Scottish fifth-tier club Johnstone Burgh have been forced to play two cup ties on Saturday, 21 November, with kick-offs only half an hour apart. The club will field a team away to Tayport in the Scottish Communities Cup third round at 14:30 GMT and another side away to Dunipace in the Lowland League Cup first round at 15:00, a distance of 65 miles between the venues.
Neither opponent nor any other clubs scheduled on alternative weekends were willing to move from traditional Saturday afternoon kick-off times. In a statement on X, Burgh said they explored every possible option, including rearranging league fixtures and South Challenge Cup ties, travelling to Tayport midweek, playing on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon, and offering to play the Communities Cup tie immediately before or after the Lowland League Cup fixture. The club also offered to forfeit its share of gate money to cover any inconvenience. Despite exhausting all options, no solution was reached.
Club context
Johnstone Burgh currently sit eighth in the new Lowland League West after promotion from the West of Scotland League Premier Division. They won the Scottish Communities Cup two seasons ago when it was known as the Scottish Junior Cup. Dunipace are second bottom of the Lowland League East, while Tayport are sixth in the Midlands Premier League, the tier below. All three clubs have already had fixtures postponed due to their progress to the second round of the Scottish Cup. Tayport lost to Stranraer, Dunipace were heavily beaten by Largs Thistle, and Burgh's home tie against Highland League side Formartine United was postponed and rescheduled for this Saturday.
"We are extremely disappointed that, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to find a reasonable solution that would allow us to compete in both games with our strongest available squad," the club added. "We'd like to thank Tayport and the other clubs we have spoken to for considering the options we put to them and understand that clubs want to stay within the traditional Saturday afternoon kick-off times. We want to reassure our supporters that every avenue has been explored and every effort has been made to find a workable solution."
