Weekend in numbers

4 – Holders St Mirren defeated Dumbarton 4-0 at Cliftonhill to make a winning start to their 2026/27 Premier Sports Cup defence. Two goals from debutant Samuel Ramos and one each from Chris Mochrie and Thomas Falconer handed Craig McLeish a victory in his first match as permanent Saints manager. In their last three meetings with Dumbarton, stretching back to 2018, Saints have scored 15 goals without reply. This is the first time since the 2021/22 campaign that St Mirren have won their opening League Cup fixture – they drew with Arbroath last season (and lost a bonus point shoot-out), and lost to Dundee United, Montrose and Arbroath in each of the three previous seasons.

5 – Falkirk kicked off their 2026/27 campaign with a 5-0 victory over Edinburgh City at Meadowbank Stadium in the Premier Sports Cup. A first career hat-trick from Ross MacIver and one apiece from Ben Parkinson and Connor Allan helped John McGlynn’s Premiership side pick up a comfortable victory over their League 2 opposition. This is the second consecutive season the Bairns have won by five or more goals away from home in their opening game – they beat Brechin City 7-0 last season, with Dylan Tait netting a treble. Falkirk remain unbeaten against the Citizens at Meadowbank – they have four wins and a draw in five visits.

6 – Partick Thistle thumped Brechin City 6-0 at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill to make an impressive start to their Premier Sports Cup campaign. Gary Mackay-Steven scored twice, with Oisin Smyth, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Seb Drozd and Euan Henderson also on the scoresheet for Mark Wilson’s side. It was Thistle’s biggest home win in almost 14 years, since they defeated Airdrieonians 7-0 at Firhill in October 2012. This was Thistle’s first competitive meeting with Brechin in over 20 years – the last time the sides met was a 0-0 draw in the League Cup in August 2005, with the Glasgow club winning on penalties. The Jags are now unbeaten in 12 meetings with City – Brechin’s last success was back in December 1985.

4 – Ross County’s rebuild started in positive fashion as they defeated Annan Athletic 4-1 at Galabank in the Premier Sports Cup. A double from returning striker Brian Graham plus a goal from Connor Randall and an Aaron Muirhead own goal gave the Staggies an emphatic victory as they seek to bounce back from a disappointing 2025/26 campaign. Thirty-eight year-old Graham has now scored 24 goals in the League Cup group stages, placing him joint second with Alan Trouten – only Simon Murray (28) has scored more since the groups were reintroduced in 2016. This was the first ever competitive meeting of Ross County and Annan Athletic – County have now faced 40 of the 41 other SPFL clubs, the only one they have never played is East Kilbride. Annan have still not faced Celtic, Dundee United or Hibernian.

3 – East Kilbride recorded one of the biggest shocks of the Premier Sports Cup weekend, defeating Championship side Dunfermline Athletic 3-0 at The Bumblebee Stadium. Lewis McGrattan, Finlay Gray and Cami Elliott got the goals as Mick Kennedy’s side secured a statement victory. Surprisingly, this was Kilby’s first ever home win in the League Cup – they had two draws and seven defeats in nine previous home games in the competition. It should be noted that they were awarded a 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock in 2021 when their opponents fielded an ineligible player (the match had originally finished 2-0 to Killie). In contrast, Kilby had previously won four of their 10 away matches. This is the third consecutive season East Kilbride have recorded a cup victory over Championship opposition – they beat Ayr United in the SPFL Trust Trophy in 2024/25 and Raith Rovers in last season’s Premier Sports Cup.