STONES IN SCOTLAND

The Lockdown is getting to me, I forgot to post yesterday's BLOG so you have "two for one" a great offer. Yesterday's is about Blyth Spartans...look back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEIE0NWvqTc&feature=onebox

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and today it's the delights of the Scottish BetFred Cup Final with the bonus of a 9 minute selection of the best of the game, won by a goal from Shaun Rooney. His great uncle Benny also played for the club 1966-73 over 200 times. No relation to Wayne.

You know, it doesn't get much better than this: Livingston v St Johnstone.

The game played at Hampden Park experienced the following stats:  

           Livingston v St J         Game stats: there is hardly a cigarette paper between them

Shots                 3          5        

On Target          1          3

Possession        51       49

Yellows              2          2

Fouls                 12        13

Corners               5          6

This trophy was first played for in 1946-7, Betfred sponsors the Scottish League Cup, a tournament that involves all professional clubs in Scotland, initially sorted by north and south locations. In its 75th season, the group stage was made up from small divisions of eight teams from the 2019-20 Scottish Premier and all ten teams from each of the other three Scottish divisions, as well as the winners of the Highland and Lowland Football Leagues. The 40 teams were divided into two sections – North and South – with each section containing four top seeds, four second seeds and 12 unseeded teams. Each section was drawn into four groups with each group comprising one top seed, one second seed and three unseeded teams.the clubs played in 8 groups of five, one game versus each other. In the second round the top clubs in Scotland join in.....guess them?? and they are seeded with those who have qualified through playing matches. Celtic (defending holders and winners of the trophy 19 times) lost to Ross County so maybe they didn't take it too seriously? Rangers beat Falkirk 4-0 but went out to St Mirren. 

Six Premier League clubs ended up in the Quarter-finals (8 teams) along with two Championship (2nd tier) Clubs, Alloa and Dunfermline. Through to the semi-finals (4 teams), St Johnstone and Livingston beat Hibernian and St Mirren, respectively. A month later on February 28th we had the final. It was Livingston's first triumph and Rangers slunk away earlier knowing that they had missed the opportunity to make it 28 titles.

AND the Livingston club was founded in 1943, in a "new town" in West Lothian, Scotland. Originally Ferranti Thistle and engineering works team, they went to Edinburgh's Meadowbank Stadium, becoming Meadowbank Thistle in 1974. In 1995 they relocated to West Lothian and took the town's name.

St Johnstone FC founded at the local cricket club, in 1884, in the town of Perth, which was orginally known as St John's "Toun", the church sited at the centre of the town. It was dedicated to St John the Baptist, Agnus Dei, The Lamb of God, as seen on the club badge (you will need to look closely);