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Daily Record
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
SPFL fixtures: Hamilton Accies handed Broadwood opener as Airdrie and East Kilbride also facing home starts
The Lanarkshire sides have learned their fixtures for the campaign Four of the five Lanarkshire sides in the SPFL will kick-off the new season at home after the fixtures for the new season were announced this morning. Motherwell start with a blockbuster clash at Fir Park against Rangers on Saturday, August 2 - kick-off 5.30pm on Sky Sports - which will see new boss Jens Berthel Askou lock horns with his old Norwich City team-mate and new Gers gaffer Russell Martin. Championship side Airdrieonians will welcome Ross County, who were relegated from the Premiership last season, to New Broomfield in a regular 3pm kick-off, while League One Hamilton Accies will play at their new home on the opening day. They play host to Montrose at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. Meanwhile, Lowland League champions and newly promoted East Kilbride will kick-off life in the SPFL by welcoming Spartans to K-Park for their League Two opener and Clyde are the only local side to be on the road, with a trip to Dumbarton first up for them in League Two. Here are thE first six fixtures for the Lanarkshire sides in thE SPFL. Motherwell's first six: August 2 - Rangers (H) August 9 - St Mirren (A) August 23 - Hearts (A) August 30 - Kilmarnock (H) September 13 - Dundee (A) September 27 - Aberdeen (H) Airdrieonians' first six: August 2 - Ross County (H) August 9 - Dunfermline (A) August 23 - Queen's Park (H) August 30 - Arbroath (A) September 6 - St Johnstone (H) September 13 - Partick Thistle (A) Hamilton Accies' first six: August 2 - Montrose (H) August 9 - Queen of the South (A) August 16 - East Fife (H) August 23 - Alloa (A) August 30 - Cover Rangers (H) September 13 - Peterhead (A) August 2 - Dumbarton (A) August 9 - Forfar (H) August 16 - Spartans (H) August 23 - Stranraer (A) August 30 - Elgin (H) September 13 - Annan (A) East Kilbride's first six: August 2 - Spartans (H) August 9 - Elgin City (A) August 16 - Stranrar (H) August 23 - Stirling (A) August 30 - Forfar (H) September 13 - Edinburgh City (A) A full list of the SPFL fixtures for the season ahead can be found on the SPFL website.
Daily Record
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Rutherglen Glencairn boss target Lowland League spot with revamp on way
The Glens are a SFA licensed club and could be fast tracked to the fifth tier next term amid a shake up to the pyramid Rutherglen Glencairn co-boss Joe Pryce has targeted one of the Lowland League West promotion spots from this season's West of Scotland Premier Division. Pryce is building a squad able to compete in the top flight, with nine places up for grabs in the revamped West Division of the Lowland League in season 2026/27. The Lowland League will be split into East and West Divisions, with 16 teams in each, running alongside the Highland League. As an SFA Licenced club, Glencairn are virtually guaranteed a place in the new set-up, but Pryce wants to make sure. He said: 'It looks like there will be at least eight teams from the division moving into a new league, eight licenced clubs, and we're obviously one of them. 'There will be other clubs who are shooting for their licence this year. If you want to move into this next division, your goal is to finish in the top eight. 'I know there are some clubs who don't have a licence and might struggle to get one, because we know a prohibiting factor is finance, you need floodlights and things like that. 'But from our point of view, we've just got to aim to finish as high up in that division as we can, and we're certainly going to give it a right good go.' Pryce says his side will stick to what made they successful in their promotion-winning campaign last season and expects his side to be a force in the Premier Division. He added: 'Teams who are up against us will know they've been in a game, and you're going to have to play well if you want to beat us, that's for sure. We want to go up and play, we're not just going up there to make up the numbers. 'We can't just sit 10 men behind the ball and kick the way we're facing, we'll play the way we want them to play, and that footballers want to play.' Lowland clubs voted for reconstruction earlier this month, determining that relegation from the Lowland League won't take place this coming season. However, promotion will be opened up, with champions from each of the four tier-six leagues – West of Scotland Premier Division, South of Scotland, East of Scotland Premier, East Region Midlands League – promoted into their respective division, if they meet Lowland League entry criteria. This is Scottish FA Licence at bronze level, and meeting Financial Fair Play rules. At the moment, the West Division would be made up of Albion Rovers, Caledonian Braves, Clydebank, Cumbernauld Colts, Gretna 2008, two clubs from the South of Scotland League and nine from West of Scotland, plus Celtic 'B' as a 17th guest club. The West of Scotland and South of Scotland Leagues would be feeders for the Lowland West Division, while the East of Scotland Premier and Midlands Leagues would feed the East Division.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
East Kilbride ace admits one clash will stand out for him when SPFL release fixtures
Jordan McGregor is looking forward to Kilby's first taste of SPFL action East Kilbride fans are eagerly awaiting tomorrow's League Two fixture announcement as the club prepares for its first-ever season in the SPFL. The K-Park side are in with the big boys after 11 years of chasing promotion from the Lowland League and Mick Kennedy's men can look forward to clashes with Lanarkshire rivals Clyde, former Lowland League sparring partners Spartans and Edinburgh City, while there will be long journeys to the likes of Elgin City, Forfar Athletic and Stranraer as well as clashes against Annan Athletic and Dumbarton who were releagted from League One last term. But for defender McGregor, it is another clash that will really stand out for him, having enjoyed title-winning success at Stirling Albion in 2022/23. McGregor said: "Playing against Stirling is the one I will be looking forward to most, especially away from home. "It is a team I spent a lot of time with - I was there for five or six years - so that's the one I will be looking for when the fixtures come out. I won the league once and then we got promoted as well in my five years. "The one I'm not looking forward to is Elgin City away - and we've already got them in the [Premier League Sports] cup next month [at Borough Briggs]. "Being in the Lowland League, the travelling wasn't too bad but Elgin will be the furthest away game I've ever played in my career!" The fixtures are released at 9am tomorrow and across Lanarkshire fans of Motherwell, Airdrieonians, Hamilton Accies and Clyde will discover how their campaigns shape up for 2025/26.
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Former Livingston player appears in court accused of betting scam
Former Livingston FC footballer Keaghan Jacobs has appeared in court accused of a betting scam - by deliberately getting himself booked in a Scottish Premiership match against Celtic. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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... Jacobs is alleged to have attempted to cheat at gambling by picking up the yellow card on purpose during a game against the Hoops at the Tony Macaroni stadium in October 2019. Court papers state the 35-year-old is said to have 'acted in a manner whereby he would receive a yellow card for the purpose of enabling or assisting others to cheat at gambling'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jacobs - who now turns out for Lowland League club Gala Fairydean Rovers - lodged a not guilty plea to the charge when he appeared in person in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday. Sheriff John Cook set down a date for trial in October and issued a bail condition that Jacobs, from Edinburgh, cannot approach or contact his co-accused Conan McDiarmid. Jacobs lodged a not guilty plea to the charge when he appeared in person in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday. | PA McDiarmid, 40, is facing a charge of allegedly placing bets, and arranged for others to place bets, on Jacobs receiving the caution from referee Willie Collum during the high profile match. He is alleged to have placed bets 'in the knowledge that it had been arranged that Jacobs would act in a manner whereby he would receive a yellow card during the match'. McDiarmid, from Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, pleaded not guilty to the charge at a court hearing last month and will stand trial alongside Jacobs at the capital court in October. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Both men are being prosecuted under the Gambling Act 2005, Section 42, 1A. The match involved in the alleged betting scam saw Livingston beat Celtic 2-0 win at the Tony Macaroni stadium on October 6, 2019. Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie was shown a straight red card in the 25th minute before second half goals from Scott Robinson and Lyndon Dykes clinched the points for the Lions. Jacobs played the full 90 minutes and was shown a yellow card by referee Willie Collum for an illegal challenge on winger Jonny Hayes in the 95th minute. Jacobs is a South African national who had two spells with Livingston between 2007 and 2015 and again between 2017 and 2022. The midfielder played a total of 252 times for the West Lothian club scoring 23 goals and has also played for Falkirk, Arbroath and South African outfit Bidvest Wits. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jacobs is believed to have made football history when he played alongside his three triplet brothers - Kyle, Devon and Sheldon - in a Scottish Third Division match between Livingston and Albion Rovers in April 2010. The 2-0 win in front of just over 600 supporters is said to be the only time four brothers have turned out for the same professional senior team in the same match. McDiarmid played as a defender with a number of amateur clubs including Edinburgh United and Whitehill Welfare before he retired in 2020 and moved into management.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Former SPFL star accused of betting scam in game against Celtic that his team WON
IN THE DOCK Former SPFL star accused of betting scam in game against Celtic that his team WON Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FORMER Livingston FC footballer Keaghan Jacobs has appeared in court accused of a betting scam - by deliberately getting himself booked in a Scottish Premiership match against Celtic. Jacobs is alleged to have attempted to cheat at gambling by picking up the yellow card on purpose during a game against the Hoops at the Tony Macaroni stadium in October 2019. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 1 Keaghan Jacobs in action for Livingston Credit: Kenny Ramsay - The Sun Glasgow Court papers claim the 35-year-old is said to have 'acted in a manner whereby he would receive a yellow card for the purpose of enabling or assisting others to cheat at gambling'. Jacobs - who now turns out for Lowland League club Gala Fairydean Rovers - lodged a not guilty plea to the charge when he appeared in person in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today. Sheriff John Cook set down a date for trial in October and issued a bail condition that Jacobs, from Edinburgh, cannot approach or contact his co-accused Conan McDiarmid. McDiarmid, 40, is facing a charge of allegedly placing bets, and arranged for others to place bets, on Jacobs receiving the caution from referee Willie Collum during the high profile match. He is alleged to have placed bets 'in the knowledge that it had been arranged that Jacobs would act in a manner whereby he would receive a yellow card during the match'. McDiarmid, from Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, pleaded not guilty to the charge at a court hearing last month and will stand trial alongside Jacobs at the capital court in October. Both men are being prosecuted under the Gambling Act 2005, Section 42, 1A. The match involved in the alleged betting scam saw Livingston beat Celtic 2-0 win at the Tony Macaroni stadium on October 6, 2019. Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie was shown a straight red card in the 25th minute before second half goals from Scott Robinson and Lyndon Dykes clinched the points for the Lions. Jacobs played the full 90 minutes and was shown a yellow card by referee Willie Collum for an illegal challenge on winger Jonny Hayes in the 95th minute. Jacobs is a South African national who had two spells with Livingston between 2007 and 2015 and again between 2017 and 2022. The midfielder played a total of 252 times for the West Lothian club scoring 23 goals and has also played for Falkirk, Arbroath and South African outfit Bidvest Wits. Jacobs is believed to have made football history when he played alongside his three triplet brothers - Kyle, Devon and Sheldon - in a Scottish Third Division match between Livingston and Albion Rovers in April 2010. The 2-0 win in front of just over 600 supporters is said to be the only time four brothers have turned out for the same professional senior team in the same match. McDiarmid played as a defender with a number of amateur clubs including Edinburgh United and Whitehill Welfare before he retired in 2020 and moved into management. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
