The Second Round of the William Hill Scottish Cup will kick-off this evening as Edinburgh City take on Stenhousemuir in the first of 16 ties taking place this weekend.
The match is the first meeting between these sides in the Scottish Cup. Edinburgh City haven’t scored more than one goal in their past five appearances in the Scottish Cup. Conversely Stenhousemuir have an average of 3.9 goals per match since 2000 in the Scottish Cup and have only kept one clean sheet in 14 previous matches in the competition.
Banks O’Dee will be facing Lowland League opposition for the first time in the Scottish Cup as they take on Selkirk. They have played junior opposition four times in the competition, but have never won.
Further south, Berwick Rangers face a repeat of their 2015-16 Second Round match as they take on Annan Athletic. In that match Annan ran out 4-1 winners – they haven’t lost in the Second Round since 2012, but have gone to a replay in five of their previous seven Second Round ties.
BSC Glasgow make the trip to Buckie Thistle for their first ever away draw in the Scottish Cup. This is their second appearance against Highland League opposition in the Scottish Cup, having beaten Rothes after a replay in the First Round. Buckie, meanwhile, have knocked out Lowland League opposition in the past two seasons, so will be optimistic if the stats are to be believed.
It’s a Lowland League v Highland League encounter as Civil Service Strollers play Brora Rangers for a place in the Third Round. Civil Service Strollers are aiming to buck a trend, having lost all ten of their previous Second Round matches. Brora, on the other hand, have progressed to the Third Round on both occasions they have avoided league opposition in the Second Round since revamp of the Scottish Cup.
In a rematch of last season’s League Two play-off, Cowdenbeath will face East Kilbride. Billy Brown’s men have only won five of their last 17 Scottish Cup matches played at home. East Kilbride, meanwhile, have played 12 Scottish Cup games in past the three seasons and have scored in every one, apart from a 2-0 defeat to Celtic in 2016.
Deveronvale welcome Glenafton Athletic to Princess Royal Park. Their record in the Second Round is cause for optimism – they are undefeated in their last seven Second Round home matches. Glenafton face the prospect of their first away tie in their debut Scottish Cup season, having put four past Girvan in the previous round.
Edinburgh University will be looking to erase the unwanted statistic of having never kept a clean sheet in the Scottish Cup as they welcome Fraserburgh to the capital. The Broch have scored nine goals in their previous three Second Round matches, so it is a daunting prospect for the team from Edinburgh. The last time these sides met in this competition was in 1954-55; Fraserburgh emerged as 9-0 victors.
Edusport Academy, another team making their debut season in the Scottish Cup, make the trip to Elgin, who are undefeated in their last ten Second Round games. There have been 24 goals in the previous six Scottish Cup games at Borough Briggs – will we see more on Saturday?
Formartine United take on East Stirlingshire. Formartine have only suffered one defeat in eight Scottish Cup home matches (2-0 to Inverurie Loco Works in 2013) in those matches they have scored 22 goals, failing to score only once.
East Stirlingshire have only experienced defeat once in their past seven games against Highland League opposition.
Keith welcome Clyde to Kynoch Park. Keith have not won a home match in the Scottish Cup since 1996 – 13 games without a win – a record they aim to end this weekend. Clyde, however, have only failed to score once in their last eight Second Round matches.
The First Round Featured Match hosts, Nairn County, go into their match against Cove Rangers with the added bonus of knowing they kept their first ever clean sheet in the Scottish Cup in the previous round. Cove Rangers have only ever experienced defeat once in nine games against fellow Highland League opposition in the Scottish Cup.
Peterhead welcome Colville Park to Balmoor. Colville are the first ever amateur cup entrants to make it to the Second Round of the Scottish Cup. The team are breaking all sorts of records in their Scottish Cup campaign, having also become the first ever team to score against Cumbernauld Colts in a Frist Round match. Peterhead have only won three of their last 13 Scottish Cup home matches, but will be aiming to make that four out of 14 this weekend.
Ainslie Park plays host to Spartans v Clachnacuddin. Spartans are undefeated in their last six Scottish Cup home games includes wins over Morton & Clyde and have won their last six matches against Highland League opposition. Clachnacuddin have only made it past the Second Round twice, but have the welcome statistic of only failing to score on one occasion in their last 11 Scottish Cup matches.
Stirling Albion take on Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale. The Binos haven’t lost a Second Round match since 2004 and have kept a clean sheet in six of their last eight Scottish Cup matches. Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale, who count Goal of the First Round winner Samuel Nhamburo amongst their ranks, have only played in the Second Round once before – they beat Montrose following a replay.
This weekend’s Second Round featured match is Montrose v University of Stirling which promises to be an intriguing tie. Montrose haven’t kept a clean sheet in nine Scottish Cup home matches, whilst University of Stirling have never progressed beyond the Second Round.