For Callum Booth, a League Cup winners medal in 2021 with St Johnstone remains one of his treasured prizes.  The experienced defender now finds himself once again progressing from the Group Stages with Premiership opposition in the shape of Ross County next up for the SPFL 2 side.

Last season Booth was part of The Spartans side that battled until the dying moments against lofty opposition in the shape of Hearts in the Scottish Cup, a performance that offers optimism in yet another David v Goliath cup clash in the North Edinburgh arena.

Speaking ahead of the Last 16 tie, Booth said, “I’ve only been here for a relatively short period of time but there’s definitely been a number of big cup games the club have been associated with over years.  We had a couple of these last season in the Scottish Cup and getting to the Play-Off Final in our first season in the SPFL, they were all big games in their own right.

“It a massive game on Saturday and the furthest the Club’s been in the League Cup.  Being a home is great too and gives us that we chance to cause an upset in front of our support who will be right behind us from the off.”

Several years of Scottish Premiership experience with Partick Thistle and St Johnstone stands Booth in good stead for the visit of The Staggies. 

“Staying in the game for as long as possible is vital, especially so the first twenty minutes or so.    I think we can take a lot out of the Livingston game as well and Saturday is likely to be a fairly similar affair.  They’ll be expected to have quite a lot of the ball and be strong favourites and we’ll need to be disciplined and defend as well as we done against Livingston.

“However, at Almondvale I thought we were good when we had the ball, we kept it well and managed to catch ourselves a bit of a breather.  We stayed in the game right into the last quarter and we came up with the winning goal for our endeavours.  More of the same on Saturday and who knows what could happen.”

The clean-sheet at Livingston has been one of four in the last five games for The Spartans defence which Booth continues to be an integral part of.

“We’re obviously doing something right in that department which bodes well for a tough game on Saturday against a team that is going to be expected to create chances.  We need to put all we’ve worked on so far this season and take confidence from it as well because our defensive record has been a major factor in getting us this far in the tournament and a chance to create another wee shock.

“It’s not just at the back we’ve been performing too of course with the likes of Hendo and Cammy in the form they’ve been in, makes us a really dangerous team.

“In the start to the League season, those two have been in prim form. When you look at the quality of the goal last week against Bonnyrigg, Cammy’s probably playing some of the best football of his career and Hendo continues where he left off last season by scoring important goals for the Club.”

The Spartans welcome Ross County to Ainslie Park on Saturday in the Last 16 Round of the Premier Sports Cup.

North Edinburgh has been no stranger to top flight Cup opposition in recent times of course, with the visit of Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Cup last season in an Edinburgh Derby that went right to the wire, courtesy of a James Craigen wonder-strike that had levelled proceedings.

Those with longer memories of course will remember *that* Scottish Cup run some twenty years ago when Livingston FC, then of the Premier League, visited the dilapidated / ramshackle (delete as applicable) City Park where 3,000 crammed around the grassy banks.

This weekend sees yet another chapter in David v Goliath cup encounters, with a place in the Quarter Final at stake.

For Douglas Samuel SPFL 2 men, it’s another opportunity to build on an impressive start to the campaign, enjoying four clean sheets in six games – or perhaps even four and a half if you include after the interval in Stranraer! 

One of those clean sheets of course, combined with a goal from Cammy Russell who has been in fine form from the off, earned victory away to Livingston who finished ten points behind Ross County in the Premiership last season.

Our opponents head to the Capital in a week that sees them celebrate thirty years since their debut in the Scottish Professional Football League after being voted in following restructuring of the SFL into four tiers.

The Staggies go into the game on the back of a pair of draws in the William Hill Premiership against Motherwell and Dundee United after a full set of wins in their Group H exploits.

Don Cowie’s side are no strangers of course to League Cup latter stages, having won the competition back in 2015-16 when they defeated Hibs 2-1 in the Final after disposing of Celtic 3-1 in the semis.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 3.00pm.  Ticket Prices are £20 Adults, £14 Concessions (16-18 and Over 65) and £5 for Under 16s.  Season Tickets are NOT valid for this Premier Sports Cup tie.

New to Ainslie Park? Here’s our Supporters Guide on getting to the Ground.

The Spartans are delighted to announce a new back of strip sponsor partnership with Fibre-UK. 

Chairman Craig Graham said, “It’s great to link up with Jae Reid and his team from Fibre UK who are playing a leading role in rolling out faster broadband across the UK. 

“Fibre-UK is a great local success story and we are honoured that Jae is keen to invest in his local community club.  Our Partners help us continue to grow and develop, and we hope Jae enjoys the extra publicity we can give Fibre-UK.

Fibre-UK Ltd Director​ Jae Reid added, “Fibre UK is proud to sponsor The Spartans. As a company we believe in the benefits of strong communities and are committed to giving back to the area we call home.

“Supporting The Spartans is more than just a partnership to us, it’s an investment in bringing people together and promoting a healthy lifestyle for the local youth in the area and beyond.”

*Pictured is Club Chairman Craig Graham unveiling Fibre-UK Ltd’s pitch-side advertising board.

The Spartans play their first home William Hill League 2 match of the season this afternoon as Bonnyrigg Rose visit Ainslie Park.

Douglas Samuel will see new loan signing Rory Whittaker slide into the squad following his move across the Capital from Hibernian as Spartans look to build on last week’s positive second half comeback show at Stranraer that saw a Paul Watson double earn a valuable point on the road.

Outings against Bonnyrigg last season were typically tight affairs.  Last time out at New Dundas Park it took a sublime effort from Blair Henderson to separate the sides, whilst the most recent clash at Ainslie Park saw Henderson joined by Ayrton Sonkur in squeezing out today’s opponents. 

The shares were also spoiled in brace of 2-2 encounters between two Clubs who have progressed into the SPFL via the pyramid system. 

Tale of the Tape Last Season:

20/04/24 Bonnyrigg Rose 0-1 The Spartans
05/03/24 Bonnyrigg Rose 2-2 The Spartans
24/02/24 The Spartans 2-1 Bonnyrigg Rose
30/09/23 The Spartans 2-2 Bonnyrigg Rose

Season Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased online or at the gate today.

Merch: The stash shed will be open where you can pick up a range of our 2024-26 range of high quality Macron merch.  You can also order online via the Club Shop.

Match Programme: Issue 3 of our matchday programme will be on sale at the ground, priced just £3. These can also be purchased via Curtis Sports.

Walk up Admission prices:

• Adults: £17
• Concessions: (16-18 & 65+) : £12
• Youth (13-15) £5

The Spartans are delighted to welcome the return to Ainslie Park of Rory Whittaker who joins us on loan from Hibernian.

Whittaker, who plays in the right-back berth, will celebrate his 17^th birthday in the Spartans squad as Douglas Samuel’s side welcome Bonnyrigg Rose on SPFL 2 duty.

The Scotland age-grade Internationalist who has featured at u16, u17 and now u19s level, made the move across the Capital from the Spartans Youth u11s to Easter Road on 15^th July 2017, signing up for the Hibs Elite Youth Academy.

In August last year, Rory put pen to paper to sign his first professional contract.  A month later he created Easter Road history when his appearance off the bench against St Johnstone saw him become the youngest ever player to appear for Hibs, at the age of just 16 years and 44 days.  His impact on the field was recognised off it, collecting the Hibernian 2023/24 Academy Player of the Year award.

Welcome back to Ainslie Park, Rory.

Saturday’s fixture against Bonnyrigg Rose kicks-off at 3pm.  Season Tickets holders of fellow Edinburgh club season ticket holders will be able to benefit from discounted admission of £10 adult / £6 concessions by showing their own club’s Season Ticket at the turnstiles.