Match Preview – Livingston Under 21’s v Forfar Athletic

Irn Bru Cup First Round

Venue – Tony Macaroni Stadium

Date – Tuesday, August 14th

Admission Prices – Adults £5  Concessions £2

Summary/Team News – Following on from Saturday’s excellent victory at Dumbarton, the ‘Loons’ begin their Irn Bru Cup campaign with a trip to face Livingston Colts on Tuesday evening.   Jim Weir and his players will be keen to progress to round two if only to maintain continuity of fixtures with the second round set for Saturday, September 8th.    No one wants a blank Saturday at this time of the season, least of all the loyal supporters.

The Athies are also keen to erase the memory of last season’s, to say the least, disappointing exit at this stage of the competition to Ross County’s youngsters up at Dingwall.

The Station Park outfit, in fact, have a ‘hangover’ from that defeat on Tuesday when Marc McCallum sits out the contest serving a one-match ban from a red card shown in the aftermath of that Victoria Park debacle last term.    Willie Muir will, therefore, get a second competitive outing between the sticks for the ‘Loons.’   

However with his various suspensions now behind him, Andy Munro will be available for selection.

Both Aidan Wilson and Lewis Moore will be absentees as they will play for their parent club’s colts sides in this tournament, while Dale Hilson is obviously a doubt after the back injury that saw him leave the field of play late in the contest on Saturday past.

Starting berths in West Lothian are likely to be found for Dylan Easton, Gary Fraser, Eddie Malone and John Kelly all of whom were on the bench on Saturday.

Match Officials – Referee –  David Dickinson   Assistants – Graham Chambers & Daniel Graves

Supporters Information – As can be seen above, both clubs have agreed on reduced admission prices for this fixture.

There are three important changes to the rules of this tournament this season.   Firstly the Colts sides are now Under 21 instead of Under 20, with two overage players permitted in the starting line-up.   Secondly right up to and including the quarterfinals, there is no extra time if the scores are level after ninety minutes.  It is simply a case of straight to a penalty shoot-out.   Finally, at the second round stage, two English National League sides will participate in the competition for the first time.