Johnstone Burgh face two cup ties on one Saturday afternoon, 65 miles apart
Johnstone Burgh have been handed two cup ties on the same day. Both fall on Saturday 21 November, and the kick-offs are 30 minutes apart, according to the BBC.
The first game is an away trip to Tayport in the Scottish Communities Cup third round. It starts at 14:30 GMT at The Canniepairt. The Scottish Communities Cup is a national knockout competition for clubs in Scotland's lower leagues, where one defeat ends your run.
The second is a Lowland League Cup first-round tie. The Lowland League is one of Scotland's regional leagues below the professional game, and its cup runs alongside the league season. Burgh face hosts Dunipace at 15:00, and Dunipace sit second bottom of the Lowland League East. The two grounds are 65 miles apart.
Neither club could simply move its game. The BBC reports that Tayport and Dunipace, along with other clubs due to play Burgh on other weekends, were unwilling to shift away from Saturday afternoon kick-offs. Burgh said their fixture list is already full, and that they explored every option they could find to play a tie outside Saturday afternoon.
That leaves a small club with a big logistical puzzle. Johnstone Burgh sit eighth in the Lowland League West, having won promotion from the West of Scotland League Premier Division. They are not used to fixtures that clash like this, and the club has had to plan around a fixed calendar that others would not change.
For Burgh, the Scottish Communities Cup is not unfamiliar ground. They lifted it two seasons ago, when it was still called the Scottish Junior Cup. Tayport, for their part, sit sixth in the Midlands Premier League, so the draw has given both clubs a tie they will want to win.
Cup weekends like this are where smaller clubs make their names. Supporters will be watching a score update, a text from a mate, or a live stream, hoping for news from both places. Whichever way the afternoon goes, it will be a long one for the players and staff at Johnstone and beyond.
