ANNAN Athletic and Spartans clashed on and off the park last season, battling it out in the East of Scotland League before becoming rivals in what was a hard-fought election for a place in the Scottish Football League.
The game at Galabank ended goalless, with Spartans winning their home league game 4-2, but Annan triumphed off the park in the contest that mattered most, collecting more votes than Cove Rangers and the north Edinburgh club in July to take their pl
ace in the Third Division as a result of Gretna's demise.
It has added an intriguing extra ingredient to today's second-round tie in the newly-branded Homecoming Scottish Cup, the significance of which is not lost on either manager. "I am sure the fact that we got into the SFL will feature in their team talk, so we will have to be prepared to face a highly motivated team," said Annan manager Harry Cairney.
Mike Lawson, the Spartans manager, has a different take on it. "Neither side has anything to prove regarding the league place," he said. "They are in the SFL; we are not. End of story."
They may be competing in different leagues, but the two teams certainly know all about each other. Lawson, who faces a mad dash back from his holiday in Spain to get to Galabank in time, added: "We obviously know a lot about Annan, which is great as sometimes you can go into games blind. It will be a tough game, as Annan were a good passing side in our league and have carried that on in the SFL. I reckon we have played against eight of their team, and with the other three players being SFL quality we will need to be at our best."
While Annan were deemed to be more suitable candidates to join the SFL, they could be forgiven if they have an inferiority complex when it comes to the Scottish Cup. Spartans know how to win in this competition; Annan don't.
In fact the club's sole victory in the competition was over ten years ago at home to Vale of Leithen, a team who were then in the same league. Since then they lost in the Qualifying Cup more times than they care to remember and were knocked out by Brechin, Morton and Huntly in the early rounds when they did make it through. Cairney, whose team have lost four Third Division games on the spin, is well aware of Spartans' cup pedigree. "They have done very well in the Scottish Cup over the years, whilst we have struggled," he admits. "I will be looking to put that right at the weekend."
Top scorer Mike Jack and Kevin Neilson will both be available for Annan after being sent off in the Third Division last weekend, although Neilson faces a late fitness test after putting his foot through an attic floor at his work this week.
Spartans peaked by knocking out leading junior side Pollok in the last round but have struggled for consistency in East of Scotland competitions this season. The visitors will be without suspended midfielder Alex King, but defender Stewart Fowlie will return after injury.
The full article contains 541 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
