For the second week in a row, it’s the WoS League Cup as The Buffs welcome Beith Juniors in Round 3 for a North Ayrshire derby after comfortably defeating Giffnock SC 5-0 last weekend. It will be the first time Beith have visited Buffs Park since 2023, which was Chris Strain’s first return to Buffs Park since leaving, at the time.
Formed in 1938, ‘The Mighty’ have experienced many battles with The Buffs over the years, as well as a considerable amount of silverware since their formation. Most notably, Beith were crowned Scottish Junior Cup Champions in 2016 when they defeated Pollok in the final, which was followed by a West of Scotland Cup win and a West of Scotland Super League title in the next few seasons. Since the turn of the decade, The Mighty have also found success in the league with back-to-back Premier Division titles in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons.
After a Summer rebuild which saw both changes on and off the park for The Mighty, it’s been a tough start to the season, which has seen them knocked out of both the South Region and Scottish Junior Cup, whilst only being able to pick up eight points from their opening 12 league fixtures. Beith haven’t been able to pick up a victory against Premier Division opposition in two months now, with the difficult run including defeats to Cumbernauld United and, more recently, a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Drumchapel United. The run means the club currently sit third bottom of the division with only St Cadocs and Rutherglen below them in the table. The sides have already met this season when The Buffs travelled to Bellsdale and left with a point after a very scrappy 0-0 draw, which saw very few chances created at either end of the park. It’s been over four years since the last Buffs win against Beith, with Ally McColm, Carlo Monti, Thomas Collins and Ross Smith grabbing the goals as the game finished 4-1 at Buffs Park back in August 2021. Despite a poor record in league fixtures against The Mighty in recent times, The Buffs have proved superior when the sides have met in Cup action over the last decade or so, with The Buffs knocking Beith out of the Scottish Junior Cup and West of Scotland in the 2014/15 season, defeating them in the Ayrshire Cup in the 2017/18 season and most recently sending them out of the Scottish Junior Cup, once again, in the 2018/19 season with a 3-1 win. The Mighty were without a game last weekend whilst The Buffs were winning 5-0, so should be feeling fairly fresh for today’s tie.
After being knocked out of both the South Region and Scottish Cup already this season, Kevin Kelly will be hoping his side can keep their hopes of silverware alive with a win against Beith today, which would send them into the fourth round of the Strathclyde Demolition West of Scotland League Cup.
