the reason we’re backing Ross County all the way is that, together with Airdrie and Queen of the South, they’re the only team in the current First Division never to have played in Scotland’s top flight and we’d love it if the Staggies somehow made it to the SPL. Oh, and Inside Left favourite Brian Irvine finished his career there.
With a population of just over 5,000, they’d be the smallest team in the top division for quite some time. And we all know that small is beautiful right? Just ask the people of Urziceni, a town three times the size of Dingwall but with a relatively succesfull team …
Third placed Thistle face a long journey north and will want to build on their good home form (where they’re unbeaten), and the goals of Liam Buchanan, Mark Corcoran and veteran striker Simon Donnelly – although none of them found the net in the nil-nil game at the first meeting between the sides back in August.
Cowdenbeath v Brechin
It’s a topy-turvy world when these two teams meet each other tomorrow.
Cowdenbeath’s home record has been dire, picking up just two wins from their last six home games, losing three, while Brechin’s away for is equally atrocious, with only 1 win in their five away games this season.
It’s a shame this fixture couldn’t have been the other way around, as it would have made for perhaps a more interesting fixture: Brechin are undefeated at home this season and with 12 goals scored at home, they’re currently Scotland’s most prolific-scoring home team. Cowdenbeath on the other hand are better on the road, with 3 wins in five away outings.
So, something’s got to give. Despite their indifferent form, these two sides sit in third and second place respectively in the Second division, with only 1 point between them. League leaders Stirling are at home to bottom side Clyde today (virtually a guaranteed 3 points), so the pressure is on both of these teams to get a win to keep up in the race for promotion.
Cove Rangers v Annan Athletic
This weekend sees the second round of the Scottish Cup continue on its merry way to a glorious 90 minutes at Hampden in May. None of the teams featuring in tomorrows cavalcade of Cup competition will feature in that game, but while the fun lasts the dream is alive, no?
Given all the talk of pyramid structures of late, one of the many possible saviours of the round-ball game north of the border, we’re always keen to see match-ups between ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ ranked divisions in the Scottish game, and the early rounds of the Scottish Cup gives us that opportunity to assess the comparative levels of difference between our various national leagues.
First up we have current Highland League champions Cove Rangers taking on Annan Athletic. We all know that Cove where edged out of the running for admission into the Third division two years ago in favour of Annan, making this game particularly spicy as Cove go all-out to prove the decision to promote Annan wrong. With Aberdeen playing on the same day (they take on Dundee United), Cove have decided to reduce their prices to encourage the crowds through the gates, with admission prices between £4 and £7.
Another team with ambitions to progress up the league structure are Banks O’Dee. The current defending Junior Football North Premier League champions applied to join the Highland League in 2008, but in the end they lost out to Turrif, Formartine and Strathspey Thistle.
Bank’s O Dee, known as The Rechabites, and who play at Spain Park in Aberdeen take on Montrose, with the currently languishing at the bottom of the third division. The Gable Endies are having a torrid season, picking up only three points so far, though they did take Inverness Caley to penalties in the Challenge Cup earlier in the season (they lost out 5-3 on penalties).
Elsewhere, Inverurie Locos, one of the ‘Big Four’ in the Highland league take on Stranraer, a team who, despite a brutal start to the season, are now pulling themselves into mid-table safety making this game a real test, despite the comparatvely little (league) distance between the sides. Lastly, Civil Service Strollers, currently 8th in the East of Scotland league take on Berwick Rangers.
Right, that’s it. Agree with us? Think you know better? Leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you!
Tags: Annan Athletic, Banks O Dee, Brechin, Champions League, Civil Service Strollers, Cove Rangers, Cowdenbeath, Hibernian, Highland League, Homecoming Scottish Cup, Inverurie Locos, Juniors, Partick Thistle, Rangers, Ross County, Scottish Cup, Scottish First Division, Scottish Second Division, Scottish Third Division, SPL, Stranraer
