29 – Arbroath made an impressive start to their 2022/23 campaign, defeating St Mirren 1-0 at the SMISA Stadium to put themselves in a strong position in Premier Sports Cup Group E. Dylan Paterson’s late winner handed the Red Lichties their first competitive win against top-flight opposition in 29 years. Their last victory against a team from the top tier was a 2-1 win over Raith Rovers in August 1993 – goals from David Elliot and Craig Martin secured the win despite Colin Cameron’s goal for Rovers. Saturday marked just the second ever victory for Arbroath over Saints in Paisley – the other came at Love Street in February 2002.
5 – Hibernian kicked off their 2022/23 campaign with a 5-0 Premier Sports Cup Group D victory over Clyde at Easter Road. The Hibees netted all five goals in the first half, with a hat-trick from Christian Doidge plus goals from Elias Melkersen and Josh Campbell giving Lee Johnson a comfortable afternoon in his first match in charge. The last time Hibs scored five goals in a single half of football was back in January 2017, when they defeated Bonnyrigg Rose 8-1 at Tynecastle. Doidge’s treble was the third of his Hibernian career – he also netted hat-tricks against St Johnstone and Dundee United in the 2019/20 season.
1 – Aberdeen defeated Peterhead 2-0 at Balmoor to make a winning start to their Premier Sports Cup Group A campaign. Christian Ramirez scored both goals, ending a run of 11 matches without a goal in all competitions. This was the Dons’ first ever competitive visit to Peterhead – their only previous meeting with the Blue Toon was a club record 13-0 victory at Pittodrie in the Scottish Cup in 1923. Aberdeen are competing in the group stages of the Premier Sports Cup for the first time since the format was reintroduced in 2016 – the last time they played in a group in this competition was back in 1983/84, when they topped a section ahead of Dundee, Meadowbank Thistle and St Johnstone.
2 – Dunfermline Athletic defeated East Fife 2-0 at the Locality Hub Bayview Stadium in Premier Sports Cup Group C. Lewis McCann scored both goals to ensure that James McPake kicked off his career as Pars manager with a Fife derby victory. This was the first meeting of the local rivals in five years – their previous clash also came in this competition, when the East End Park club won a bonus point shoot-out after a 0-0 draw. Dunfermline are now unbeaten in their last four visits to Methil in all competitions. The Pars have progressed from the group stage in each of the last five seasons, and Saturday’s victory put them top of the table and in with a decent chance of doing so again this year.
1 – Annan Athletic secured one of the most impressive results of the weekend, defeating Queen of the South 3-2 at Palmerston in Premier Sports Cup Group F. Lewis Hunter scored a late winner for Peter Murphy’s side, who had earlier found the target through Chris Johnston and a Max Currie own goal. It was Annan’s first ever victory over their local rivals in a major competition – they had met on four previous occasions with Queens coming out on top in each of them.
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