Weekend in Numbers

3 – Queen’s Park reached Round 4 of the SPFL Trust Trophy thanks to a 3-2 victory over Cliftonville in Belfast. Goals from Grant Savoury, Scott Williamson and Dom Thomas handed Owen Coyle’s side the victory over last season’s NIFL Premiership runners-up. Excluding Berwick Rangers, this was the second time the Spiders eliminated non-Scottish opponents from this competition – they also beat Welsh side The New Saints on penalties in 2018/19. It was their first competitive win in 90 minutes against a non-Scottish side since they defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the 1884/85 English FA Cup semi-final in Edinburgh. The Spiders have now won five of their last six matches in all competitions, with the only exception being a defeat away to Dundee.

3 – Dundee thumped Welsh champions The New Saints 3-0 at Park Hall in Oswestry to progress to Round 4 of the SPFL Trust Trophy. Cillian Sheridan, Lyall Cameron and Max Anderson were all on the scoresheet as Gary Bowyer’s men recorded a third 3-0 win in their last four matches. Sheridan’s opener was his first goal in Scottish football since he netted for Kilmarnock in a 4-1 loss at Celtic Park in January 2013. Dundee’s last competitive win against non-Scottish opponents was a 4-0 win over Albanian side Vllaznia Shkoder in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup. The Dee are two-time winners of this competition, having won it in 1990/91 and 2009/10, and will be looking to add a third trophy this season.

7 – Falkirk made it into Round 4 of the SPFL Trust Trophy courtesy of an impressive 2-0 victory over cinch Championship leaders Partick Thistle. Goals from Rumarn Burrell and Gary Oliver were enough to clinch the victory for the record four-time Challenge Cup winners. The Bairns ended a run of seven matches without a win against Thistle – their last victory over the Jags came in the League Cup back in August 2015, and they hadn’t beaten them at the Falkirk Stadium since August 2011. John McGlynn’s side have picked up five wins and a draw in their six home matches this season, the only slightly blemish being a 0-0 draw with Montrose.

12 – Elgin City thumped Peterhead 4-0 at Balmoor to secure their place in Round 4 of the SPFL Trust Trophy. Russell Dingwall, Kane Hester, Dylan Lawrence and Angus Mailer scored the goals for Gavin Price’s side, who have now suffered just one defeat in their last nine matches. City ended a run of 12 straight defeats against the Blue Toon, stretching all the way back to November 2013 – their last win came in March 2013, when Daniel Moore scored in a 1-0 victory. This was Elgin’s biggest ever winning margin in a Challenge Cup match.

4 – Stirling Albion climbed to second in cinch League 2 courtesy of a 4-1 victory over Forfar Athletic at Station Park. Paul McLean, Cammy Clark, Dale Carrick and Kai Fotheringham found the net for Darren Young’s side to take them to 14 points from their opening eight fixtures. The Binos also won 4-1 against Stranraer in their previous fixture – this was the first time since April - May 2014 that they recorded back-to-back wins by a margin of three or more goals in consecutive matches.