JOHNSTONE BURGH FACE TWO CUP TIES ON SAME DAY

Johnstone Burgh say they must find two teams for cup ties on Saturday, 21 November, after attempts to move a fixture failed. The Scottish fifth-tier club are due to visit Tayport in the Scottish Communities Cup third round at 14:30 GMT. They are also scheduled to face Dunipace away in the Lowland League Cup first round at 15:00 GMT. The grounds are 65 miles apart, and the kick-offs are 30 minutes apart.

Burgh said neither opponent agreed to change its Saturday afternoon kick-off, while clubs scheduled to play them on other weekends also declined to move fixtures. The club said it tried to rearrange league matches and South Challenge Cup ties to free another date. It also proposed visiting Tayport in midweek, playing on Friday night or Sunday afternoon, or staging that match immediately before or after the Dunipace tie. Burgh offered to give up its share of gate money to help with a rearrangement. “We have explored every possible option to find a suitable solution,” the club said in a statement on X.

Burgh gained promotion from the West of Scotland League Premier Division to the new Lowland League West. The club currently sits eighth in that division. It won the Scottish Communities Cup two seasons ago, when the competition was called the Scottish Junior Cup. Dunipace sit second bottom of the new Lowland League East, while Tayport are sixth in the Midlands Premier League, the tier below Burgh.