Hearts and Hibs discover potential Premier Sports Cup opponents as Premiership duo knocked out in group stage
Edinburgh sides join the competition in the knockout phase
Hearts and Hibs’ potential Premier Sports Cup opponents have been whittled down to eight teams as the group stage draws to a close.
The Capital sides, along with Celtic, Rangers and Motherwell skipped the opening phase after qualifying for Europe last season. The quintet, who join the second round as seeded teams, will discover their fate in Sunday’s draw following the St Mirren vs Dunfermline match, which is to take place around 5:00pm (BST). They’ll be joined by the eight group winners and three best runners up.
The three more seeded teams are decided by the best performing group winners. Aberdeen and Ayr United have confirmed their status as seeded teams having earned maximum points. The eighth and final spot is currently occupied by Group D winners Ross County, however if St Mirren win tomorrow - in normal time or on penalties - they’ll take their place as a seed. However, a win in normal time for Dunfermline would see them leapfrog the Buddies in the standings.
Who can Hearts and Hibs face in the second round as it stands?
The unseeded teams are made up of the remaining group winners and three best runners up. As group winners, Dundee United, St Mirren/Ross County/Dunfermline, Stenhousemuir, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Kilmarnock are all safely in the hat and could face Hearts or Hibs. As the strongest runners-up, Dundee and Partick Thistle both also progress. The third best runner-up spot is currently occupied by Queen’s Park, however they’ll be watching the action unfold tomorrow at the SMiSA Stadium from behind the sofa, as a Dunfermline win in 90 minutes would see them take their place.
Notable omissions from the second round include Premiership sides Falkirk and St Johnstone. The Bairns suffered defeats against Ayr and Alloa to scupper their qualification hopes as a second place finish wasn’t enough. Meanwhile the Saints agonisingly lost out to East Fife on penalties in the final game to finish third. Recently-relegated Livingston are another potential banana skin not to worry about, as they also came third in their group.
What are they key dates for the upcoming Premier Sports fixtures?
The second round clashes will take place the weekend of August 15/16. Should Hearts or Hibs progress from there, the quarter-finals are pencilled in for September 12/13. After that, all eyes turn to Hampden for the semi-finals on the weekend of October 31/November 1 before the final - also at the National Stadium - on Sunday, December 13. From the knockout stage onwards matches will now include extra time rather than go straight to penalties.
The Jambos haven’t lifted the trophy since October 1962, when Norrie Davidson slid the ball past Kilmarnock’s Sandy McLaughlan for a famous Hampden winner. For Hibs, it’s been nearly two decades, as their last triumph was also against Killie, as a Stephen Fletcher brace helped them to a convincing 5-1 win in 2007.