Johnstone Burgh to play two cup ties on same day after scheduling clash
Johnstone Burgh will play two cup matches on the same day — an away Scottish Communities Cup third-round tie at Tayport and a Lowland League Cup first-round trip to Dunipace — both scheduled for Saturday, 21 November, with kick-offs just 30 minutes apart. The fifth-tier club said the clash was unavoidable after opponents and other clubs refused to move Saturday afternoon kick-off times.
The club issued a statement on X outlining the problem and its attempts to resolve it. "We have explored every possible option to find a suitable solution that would allow us to play the tie outwith a Saturday afternoon as our schedule is already full," Burgh said. Neither Tayport nor Dunipace, nor any other clubs they contacted for alternative weekends, agreed to change their Saturday kick-offs.
Burgh must now find a team to play away to Tayport in the Scottish Communities Cup third round at 14:30 GMT and another to face hosts Dunipace, 65 miles away, in the Lowland League Cup first round at 15:00 — both on Saturday, 21 November. The club noted the two kick-offs are only half an hour apart, making it impossible to field the same players in both fixtures.
Burgh listed the options they offered to resolve the clash in their statement: "This has included attempting to rearrange league fixtures and South Challenge Cup ties, travelling to Tayport midweek, playing Tayport on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon and, most recently, offering to play the Communities Cup tie immediately before or after our upcoming Lowland League Cup fixture. "In addition, we offered to forfeit our share of the gate money to help cover any convenience caused by the rearranging the fixture. "Despite exhausting every option available to us, we have been unable to reach a solution that allows us to play outwith a Saturday afternoon."
The club said it would have been considered favourites for both ties if able to field its strongest team. Burgh currently sit eighth in the new Lowland League West, having been promoted from the West of Scotland League Premier Division, and won the Scottish Communities Cup two seasons ago when it was the Scottish Junior Cup.
All three clubs involved have had fixtures postponed because of progress to the second round of the Scottish Cup. Tayport eventually lost to Stranraer and Dunipace were thrashed by Largs Thistle on Saturday, while Burgh's tie at home to Highland League side Formartine United was postponed and rescheduled for this Saturday.
"We are extremely disappointed that, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to find a reasonable solution that would allow us to compete in both games with our strongest available squad," Burgh added. "We'd like to thank Tayport and the other clubs we have spoken to for considering the options we have put to them and understand that clubs want to stay within the traditional Saturday afternoon kick-off times. "We want to reassure our supporters that every avenue has been explored and every effort has been made to find a workable solution."
