Hamilton to face Dons as Brechin thrown out cup

BRECHIN City have been thrown out of this season's Scottish Cup as punishment for fielding two ineligible players in their fourth-round replay against Hamilton.

The Second Division club included Willie Dyer and Michael Paton in their side for Monday's match, which they won 2-1.

However, both players were signed after the first match between the teams, and Scottish Football Association rules stipulate that only players registered prior to the first game in a cup tie are eligible to feature in replays.

The Scottish FA's emergency committee initially fined Brechin £10,000 and ordered the match to be replayed when it emerged Paton should not have played. When the SFA discovered Dyer was also ineligible, a second emergency committee meeting was called for yesterday morning, and First Division leaders Hamilton will now face Aberdeen in the fifth round.

In a statement, the SFA said: "The committee found that Brechin City had breached the cup competition rules by fielding two ineligible players, William Dyer and Michael Paton. As a consequence of this breach, the committee decided that Brechin City be removed from this season's Scottish Cup competition.

"The outcome of today's meeting supersedes the outcome of yesterday's meeting."

Brechin club secretary Angus Fairlie described the SFA's decision as "very unfortunate" for the club. "We're a wee bit disappointed to be thrown out, but we'll take it on the chin and we have to move on now," he said. "It's very unfortunate. I'm really very disappointed."

It is understood that the £10,000 fine still stands, and Brechin, who are part-time, will have to pay up. Fairlie added: "We just have to try to find that money from somewhere."

Hamilton manager Billy Reid admitted this week has been confusing for his players who initially thought they were out of the cup, then began preparing for a replay, and now face a trip to Pittodrie tomorrow.

Reid said: "We came off the Monday result and went into training on Tuesday thinking we had no game on the Saturday.

"Then we found out we were going to play Brechin on Saturday when we were out on the training pitch, and today I told the players about the new change of plan.

"It's been fluctuating in the past few days. But rules are rules, and we've done nothing wrong.

"I've got to look after my club. Without a doubt we're ready to go to Aberdeen, even at short notice.

"We're geared up for that. It's been a big turnaround but we've got to look forward to it now."

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood said: "I am happy the game is on and the great thing is the SFA decided to make a decision quickly.

"It is a shame for Brechin because they are good people and they treat you well whenever you go there. I believe it was an oversight on their part.

"We got the warning last night that something with Brechin might be happening, so there was always a chance they would ask us to play."