Viaplay Cup: Tangerines test is fruit of Spartans pre-season endeavours

Posted on Tuesday, July 11th, 2023

The Spartans get their Viaplay Cup group underway when they welcome Dundee United to Ainslie Park on Saturday afternoon.

It will be the first time that the two sides have met in a competitive fixture although the clubs have connections between them over the years.

Guest speaker at Saturday’s hospitality offering is Eammon Bannon. Bannon notched up 290 appearances for the Tannadice outfit between 1979-1988 and also had two years at Spartans at the climax of an outstanding career, turning out for the side during 1997-1999.

In more recent times, youngsters Archie Meekison and Jack Newman have had loan spells at Spartans, impressing the Ainslie Park faithful during their stints at the club.

Jim Goodwin’s Cinch Championship side head to the Capital after a trio of pre-season friendlies where they recorded victories over East Fife and Queen of the South followed by a narrow loss against Motherwell in midweek.

Meanwhile, Douglas Samuel’s side go into the tie after back-to-back pre-season clean sheet victories over Tynecastle and Brora Rangers, scoring eleven goals in the process courtesy of seven different players.

Kick-off at Ainslie Park is 3.00pm. Tickets can be either purchased in advance via Fanbase or supporters can pay at the gate.

Parking directly at the ground will be limited / unlikely. There is on street parking nearby along with neighbouring Morrison’s where you could get your messages before or after the game whilst you are parked there.

Season tickets are NOT valid for Viaplay Cup fixtures.

Spectator update (Friday 14/07):

“Despite our very best efforts, the City of Edinburgh Council have yet to approve the continued use of the Newtown Roofing & Building stand following the expiration of the temporary safety certificate issued for last season’s promotion winning play-off games.  As you might imagine we are hugely frustrated.

“Therefore, we will be unable to use it for our forthcoming Viaplay Cup games on Saturday against Dundee United and on Tuesday against Falkirk.  We highly recommend any supporters who wish to sit in the stand, which accommodates 504 spectators, to arrive early.

“On a more positive note, we have a signed off capacity of 3500 excluding the stand which will offer sufficient space for all spectators coming along to Ainslie Park over the coming days.”

Coming to Ainslie Park for the first time? Here’s our handy guide.