Scottish Cup Fifth Round: Rangers v Celtic

Time is, once again, my enemy this Sunday morning. A quick look, then, at today's games. Including the big one at Pittodrie.

Odd to see Rangers and Celtic meet so early in the cup, giving us our second of three Old Firm games before 2011 is two months old.

A look at the league table shows Rangers playing catch-up but their games in hand suggest the situation is far from desperate.

But there is a clear feeling that the momentum has swung in favour of Celtic, the team that cruised to a 2-0 win at Ibrox on 2nd January and demolished the challenge of Hearts just days after Rangers had capitulated at Tynecastle.

That makes Celtic favourites going into this one. But, and please duck if you're standing outside my flat, derbies are a time for flinging the form book out of the window.

El Hadji Diouf starts for Rangers to add an extra dimension to the usual peripheral issues that attach themselves to this game.

Leaving aside Diouf's past indiscretions - a list as long Hen Broon's arm - his signing is a signal of Walter Smith's discomfort at how this season is unfolding and what he clearly sees as limitations in the quality and depth of his squad.

There is, undoubtedly, a level of pressure on Diouf and Nikica Jelavic to make an impact and provide Rangers with a cutting edge that Kenny Miller's departure has robbed them of. It's a big ask.

Neil Lennon got his tactics completely right in the face of an underwhelming Rangers performance in the last Old Firm game.

Can he do it again?

I'm slightly surprised that he's switched back to a 4-5-1 for this afternoon with Stokes dropping to the bench and Hooper alone up front. A lot of goals to take out of the team.

It means there is likely to be a battle between two five man midfields. Might a midfield battle suit Rangers more?

Certainly their is more fluidity to this selection and it means Celtic have strength to call on from the bench. It also suggests that Neil Lennon is not yet ready to write off Rangers' challenge.

The stakes are high. A single Scottish Cup could shape this Scottish season. Rangers will be out to show they are not the mugs some have taken them for. Celtic will be hoping to press home the advantage that a strong January has given them.

A tough game to call. Form suggests Celtic. But is this Rangers squad really ready to roll over at this stage of the season?

I'm not making this prediction confidently, we might even require a replay. But I can see Rangers sneaking this one today with stubborn, obdurate performance.

Rangers:
01 McGregor
03 Weir
05 Papac
16 Whittaker
24 Bougherra
07 Edu
08 Davis
40 Ness
14 Naismith
17 Diouf
18 Jelavic

Celtic:
26 Forster
03 Izaguirre
05 Majstorovic
12 Wilson
21 Mulgrew
08 Brown
16 Ledley
18 Ki Sung-Yeung
33 Baram Kayal
15 Commons
88 Hooper

Aberdeen v Dunfermline

A visit from a club riding high in the first division would normally be enough to send shivers down the spines of an Aberdeen squad.

Especially a group of players who seemed to rediscover many of their old frailties in shipping seven goals in a double header against their traditional tormentors Celtic.

But Craig Brown is certainly building something different, something new at Pittodrie and beating lower league opposition is something he will expect from his players.

For their part Dunfermline are second in the first division. I worry though about their results against league leaders Raith Rovers this season.

Can we see a Dunfermline squad who struggle to cope in big games? Or might a televised clash with an SPL team free them from the worries of local rivalries and play without fear?

I suspect this might be too much for Dunfermline with Aberdeen winning by a couple of goals.

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Scottish Cup 5th Round Part One

News filters through that St Johnstone's fifth round clash with Partick Thistle has been postponed.

If only we had a January shut-down all these call offs and bad weather in February could be so easily avoided.

So only five games to enjoy today.

Hamilton v Dundee United

An all SPL clash. Hamilton could have moved off the bottom of the table in midweek. Instead they found themselves cast further adrift. At such times does the cup become a unwanted drain on resources or a welcome distraction from the less than glamorous business of scrapping for survival?

Back in the day a dash of cup romance might have provided everyone with some comfort, lifted the spirits. Now, with the financial hardships of relegation so severe, it might be that the cup just gets in the way. Nobody will admit that but it could be the case.

Anyway that won't bother the fans who will be looking for a decent performance against the cup holders. United, despite a season that has really been neither one thing nor the other, will be looking at the remaining teams and fancying another decent run.

They should progress today. Away win.

Ayr v St Mirren

In the stunningly simplistic way that footer doesn't work we can take recent experience against Hibs and award Ayr a 3-0 win here.

Losing at Easter Road on Wednesday, a game they never looked like winning, was evidence of how hard a slog the rest of the season is going to be for St Mirren.

This is the sort of game Ayr will relish. With the advantage of Somerset Park I'm backing them to pull off another big result. Home win.

Buckie Thistle v Brechin City

One man's misfortune is another man's etc etc.

It had looked that Buckie's last contribution to this year's tournament would be two of their players fighting with each other as they were felled by East Stirling.

And then a reprieve. We could talk long into the night about the rights and wrongs of East Stirling being tossed out of the Scottish Cup. But they were and Buckie are back to fight another day.

Brechin will be an imposing challenge, sitting third in the Second Division. But. Player fights, a late reprieve. Buckie are going Hollywood in this Scottish Cup. So my heart says a happy ending today. Home win.

Inverness v Morton

Not been an easy run for Inverness in the league of late. Morton are mid table in the First Division but undefeated in the last six competitive games. I would still fancy Inverness to have too much today though. Home win.

Stranraer v Motherwell

Stranraer's last two games have been seven goal thrillers. They beat Stenhousemuir by the odd goal in the cup but lost out by the same score to Arbroath in the league.

I can't see Motherwell offering them quite the same largesse in front of goal so it will be up to The Blues to tighten up their own defence.

Motherwell signed Francis Jeffers this week although he won't feature it today. I mention it because it struck me more as the answer to a "where are they now" question than a transfer. It also suggests the level of Stuart McCall's frustration at his inability to strengthen in January.

What McCall wants more than anything is a run of results. He should at least get the win today. Away win.

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Scottish Cup: Sky's Vultures Circle Hibs

Ayr United v Hibs

The Sky Sports cameras will be at Somerset Park tomorrow night. Not, I think, to savour the surroundings or in anticipation of a cracking game of football.

No. The Honest Men are hosting Sky because they scent an upset. The vultures are circling ready to feast on the corpse of Hibs’ season.

Totally shiteing oneself would be the vernacular description of the trepidation the Hibs fans will be feeling this evening. Hibs were poor, and probably lucky, in drawing 0-0 with Ayr at Easter Road. They were as bad in losing 3-0 to Celtic on Saturday.

Ayr might fear that they’ve missed their chance. But they’ll be equally aware that a Hibs team stuffed full of men who look like they rue the day they ever became professional footballers are hardly going to be looking at this trip with much enthusiasm.

Ayr looked capable of both frustrating Hibs and springing a surprise two of their own against a now almost permanently shaky defence. That’s a dangerous mix.

On paper Hibs should have enough to get through. But, as the saying goes, football isn’t played on paper.

This could be a long night for the SPL side. Penalties wouldn’t surprise me. And that’s the closest I’ll get to making a prediction.

Morton v Airdrie United

Not a replay this one, but a rescheduled Fourth Round tie. When the game was originally scheduled I backed the draw. Still tempted. But Airdrie’s defence seems porous at the moment. Home win.

Stenhousemuir v Stranraer

Stenhousemuir finally got past Threave Rovers in their much postponed Third Round replay last week. Tough tie tonight though with The Warriors struggling in the Second Division and Stranraer top of the Third Division. Both enjoyed wins at the weekend. We might see this one head back to Stair Park.

Dunfermline v Montrose

An exciting old game at Links Park with Montrose snatching a late draw. A game against Aberdeen awaits the winner. I suspect Dunfermline will get the job done at home tonight.

Falkirk v Partick Thistle

I backed a draw in the first game and got that one right. (It does sometimes happen.) Different preparations for the replay though with Thistle enjoying a 6-1 win over Stirling Albion and Falkirk shipping three goals at home to Queen of the South. Will that make any difference tonight? The Jags to edge another close one.

Peterhead v St Mirren

St Mirren’s season to revolve around the odd good result followed by a run of poor results. Consistency is no friend of Danny Lennon’s side this season. Peterhead warmed up for this one by thumping Livingston 3-0 at home but they too have had a season of fluctuating fortunes. A shock on the cards at the Balmoor Stadium tonight? I think there could be.

Ross County v Dundee United

Had he been more follically blessed Peter Houston might have been tearing his hair out at the various off-field distractions he is enduring. It’s unclear if top scorer David Goodwillie will play any part tonight and I also hear whispers of big boardroom changes.

Ross County have proved before that they relish welcoming midweek SPL visitors to Dingwall. They might fancy another scalp tonight despite their struggles in the league. I suspect United will be able to get the job done with a minimum of fuss though. Away win.

East Stirling v Buckie Thistle (Wednesday)

Another of the rescheduled Fourth Round clashes. My original preview:

It’s the Highland League champions against the second worst team in the Scottish Football League on Sunday. This game could become the rallying call of the pyramid system supporting masses. Stirling haven’t played since they beat Spartans 2-1 in the last round. Which might be better preparation than Buckie have enjoyed after being smashed 7-0 by Deveronvale last Monday. An intriguing one this though, one to keep an eye or ear out for.

They both won last time out though with East Stirling climbing to third bottom of the Third Division. I still fancy Buckie to give them a game. Draw.

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Scottish Cup Week: The Saga Continues

Rangers 3 v Kilmarnock 0
Some wag (me) suggested on Twitter last night that this would have been a more effective Beattie to play up front for Rangers.

Not that it mattered as the home side - who were more than happy to dish out a few brutal challenges - overpowered a fairly ineffective Kilmarnock. Two cracking first half finishes from Lee McCulloch and Kyle Lafferty had all but finished the game off before Steven Whittaker's emphatic penalty removed any doubt.

Not a great game, Kilmarnock looked capable but not hugely threatening. Challenges from Lafferty, Steven Davis and Steven Naismith were rather agricultural, with Alexei Eremenko the particular target of a couple of Ron Atkinson's "early doors reducers."

Is it frightfully old fashioned and Corinthian of me to expect better of Rangers? Or of any team? Possibly.

But a deserved win for Rangers who become the sixth team to guarantee their spot in the fifth round.

Biffy Who

The draw for the fifth round will be made today and rumours abound that Biffy Clyro are to be rummaging around George Peat's balls to decide the fixtures. This seems to have caused consternation and amusement in equal measure. Unfortunately I'm not really sure who or what Biffy Clyro are so it's all gone above my ahead.

Weather Permitting

And as if that wasn't enough this Scottish Cup week stretches to an eighth day with a number of fixtures to be played this evening.

Amazingly Threave Rovers v Stenhousemuir, the much delayed third round replay, has been postponed again. They'll now try and play it on Wednesday. If that game doesn't end up a nine goal thriller we're all going to be hugely disappointed.

The scheduled (subject to weather, pitch inspections and alien invasions) fixtures tonight are:

Round 4
Hearts v St Johnstone
Falkirk v Partick Thistle
Queen of South v Brechin

My previews of the ties are here.

Round 4 Replay
Dunfermline v Montrose (Pitch inspection at 9.30 this morning)

I had Dunfermline down to win this one on Saturday. They didn't but I'll back them to finish the job tonight. Home win.

Scottish Cup Fifth Round Draw

Update: The draw has been made. And we've an Old Firm clash to look forward to. Who'd have thought? That's the only finalised tie of the round so far.

Aberdeen v Montrose or Dunfermline
Inverness CT v Morton or Airdrie
Hamilton v Dundee United or Ross County
Stenhousemuir/Threave Rovers or Stranraer v Motherwell
East Stirlingshire or Buckie v Queen of the South or Brechin
Rangers v Celtic
Hibernian or Ayr v St Mirren or Peterhead
Hearts or St Johnstone v Falkirk or Partick Thistle

To be played on 5/6 February.

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Scottish Cup Fourth Round Preview

Three days of Scottish Cup action to look forward to. Much talk of "cupsets" but probably not many actual upsets. And, I'd wager, a mention or two for Berwick Rangers, the most famous of Davids in Scottish football's gallery of Goliath-slayers.

Pitch inspections at a few of these games and snow falling as I write so things could be subject to change. Again.

Kick off times and weather updates can be found on the BBC site.

Threave Rovers v Stenhousemuir
And still we wait for this third round replay to be played. A pitch inspection will be needed before we know for sure. I'm not hopeful.

Fascinating Scottish Cup fact: Stenhousemuir manager Davie Irons was playing for Threave in the first game between these two, at the age of 49.

Berwick Rangers v Celtic
No surprise that this one came out of the draw. Not when we're constantly being told that Rangers v Celtic playing all the time is the only way the Scottish game can make money. It's a little known fact that Berwick Rangers beat Celtic's Old Firm rivals in a game here in the 1960s. Shame such a massive achievement for Berwick has been all but forgotten. A famous Glasgow double on Sunday. Don't bank on it. At least Celtic will finally find out what playing in England is like.

Hibs v Ayr United
To lose a derby is never good. But at least Hibs showed some ability to defend, to fight and to allow them to be organised into something resembling a cohesive unit against Hearts. That is hardly world beating stuff. But it might be enough to save them this season. A cup run would be much welcomed in Leith. I can't see that happening but they should have enough to get past Ayr tomorrow. Mind you, I said that when Franck Sauzee led Hibs into a League Cup semi final against the same opposition in 2002. Will I be wrong again?

Dundee v Motherwell
A defiant Dundee are a potential stumbling block for new Motherwell boss Stuart McCall. It's not been an easy few weeks for the SPL side. It's been an arduous, torturous, tormenting few months for the Dark Blues. A cup run might not cure all the ills at Dens Park but it would offer some comfort. And some cash. If I was going to point a game where I can see a shock coming this might be it. Home win.

Dundee United v Ross County
A re-run of last year's final. Fair to say that neither side have quite shown the form of last season. An opportunity for some revenge for Ross County against the ogres that smashed their fairytale dreams. Yes, it's an opportunity. Whether they can take advantage of it or not is another matter. I'll be keeping an eye on this one. I'm not expecting it to happen. But a shock wouldn’t completely shock me.

Aberdeen v East Fife
Is the Craig Brown revolution at Pittodrie for real? A win tomorrow won't be proof of that. But it will at least spare him the sort of embarrassing failure that has haunted some of his predecessors. There's nae way I can see the Dons losing this. No way at all. But I've been wrong before.

Rangers v Kilmarnock
The big Monday night game. A traditional kick off time for this oldest of tournaments. Rangers were woeful in the Old Firm game last Sunday. Against a Kilmarnock team that inspired gushing tributes in this week's Scottish football podcast they'll need to improve. Samaras did for the champions last weekend. Can Sammon do for them now? Stranger things have happened. But we've all been at this lark too long to write Rangers off. Killie might just secure a replay though.

Hearts v St Johnstone
Newly re-established as the third force in Scottish football will Hearts see this year as their chance to win the Scottish Cup. A second triumph for Jim Jefferies? There's a chance, friends, there is a chance. An all SPL clash on Sunday might not be the fixtures Jefferies would have wanted but recent form still heavily favours the home side. And who am I to question recent form. Home win.

Inverness v Elgin
No sooner do I anoint Terry Butcher as manager of the year and Inverness as team of the year than they start losing. I spread my miserable luck around. And now a Scottish Cup clash against not too distant neighbours Elgin. An intriguing clash but one the SPL side should negotiate easily enough. Home win.

East Stirling v Buckie Thistle
It’s the Highland League champions against the second worst team in the Scottish Football League on Sunday. This game could become the rallying call of the pyramid system supporting masses. Stirling haven’t played since they beat Spartans 2-1 in the last round. Which might be better preparation than Buckie have enjoyed after being smashed 7-0 by Deveronvale last Monday. An intriguing one this though, one to keep an eye or ear out for.

Montrose v Dunfermline
Dunfermline’s experience of artificial pitches might not be great but the First Division leaders should still have enough against Montrose. The Pars will have really felt the away defeat to Raith last week but maybe not as much as Montrose felt the 5-0 tanking by the Red Lichties of Arbroath on Sunday. Away win.

Morton v Airdrie
Morton haven’t played since the 14th of December while Airdrie came through a tough old tie against Beith 4-3 on Tuesday afternoon. Which is the better preparation? It’s second bottom of the First against sixth in the Second. Could be a tight one.

Falkirk v Partick Thistle
An all First Division clash. Neither team will be delighted by the way their seasons have gone so far but Falkirk are ten points better off in the league and the feedback suggests that all is not well at Thistle right now. Even-stevens between the two so far though with both teams enjoying 1-0 wins at Firhill. A close one? Could be a replay required.

Queen of the South v Brechin
An away defeat to Dunfermline in the middle of December is Queen of the South’s only game since they beat Cowdenbeath on the 13th of November. That the preparation for these cup games hasn’t been ideal for many clubs is becoming increasingly obvious. Brechin, second in the Second Division, finally got round to dispatching Annan in their third round replay on Tuesday evening. They’ve scored five in each of their last two games so any rustiness in the Queens defence might well be exposed here.

St Mirren v Peterhead
Eighth in the Second Division, Peterhead’s head last two games have ended with a 5-0 defeat to Brechin and a 5-1 win over Airdrie. You pick the form from those two results. St Mirren themselves search forlornly for the gift of consistency and are still not picking up enough points to be comfortable. Could be a testing afternoon tomorrow but I think the SPL side will get through.

Hamilton v Alloa
Less affected by the weather than many SFL clubs in the last few weeks, Alloa have been free scoring with 13 goals in their last five games. Two wins, two draws and a defeat in that sequence suggests that the defence might be struggling a bit. By contrast Hamilton have scored only one goal in their last five games, their only points coming in goalless draws. You would still expect the SPL side to be stronger. But a black and gold striped banana skin lying in wait?

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Scottish Cup Quarter Finals

Scottish Cup quarter final day. Someone's going to Hampden. Someone's going hame.

Kilmarnock v Celtic (12.15/Sky)

The league is gone and the best response Celtic seem to be able to muster is scratching their heads and asking each other what happened. The Scottish Cup is the last chance for some level of redemption amid the doom and gloom of Tony Mowbray's botched Celtic experiment. That makes defeat at Rugby Park tomorrow unthinkable. Unthinkable for a team less fragile than this Celtic side anyway. For this group of players, with this manager? Still favourites and I'll back the away win. Wouldn't be surprised if Kilmarnock get something though.

Hibs v Ross County (2pm)

An early kick off because Easter Road is currently without floodlights. This is the stage when Hibs fans start to panic in the Scottish Cup, as the great annual odyssey reaches the stage where disappointment seems to stalk them. The euphoria of an "easy" draw will have been replaced by fear at losing to a lower division side. Is there much chance of that? Ross County will be up for a scrap and Hibs have been creaky of late. There won't be many in Leith relishing this one. Still I'm backing the home win.

Dundee v Raith (3pm)

So who is going to grab the chance? The team with SPL aspirations anxious to prove they're already capable of mixing it with the big boys? Or the plucky outsiders who know a semi final can ease their club's financial woes. So it's a hearts and heads kind of match. The head wins. Home win.

Rangers v Dundee United (Sunday 12.05/BBC2)

Can United stop Rangers' march to domestic dominance? This game will be a closer affair than the 7-1 league drubbing Rangers handed out the last time these two met at Ibrox. But you've still got to fancy Rangers to make it through for their seven billionth semi final in a row. Home win. Maybe by just the odd goal though.

Midweek medley

As the dust settles on an SPL weekend that saw significant results at both the top and the bottom, we can take a breather this midweek and concentrate once again on the Active Nations Scottish Cup.

Aberdeen v Raith Rovers

Will the real Aberdeen please stand up? A draw against Raith at home threatened to join the increasingly long list of joke Aberdeen cup results. They follow that up with a draw at third placed Hibs before sticking four past Celtic in a thrilling draw at Pittodrie. Consistent only in their unpredictability, this is a squad that must be driving the supporters to distraction.

So anything could happen tonight but it probably won’t. Having had their 90 minutes in the sun back in Fife I think Raith will put up a brave fight before capitulating. And so the Dons will march on to play Dundee in what could be the fixture to watch in the quarter finals.

Rangers v St Mirren

To vanquish Rangers you have to take chances when they come along. That is true in 90 minutes (Motherwell were always likely to need a cushion of more than a solitary goal going into the final half hour last Wednesday, Hibs needed to take advantage when they had more of the match in the first half at Ibrox on Sunday) or over two games (as Hamilton proved in the last round.)

And so St Mirren, for whom cup competitions are a welcome distraction from the business of losing league games, have probably missed the opportunity for a famous win. They really dominated the first game but they couldn’t make the breakthrough that would have counted. Rangers will make them pay for that tomorrow night.

I actually think Rangers win over Hibs will be a bit of a watershed for them. With a lot of players hitting fitness at the same time and with a mini wobble (back to back draws is a mini wobble when you’re ten points clear) survived they’ll be raring to go now. With a treble chance looming ahead I really can’t see them losing many games.

Can St Mirren’s cup charm hold up for one more night? I’m afraid I don’t think so. Another comfortable home win.

St Johnstone v Hibs

The one SPL game of this midweek, having orginally fallen victim to the snow. Hibs' defeat at Rangers on Sunday not only ended talk of a title challenge it also made the challenge for third place slightly uncomfortable. St Johnstone’s defeat at Kilmarnock continued their dodgy run of luck but also brought the bottom of the table slightly too close for comfort.

So a cagey game with both sides going for a draw that would buy breathing space. Unlikely with these two. It’s one each in the clashes played so far this season but I can see Hibs turning the screw here and getting the win that they’ll be hoping will at least prove their resilience.

Can anybody hear us scream?

St Andrew’s Day and the Homecoming finale. Yesterday was a good day for our national cup competition, the world’s oldest national trophy, to make a splash with the entry of the big names into the third round draw.

A live broadcast during the main evening news would have caused people to sit up and take notice. With junior side Irvine Meadow still involved the draw was always likely to be rich in the romance and cliché that are the lifeblood of this kind of event.

Which all leads me to ask exactly how the SFA managed to bag the coveted 2.30pm slot on Sky Sports News?

Who did they possibly think would be watching at that time on a Monday afternoon? Are we now concerned that Scottish football is not positioning itself properly to win the always crucial “I’m-just-watching-because-I’ve-seen-that-Diagnosis-Murder-before-and-the-Ocean-Finance-advert-is-on-every-channel” market?

For those of us stuck at work the coverage provided on the SFA’s own website will forever remain a mystery. It seems that all of us stuck at work trying to find out what the hell was going on caused the site to lose consciousness for a while.

There has been a concern for years that interest in the (We’re Not An) Active Nation Scottish Cup has been dwindling. But if the organisation charged with running it can’t be arsed then why should anybody else?

Anyway, rant aside, the draw was made and Irvine Meadow got the tie of their dreams (at least those dreams that involved a side that may or may not finish in the top three, rather than their real dreams about the Old Firm) with a trip to Easter Road. It’s nice that, in their debut cup campaign, the junior mob have been paired with a team with such rich and cherished memories of the Scottish Cup.

Elsewhere, the tie of the round is Hamilton v Rangers. Or, if you’re a normal person rather than a Sky Sports scheduler, you’d probably choose Aberdeen v Hearts.

I’m sure you’ve seen it by now but the full draw is below. Ties on 9/10th January. An early tip for me would be Dundee United but I fancy the final to be an Old Firm free zone so it really is up for grabs this year.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Motherwell
Hamilton v Rangers (Sunday 10th, Lunchtime kick off, Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Sports)
Morton or Dumbarton v Celtic
Hibernian v Irvine Meadow
St Mirren v Cowdenbeath or Alloa Athletic
Raith Rovers or Peterhead v Airdrie United
Dunfermline v Stenhousemuir or Cove Rangers
Forfar v St Johnstone
Clyde or Livingston v Dundee
Albion Rovers v Stirling Albion
Aberdeen v Hearts
Edinburgh City v Montrose
Partick Thistle v Dundee United
Ross County v Inverurie Loco Works
Ayr United v Wick Academy or Brechin
Kilmarnock v Falkirk