Hibs are still waiting for confirmation from the SPFL over the exact where and when of their Premier Sports Cup fixtures. No doubt the Easter Road club will be desperate to avoid a couple of trips north in a group stage format that hands each team two home ties and two away games in a quickfire burst of competition played out over a fortnight in July.
Leaving aside the travel hassles involved in organising away days to play Elgin City and Peterhead, however, should Hibs fans be fairly content with today’s draw? Once they get over the displeasure at actually being in the competition so early, a direct price to be paid for missing out on European football, progress from Group C should appear pretty straightforward to most.
Eight group winners and the three best runners-up will join the five clubs on UEFA duty in the last 16 of the revamped League Cup, a trophy Hibs have won on three occasions. Let’s take a closer look at their first opponents in SPFL season 2024-25, which officially gets under way on the weekend of July 13/14:
1. Queen's Park FC
First, the bad news. Even if Hibs are asked to play the Spiders away from home, it won’t be Hampden. Queen’s Park HAVE agreed to let the national stadium from the Scottish FA for the season – but won’t be moving in until mid-September because of concerts and international commitments. The Championship side, who finished eighth in the second tier last season, will play their home games at The City Stadium – Lesser Hampden, to give it the original name – until then. Hibs have only played Queen's Park once in the past half century, remarkably, beating them 2-1 away from home in the League Cup back in August of 2007. | SNS Group
2. Kelty Hearts
They’ve never played Hibs. Not once. So this will be a new experience for everyone at the Maroon Machine. Apart from the obvious pantomime enmity likely to be generated by Hibs facing any team proud to call themselves the Jambos, this should be an interesting tie. Kelty finished mid-table in League One last season but have the potential to cause a few shocks, their most famous upset coming when – still a League Two side - they knocked Scottish Cup holders St Johnstone out of the competition in 2022. | SNS Group
3. Peterhead
The League Two side might not fancy another encounter with Edinburgh opposition, given the 7-2 aggregate beat-down delivered by Spartans in their promotion play-off at the end of last season. Former Highland League powerhouses Peterhead joined the SPFL pyramid in 2000. The Blue Toon have played Hibs once, losing 4-0 at Easter Road in a League Cup tie in August of 2006. Can you name the scorers for Hibs on the day? | SNS Group 0141 221 3602
4. Elgin City
An eight-hour round trip, depending on traffic. The thick end of 200 miles to be covered just to get from East Mains to Borough Briggs. You can see why Hibs will be hoping to avoid an away day to Elgin once the fixtures are finalised. And why City will feel the same about an all-day expedition to the capital. Hibs have played Elgin – another ex-Highland League club welcomed into the pyramid at the turn of the millennium – twice, beating them 4-0 at Easter Road in a Scottish Cup tie in January of 2019, then picking up a 2-0 away win over the Black And Whites in July of the same year. | SNS Group via Getty Images