5 – Dunfermline Athletic defeated Kelty Hearts 2-1 to move into the quarter-finals of the SPFL Trust Trophy. Goals from Chris Kane and Matty Todd helped James McPake’s side come from behind to secure victory in this Fife derby. The Pars remain unbeaten in competitive matches against Kelty – they have picked up three wins and two draws in five meetings. Each of Dunfermline’s last three victories have come in Fife derbies – they defeated East Fife in the previous round of the SPFL Trust Trophy and beat Raith Rovers in the William Hill Championship. This is just the second time in eight years the Pars have reached the last eight of the Challenge Cup – the only other time was in 2022/23.
6 – Queen’s Park made their way into the last eight of the SPFL Trust Trophy courtesy of a 4-1 victory over Annan Athletic at Galabank. Goals from Liam McLeish, Ryan Duncan, Zak Rudden and Nikola Ujdur sealed a comfortable win for Callum Davidson’s side. The Spiders have picked up five wins and a draw in their last six matches in all competitions – this is their best run since they won eight in a row under Owen Coyle from November 2022 to January 2023. Queen’s Park have won their last five matches against Annan stretching back to February 2020 – prior to that they had gone 10 without a win over the Galabankies.
1 – Alloa Athletic beat Arbroath 1-0 at the Indodrill Stadium to secure their spot in the quarter-finals of the SPFL Trust Trophy. Luke Donnelly’s early goal was enough to separate the sides and help the Wasps move into the last eight. Alloa are three-times finalists in this competition, and won it in 1999/00, but this is the first time they have reached the quarter-finals since 2018/19. Alloa are the only William Hill League 1 side safely through – there are five William Hill Championship clubs (Ayr United, Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton, Livingston and Queen’s Park) and one Lowland League side (East Kilbride), while the final spot will go to the winners of next week’s match between Rangers B and Stenhousemuir.
1 – Partick Thistle and Falkirk drew 1-1 at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill in the weekend’s only William Hill Championship fixture. Ethan Ross opened the scoring for Falkirk with his fourth goal of the season but Brian Graham hit back almost instantly to secure a point for the Jags. The draw extends Falkirk’s lead at the top of the table to two points, while the Jags climbed up to fifth, and are four points behind Queen’s Park in the final play-off spot. The outcome of Saturday’s match should not have come as a huge surprise – six of the last eight league meetings have finished in draws, with the sides picking up one win apiece.
2 – Edinburgh City climbed off the foot of William Hill League 2 thanks to a 2-0 victory over Spartans at Meadowbank. Connor Young netted a double to give Michael McIndoe’s side their second league win of the season and move them up to seventh in the table. Young has scored eight goals in nine league matches since joining City in the summer – he is the second-top scorer in the entire SPFL – only Alan Trouten (9) has scored more. This was the first SPFL meeting of the two long-time Edinburgh rivals – they regularly locked horns in the East of Scotland league and Lowland League but had not met in a competitive fixture since the 2015/16 Lowland League campaign, when City won the league and gained promotion, with Spartans finishing second.
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