7 – Ross County thumped East Fife 7-0 to secure their place in Round 2 of the Premier Sports Cup. Doubles from Owura Edwards and Kazeem Olaigbe plus goals from Victor Loturi, Ben Purrington and Jordy Hiwula ensured that the Staggies finished top of Group C and set up a home tie against Celtic. This was County’s biggest win since they defeated Cove Rangers by the same scoreline, also in the League Cup group stage, in July 2016.
4 – Aberdeen made it four wins out of four in Premier Sports Cup Group A courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Raith Rovers at Pittodrie. Bojan Miovski netted within six minutes of his debut before Ross McCrorie and Jonny Hayes rounded off a comprehensive victory for Jim Goodwin’s side. The Dons won their group with maximum points, without conceding a goal, to set up a Round 2 clash with Annan Athletic. This is the first time since 1991/92 that the Dons have won their first four matches of the season across all competitions, and the first time since 2004/05 that they have started a campaign with four clean sheets.
1 – Arbroath defeated Airdrieonians 3-0 at Gayfield to ensure their progression to Round 2 of the Premier Sports Cup. Michael McKenna, Kieran Shanks and Jason Thomson were all on the scoresheet as Dick Campbell’s side won Group E to set up an away tie against Partick Thistle in the next round. The Red Lichties have now recorded five consecutive home wins against the Diamonds in all competitions, stretching back to 2017. Incredibly, this is the first time since joining the Scottish Football League over a century ago that Arbroath have kicked off a season with four consecutive victories.
1 – Falkirk secured top spot in Premier Sports Cup Group D courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Clyde at the Falkirk Stadium. Craig McGuffie scored the only goal of the game for John McGlynn’s side as they finished the campaign unbeaten and set up a Round 2 clash with Dundee at Dens Park. The Bairns built their success on a strong defence – they conceded just one goal in their four matches and were therefore able to secure two wins and two draws (with bonus point victories) despite only finding the net three times.
3 – Stirling Albion defeated Peterhead 3-0 at Forthbank to secure 2nd place in Premier Sports Cup Group A but missed out on a best runners-up spot on goal difference. Dale Carrick netted all three goals for the Binos as they defeated the Blue Toon in the group stage for the second consecutive season. It was the second hat-trick of Carrick’s professional career – the first came just four matches ago, in a 5-0 victory over Edinburgh City on the final day of the 2021/22 campaign.
