It's up to Linfield to knock down door and follow Larne's path to Euro group stages, says club legend
Larne played Gent, Molde, Olimpija Ljubljana, Shamrock Rovers, St Gallen and Dinamo Minsk in the Conference League last year and even bagged a victory over Gent at Windsor Park.
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Scotsman
6 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Premier Sports Cup: Seven more clubs reach last 16 with final two spots still to be decided
Premiership trio joined in second round by third tier outfit Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Premiership trio Kilmarnock, Livingston and Falkirk all made it through to the second round of the Premier Sports Cup with comfortable home victories on Saturday. Motherwell and Hearts had already booked their places in Sunday's draw along with European qualifiers Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibs and Dundee United, meaning there were nine spaces still up for grabs going into the final weekend of group stage fixtures. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Killie, Livi and the Bairns were joined in reaching the last 16 by Championship outfits Partick Thistle St Johnstone and Morton, with third tier Alloa Athletic the lowest ranked side to make it through. Partick Thistle's Logan Chalmers (centre) celebrates after scoring to make it 2-0 during a Premier Sports Cup group stage win over Ross County at the Global Energy Stadium. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group Dundee – eliminated after losing their opening two fixtures – are the only top-flight side out of the tournament so far, with St Mirren aiming to progress on Sunday. Dunfermline still have a chance of qualifying as a best placed runner-up but will rely on Saints failing to beat Ayr, who are all but through as long as they do not lose heavily in Paisley. Falkirk sealed top spot in Group A by defeating Spartans 4-0 at home through goals from Dylan Tait, Scott Arfield and a Calvin Miller brace to leave manager John McGlynn in a positive frame of mind ahead of the start of the club's first Premiership season since 2009-10. "The entertainment value is going to be through the roof here," McGlynn predicted. "That's why we've got 5700 season ticket holders - they like what they see. We're now maybe the underdog in most games. I don't think we'll come up against oppositon in the Premiership that will sit so defensively as Spartans." Cove Rangers finished second but were not in the mix to be one of the three best runners-up after losing 2-1 at Queen's Park. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Teenage defender Ben Brannan scored a double and then went off injured as Kilmarnock pipped top-flight rivals Livingston to top spot in Group H with a 4-0 home victory over East Fife. Summer signings Marcus Dackers and Djenairo Daniels were also on target for Stuart Kettlewell's side, who made it through their four group matches without conceding a goal. Kilmarnock's Ben Brannan celebrates after scoring to make it 4-0 over East Fife in the Premier Sports Cup. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group "I thought the players showed up well by and large," Kettlewell said. "My one frustration is there was a little bit of slackness in the last 15 minutes of the game. I know we end up down to 10 men through injury, but it's trying to sustain the levels we've found throughout the game. But it's a work in progress and we'll continue to try and make that better." Livi struck four times in the first half as a 6-0 home win over Kelty Hearts helped them finish as one of the three best runners-up. Robbie Muirhead notched a double, while Andrew Winter, debutant Adam Montgomery, Shane Blaney and Stevie May were also on target. Partick maintained their perfect record to win Group B with a 3-1 victory at Ross County, while Stranraer beat 10-man Queen of the South 1-0 in the other match in the section. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There was drama in Group C as Alloa came from behind to defeat Airdrie 3-2 and secure qualification at the expense of the Diamonds. A 2-2 draw would have been enough to take both teams through, but Steven Buchanan's 89th minute winner meant only the Wasps progressed. In the other match, Dundee saved some face after their humiliating start by making it back-to-back wins with a 5-0 triumph at home to Montrose. Simon Murray hit a first-half double before second-half strikes from Clark Robertson, Ryan Astley and Luke Graham. Dundee's Simon Murray (R) celebrates with Drey Wright after scoring to make it 1-0 over Montrose at Dens Park. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group St Johnstone sealed top spot in Group F with an 8-0 home win over 10-man Elgin, while Raith Rovers beat Inverness 5-1 with Dylan Easton bagging a hat-trick. With Hearts already having finished top of Group E, Dunfermline gave themselves a chance of finishing as one of the three best runners-up as they won 2-0 at home to Stirling. The Pars will go through if St Mirren lose to Ayr or draw and fail to pick up a bonus point. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Morton followed Group G winners Motherwell through as one of the best runners-up after winning 3-0 at home to Clyde, while Stenhousemuir beat Peterhead 1-0. In Group D, where Arbroath went down 1-0 to Forfar, Ayr will be looking to hold on to top spot away to St Mirren on Sunday. The Honest Men have such a good goal difference that they will go through as long as they do not lose heavily.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
No slips from Kilmarnock, Livingston and Falkirk in Premier Sports Cup
Motherwell and Hearts had already booked their places in Sunday's draw along with European qualifiers Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Dundee United, meaning there were nine spaces still up for grabs going into the final weekend. Killie, Livi and the Bairns were joined in reaching the last 16 by lower-league sides Partick Thistle, Alloa, St Johnstone and Morton. [[Dundee]] – eliminated after losing their opening two fixtures – are the only top-flight side out of the tournament so far, with St Mirren aiming to make it through on Sunday. Dunfermline have a chance of joining them if Saints fail to beat Ayr, who are all but through as long as they do not lose heavily in Paisley. Read more: Falkirk sealed top spot in Group A by defeating Spartans 4-0 at home through goals from Dylan Tait, Scott Arfield and a Calvin Miller brace. Cove Rangers finished second but were not in the mix to be one of the three best runners-up after losing 2-1 at Queen's Park. Teenage defender Ben Brannan scored a double as Kilmarnock pipped top-flight rivals Livingston to top spot in Group H with a 4-0 home victory over East Fife. Summer signings Marcus Dackers and Djenairo Daniels were also on target for Stuart Kettlewell's side. Livi struck four times in the first half as a 6-0 home win over Kelty Hearts helped them finish as one of the three best runners-up. Robbie Muirhead notched a double, while Andrew Winter, debutant Adam Montgomery, Shane Blaney and Stevie May were also on target. Partick maintained their perfect record to win Group B with a 3-1 victory at Ross County, while Stranraer beat 10-man Queen of the South 1-0 in the other match in the section. There was drama in Group C as [[Alloa]] came from behind to defeat Airdrie 3-2 and secure qualification at the expense of the Diamonds. A 2-2 draw would have been enough to take both teams through, but Steven Buchanan's 89th minute winner meant only the Wasps progressed. In the other match, Dundee saved some face after their humiliating start by making it back-to-back wins with a 5-0 triumph at home to Montrose. Simon Murray hit a first-half double before second-half strikes from Clark Robertson, Ryan Astley and Luke Graham. St [[Johnstone]] sealed top spot in Group with an 8-0 home win over 10-man Elgin, while Raith Rovers beat Inverness 5-1. With Hearts already having finished top of Group E, [[Dunfermline]] gave themselves a chance of finishing as one of the three best runners-up as they won 2-0 at home to Stirling. The Pars will go through if St Mirren lose to [[Ayr]] or draw and fail to pick up a bonus point. Hearts have put themselves in a commanding position to claim a seeded place, finishing on 12 points with a positive goal difference of 15. Dunfermline can move on to nine points and will be looking to add to their goal difference of two when they host Stirling, to push for a best runners-up place. Morton followed Group G winners Motherwell through as one of the best runners-up after winning 3-0 at home to Clyde, while Stenhousemuir beat Peterhead 1-0. In Group D, where Arbroath went down 1-0 to Forfar, Ayr will be looking to hold on to top spot away to St Mirren on Sunday. The Honest Men have such a good goal difference that they will go through as long as they do not lose heavily.
STV News
2 hours ago
- STV News
No slips from Kilmarnock, Livingston and Falkirk in Premier Sports Cup
William Hill Premiership trio Kilmarnock, Livingston and Falkirk all enjoyed comfortable home victories as they progressed to the second round of the Premier Sports Cup. Motherwell and Hearts had already booked their places in Sunday's draw along with European qualifiers Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Dundee United, meaning there were nine spaces still up for grabs going into the final weekend. Killie, Livi and the Bairns were joined in reaching the last 16 by lower-league sides Partick Thistle, Alloa, St Johnstone and Morton. Dundee – eliminated after losing their opening two fixtures – are the only top-flight side out of the tournament so far, with St Mirren aiming to make it through on Sunday. Dunfermline have a chance of joining them if Saints fail to beat Ayr, who are all but through as long as they do not lose heavily in Paisley. Falkirk sealed top spot in Group A by defeating Spartans 4-0 at home through goals from Dylan Tait, Scott Arfield and a Calvin Miller brace. Cove Rangers finished second but were not in the mix to be one of the three best runners-up after losing 2-1 at Queen's Park. Teenage defender Ben Brannan scored a double as Kilmarnock pipped top-flight rivals Livingston to top spot in Group H with a 4-0 home victory over East Fife. Summer signings Marcus Dackers and Djenairo Daniels were also on target for Stuart Kettlewell's side. Livi struck four times in the first half as a 6-0 home win over Kelty Hearts helped them finish as one of the three best runners-up. Robbie Muirhead notched a double, while Andrew Winter, debutant Adam Montgomery, Shane Blaney and Stevie May were also on target. Partick maintained their perfect record to win Group B with a 3-1 victory at Ross County, while Stranraer beat 10-man Queen of the South 1-0 in the other match in the section. There was drama in Group C as Alloa came from behind to defeat Airdrie 3-2 and secure qualification at the expense of the Diamonds. A 2-2 draw would have been enough to take both teams through, but Steven Buchanan's 89th minute winner meant only the Wasps progressed. In the other match, Dundee saved some face after their humiliating start by making it back-to-back wins with a 5-0 triumph at home to Montrose. Simon Murray hit a first-half double before second-half strikes from Clark Robertson, Ryan Astley and Luke Graham. St Johnstone sealed top spot in Group with an 8-0 home win over 10-man Elgin, while Raith Rovers beat Inverness 5-1. With Hearts already having finished top of Group E, Dunfermline gave themselves a chance of finishing as one of the three best runners-up as they won 2-0 at home to Stirling. The Pars will go through if St Mirren lose to Ayr or draw and fail to pick up a bonus point. Hearts have put themselves in a commanding position to claim a seeded place, finishing on 12 points with a positive goal difference of 15. Dunfermline can move on to nine points and will be looking to add to their goal difference of two when they host Stirling, to push for a best runners-up place. Morton followed Group G winners Motherwell through as one of the best runners-up after winning 3-0 at home to Clyde, while Stenhousemuir beat Peterhead 1-0. In Group D, where Arbroath went down 1-0 to Forfar, Ayr will be looking to hold on to top spot away to St Mirren on Sunday. The Honest Men have such a good goal difference that they will go through as long as they do not lose heavily. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
