Johnstone Burgh will have to field two teams for cup matches at different grounds on Saturday 21st November after exhausting options to rearrange their Scottish Communities Cup tie against Tayport.
Burgh confirmed to supporters on social media this afternoon that the Tayport match in Fife is due to kick off at 2.30pm. Their Lowland League Cup match at Dunipace, in Denny, Stirlingshire, is due to start at 3pm.
Renfrewshire News understands Burgh may use players from its under-20 development squad alongside first-team players to make up the two teams.
The club said its schedule was already full and it had been unable to find a solution that would allow the Tayport tie to be played outwith a Saturday afternoon.
Burgh said it had tried to rearrange league fixtures and South Challenge Cup ties, travel to Tayport midweek, play on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon, and schedule the match immediately before or after the Dunipace fixture. The club also offered to forfeit its share of the gate money to help cover any inconvenience caused by rearranging the tie.
“Despite exhausting every option available to us, we have been unable to reach a solution that allows us to play outwith a Saturday afternoon,” Burgh said.
The club said the ties will be played “on the same day, at the same time”, although the kick-off times it gave supporters are 30 minutes apart.
Tayport has rejected the suggestion that it was unwilling to find a date for the Scottish Communities Cup tie. In a statement, the club said: “None of the problems that have been presented for this situation can be levelled at Tayport FC and it’s down to the intransigency of other associations.”
Tayport said it was prepared to play on the original date, 17th October, but Johnstone Burgh could not fulfil the fixture. It said it was also willing to play on 7th November, when the Midlands League had agreed to switch another fixture to give Tayport a free Saturday. Tayport said Burgh later told it the club could not play that day.
The statement said Burgh then asked to play the tie during the week, but Tayport could not agree because of player, committee and volunteer availability. Tayport said it was willing to play on 21st November if the match had an afternoon kick-off, but had only been offered an evening start.
Tayport said there had been no unwillingness from the club or the Midlands League to play the tie. It said clubs from other associations had been told at their league annual general meetings that Saturdays would not be made available for the competition.
The club also said playing outside a Saturday afternoon would have a “strong financial implication” for the home team.
Burgh said it was disappointed not to find a solution that would allow it to compete in both games with its strongest available squads.
The club added: “We’d like to thank Tayport and the other clubs we have spoken to for considering the options we have put to them and understand that clubs want to stay within the traditional Saturday afternoon kick-off times.
“We want to reassure our supporters that every avenue has been explored and every effort has been made to find a workable solution. It certainly hasn’t been for the lack of trying.”