Kirrie will be tough

Rutherglen Glencairn will meet Kirriemuir in the Scottish Junior Cup for the first time since 1980 as the club gear up for the opening round of the competition on Saturday.

The Glens, who have won the 131-year-old trophy four times in their history, host the team from Angus at the Celsius Stadium as league business takes a back seat for the weekend.

Jim Finlayson’s men, who have won just twice in eight East Premier League matches, currently sit 13th in the league table having netted 10 goals and conceded 16.

The clubs have only ever met once before, in the cup’s 1979/80 fourth round stage, when the Rutherglen side claimed a 2-0 victory at Westview Park.

Glens boss Willie Harvey admitted Saturday’s opponents were an unknown quantity to him but reckons both sides will fancy their chances of progressing to the next round.

He said:“We are looking forward to it and we can take a break from the league for the time being.

“We only know what we do from the SJFA website so far.

“They are in a similar division as us in the east. They’ve scored goals but have also lost many as well so we are expecting a tight game but I’m sure we will have enough in the armoury to go through.

“They may look at us and feel they have nothing to fear because of the amount of goals we have conceded.”

In transfer news, Glencairn have sold striker Fraser Team to fellow Super First side Cumbernauld United.

Team scored 15 goals in 26 starts plus 12 substitute appearances in his time at the Glens since signing in the summer of 2016.

The club also confirmed midfielder Njabulo Ndlovu has gone out on loan to Vale of Clyde on a temporary deal while defender Anthony Dempsey moves on loan to St Anthony’s.