HibeeJibee

City famously have dire finals record... last 20yrs: 2002-03 East of Scotland Cup Final lost 3-1 to Berwick 2003-04 South Qualifying Cup Final lost on pens to Spartans after 1-1 2003-04 EOS Qualifying Cup Final lost 2-1 to Preston 2003-04 EOS League Cup Final lost 4-1 to Spartans 2004-05 South Qualifying Cup Final lost on pens to Whitehill after 0-0 2004-05 EOS League Cup Final lost 2-0 to Spartans 2004-05 King Cup Final lost 4-0 to Spartans 2005-06 King Cup Final lost 6-1 to Spartans 2007-08 South Challenge Cup Final lost 3-2 to Annan 2008-09 EOS Qualifying Cup Final lost 3-2 to Whitehill 2010-11 South Challenge Cup Final lost 3-0 to Spartans 2011-12 EOS Qualifying Cup Final beat Whitehill 3-2 2011-12 East of Scotland Cup Final lost 2-0 to Berwick 2011-12 EOS League Cup Final lost 2-0 to Whitehill 2012-13 EOS League Cup Final beat Spartans 2-0 2015-16 South Challenge Cup Final lost on pens to Whitehill after 2-2 2016-17 East of Scotland Cup Final lost 2-1 to LTHV 2017-18 East of Scotland Cup Final beat East Kilbride 5-2

It might be considered amid a mix of other factors but doubt it's decisive. Indeed a snag with grass surfaces is the host need to be away the day before - having been down for King Cup Final handily the lower-levels aren't filled-up for Saturday 27th yet while no likely Premier club is home AFAICS. Of course some candidates simply mightn't be available/interested/willing/etc. EDIT: interestingly back in 1903 it was Cowdenbeath v Hearts of Beath at Lochgelly Utd - winner had beaten Broxburn in SFs (an omen for Swifts?)... in 2004 was Preston v Edinburgh City at Saughton.

There is 1 relegation playoff 2nd leg today (Lithuania v Gibraltar). Redrawn from the intended 2 ties, with Cyprus and Belarus as best ranked staying up automatically, due to Russia's demotion.

Dozens of clubs have artificial turf (including Inverkeithing). Just watched Airdrie-TNS on 3G. Been numerous EOS finals on synthetic surfaces... e.g. Falkirk, Kelty, Spartans, Gala, Broxburn, Blackburn, Heriot-Watt Uni, Armadale. That said every hypothetical I've speculated except Broxburn is natural grass.

Might only be the winner qualify (like last season) AFAICS... depend how rules are amended; whether Bonnyrigg stay up; etc. No idea... plenty well-appointed grounds located between them like Haddington/Preston/Musselburgh/Newtongrange/Dalkeith/Meggetland/Broxburn/etc. (though Broxburn already had Alex Jack Cup final just last month).

Saturday 23rd March 2024 SFs: Broxburn Athletic 1-2 Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts Dunipace 1-4 Dunbar United Sunday 28th April 2024 Final: Dunbar United v Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts Premier and First division leaders left chastened by their visitors. Both reach their first ever senior cup final... no East Lothian club has won this cup since Preston in 2004; no Fife since Cowdenbeath in 1903.

Saturday 23rd March (R1) Livingston Utd 2-3 Hawick Saturday 30th March Whitburn v Hawick

Of the current 24 full-time clubs: 11 have won a Scottish/League cup within last 20yrs... 5 more have made finals (Motherwell, Falkirk, Dunfermline, QotS, Livingston)... Dundee, Partick, Raith, Morton, Ayr, Airdrie, Queen's Park, Hamilton haven't (though Dundee, Raith, Morton and Ayr have each made SF once). EDIT: if we widen it to include Challenge Cup within last 20yrs then Falkirk, QotS, Livingston, Dundee, Raith, Airdrie, Hamilton also register. That leaves 6 clubs whose polish has dried rock hard: Motherwell won Scottish Cup in 1990-91 Partick won League Cup in 1971-72 Dunfermline won Scottish Cup in 1967-68 (they have won Fife Cup within last 20yrs - in 2017-18) Morton won Scottish Cup in 1921-22 (they have won Renfrewshire Cup within last 20yrs - in 2012-13) Queen's Park won Scottish Cup in 1892-93 Ayr have never won a national cup

East of Scotland Football Association & League (eosfl.com) East of Scotland Cup Final The Final of the East of Scotland Cup between Edinburgh City and University of Stirling will be played at Meadowbank Stadium on Wednesday 3 April with an 8pm KO.

75yrs ago today what presumably remains the all time world record crowd for an inter-league game of 95,000... on a Wednesday afternoon btw!... saw the Football League spank the Scottish League by 3-0 at Ibrox.

League structure for 2024-25 season confirmed (theoffsideline.com) To surprise of nobody: Super 6 collapse sees league-less sides parachute in a tier up from their club XVs; with 3-down-1-up next season to return to 10-club divisions; allowing Premiership pay "to be reviewed".

I also assumed it referred specifically to the recycled rubber crumb infill, with alternative plastics simply substituted, but nope... the professor wants all synthetic pitches banned, with sport only played on natural grass, or wood-based surfaces like cork. That would have a devastating impact on access to youth and adult sport here and - strangely enough - a corresponding deterioration in heath and wellbeing. EDIT: Scottish Government not buying it: This claim was refuted by the Scottish government, which said "at least 95% of the material in use falls within the limits set in restriction under EU Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals)." A spokesman added: “There are currently no widely available alternative infill products with proven durability on the market that are as effective, suitable for all UK weather conditions and deliver the required performance standards." The Scottish government told BBC Scotland News that no alternative options were as "effective" as the current 3G pitches in use.

Saturday 23rd March 2024 SFs: Broxburn Athletic v Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts Dunipace v Dunbar United SF day tomorrow; indeed Inverkeithing's first-ever senior semi. Broxburn haven't reached SFs of this cup for 113yrs* and amazingly haven't won any cup in 36yrs. Dunbar have waited decades too IIRC. *when they progressed to Final ultimately losing 2-1 to Peebles Rovers at Tynecastle:

Extension to Main Stand at Tynecastle opened 55yrs ago today. It was never going to win many architectural awards: East of Scotland Shield Final finished 1-1 before 14,000, with Hibs winning replay 1-0 at Easter Road on Saturday 26th April before 10,729. That was Scottish Cup Final day... can't have been many occasions you saw OF and Edinburgh derby cup finals on the same day.

Teachers strike back in 1985 IMO.

While everybody has been focused on the far right... the Communists (KPO) have just come from nowhere to finish 2nd in Salzburg's state elections (only 2.5% and 1 seat from finishing 1st); and entered run-off for city mayor. Vote share increased more than 6-fold on 2019. Salzburg city mayoral 1st round:

It was rugby (to us)... interestingly 14-aside and played over 4 quarters of 20mins:

RLWC qualification has become a complete joke now - a single Europe group with France, Wales, Serbia and Ukraine (!) whose winner joins Cook Islands, South Africa and Jamaica to play for 2 places. Lebanon hilariously keep their automatic spot despite also failing the homegrown test like Scotland, Ireland and Italy (but not Wales or Jamaica) have. That said as I've mentioned before RL here has been totally mismanaged in last decade. Having reached RLWC QFs in 2013 and won European Cup in 2014 there was clear opportunity to play Four Nations game(s) here in 2016, and RLWC game(s) in 2022, to spark more interest domestically. Instead they all got played in England*... so coupled with playing just twice between 2018 and 2022 (home-&-away qualifiers in Oct 2019), and not playing since through lack of tournaments/tours/friendlies, the whole situation has now been completely squandered. *between 2013 and 2016 we actually played 3 ostensibly 'home' games at Workington and 1 at Featherstone (with another due in 2021 but ultimately cancelled)

It'll be rugby. Until the turn of the century football and rugby results are often intermixed in the press.

Fri 15 Mar 2024 (7:45) 436 Armadale Thistle 3-2 Ormiston Primrose Sat 16 Mar 2024 (11:15) 386 Luncarty 5-3 Crossgates Primrose (2:00) 356 Kinnoull 0-0 Penicuik Athletic (4:45) 385 Jeanfield Swifts 1-1 Dunbar United (8:00) 447 Sauchie Seals 3-2 Hill of Beath Humpbacks Sun 17 Mar 2024 (12:15) 540 Whitburn 1-0 Whitehill Welfare 2015 2,269 average 379 16 goals 2.7 per game 2016 2,002 average 334 16 goals 2.7 per game (1 game was unintended*) 2017 1,303 average 261 18 goals 3.6 per game (5 games only) 2018 886 average 222 29 goals 7.3 per game (4 games only as 2 postponed^) 2019 2,271 average 379 30 goals 5.0 per game 2021 2,240 average 374 29 goals 4.9 per game 2022 2,383 average 398 19 goals 3.2 per game 2023 3,025 average 505 17 goals 2.9 per game 2024 2,550 average 425 21 goals 3.5 per game Total 18,929 average 372 195 goals 3.9 per game *Civil Service Strollers v Leith Athletic was a last-minute substitute after Preston Athletic v Threave Rovers was postponed waterlogged shortly before kickoff ^Lothian Thistle HV v Tynecastle and Peebles Rovers v Ormiston were waterlogged and snowbound respectively 618 Linlithgow Rose v Jeanfield Swifts 607 Tranent v Bo'ness United 584 Hill of Beath Hawthorn v Linlithgow Rose 557 Musselburgh Athletic v Broxburn Athletic 553 Dunbar United v Coldstream 540 Whitburn v Whitehill Welfare 517 Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic v Dalbeattie Star 507 Bo'ness United v Civil Service Strollers 491 East Kilbride v Whitehill Welfare 462 Haddington Athletic v Dundonald Bluebell 462 Threave Rovers v Edinburgh University 448 Tynecastle v Sauchie 447 Sauchie v Hill of Beath Hawthorn 436 Armadale Thistle v Ormiston Primrose 435 Spartans v University of Stirling 434 Crossgates Primrose v Penicuik Athletic 418 Edinburgh City v East Kilbride 410 Glenrothes v Kinnoull 401 Newtongrange Star v Tranent 400 Dalbeattie Star v Edinburgh City 398 Penicuik Athletic v Lothian Thistle HV 386 Luncarty v Crossgates Primrose 385 Jeanfield Swifts v Dunbar United 380 Dunipace v Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic 371 Dundonald Bluebell v Tranent 366 Gretna 2008 v Dalbeattie Star 365 Oakley United v Easthouses Lily 356 Camelon v Edinburgh United 356 Kinnoull v Penicuik Athletic 328 Blackburn United v Preston Athletic 324 Whitehill Welfare v Gala Fairydean Rovers 323 Gala Fairydean Rovers v University of Stirling 312 Vale of Leithen v Preston Athletic 309 Dalkeith Thistle v Tweedmouth Rangers 301 Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts v Heriot-Watt University 294 Edinburgh University v Selkirk 288 Peebles Rovers v Newtongrange Star 287 Hawick RAU v East Stirlingshire 281 Selkirk v Spartans 278 Broxburn Athletic v Dundonald Bluebell 278 Kelty Hearts v Tweedmouth Rangers 267 Coldstream v Tynecastle 263 Preston Athletic v Cumbernauld Colts 259 Ormiston v Leith Athletic 235 Mid Annandale v Lochmaben 228 Easthouses Lily v Glenrothes 227 Eyemouth United v Lothian Thistle HV 219 Caledonian Braves v Edinburgh University 207 Heriot-Watt University v Leith Athletic 166 Burntisland Shipyard v Preston Athletic 165 Civil Service Strollers v Leith Athletic* *Civil Service Strollers v Leith Athletic was a last-minute substitute after Preston Athletic v Threave Rovers was postponed shortly before kickoff

FIFA double Youth WC to 48 teams; make it annual; and award 2025 to Qatar... and 2026. and 2027. and 2028. and 2029. FIFA U17 World Cup to be held annually, with next 5 in Qatar - ESPN FIFA did not identify rival bidders for the hosting decisions which it said followed "a global call for expressions of interest in hosting both competitions."