Hibs, Hearts and Edinburgh City paired with Championship sides in SPFL Trust Trophy second round draw

Hibs and Hearts colts sides will each face SPFL Championship opposition if they can successfully negotiate their first round ties in the SPFL Trust Trophy.

SPFL Trust Trophy. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

The second draw for the Challenge Cup competition, which includes top flight clubs’ B-teams has been made, plotting out the route to the latter stages in October of the regionalised competition.

Hamilton Academical – finalists in 2012 – lie in wait for the winners of the Edinburgh derby between Edinburgh City and Hearts B – scheduled for Ainslie Park on August 17.

Hibs will also face Championship opposition, after being drawn at home for a second time. They will host Dunfermine Athletic, providing the young team can see off League Two Elgin City on August 10.

The Lowland League’s Bonnyrigg Rose will face a trip to Airdrie if they progress past Queen’s Park.

Livingston and Ross County have withdrawn their B teams from the competition handing immediate progress to Albion Rovers and Stirling Albion in the second round.

Both Premiership sides have been struck down by Covid outbreaks with the West Lothian side forced to cancel training sessions and County forfeiting matches in the Premier Sports Cup.

The Trust Trophy competition, then known as the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup, was also hampered by the pandemic and was shelved last season as a result of the delayed start of the lower leagues – the previous year’s competition was also affected and the title shared between finalists Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Raith Rovers with the match unable to be played during the football shutdown.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.