The Spring Cup was a Scottish football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 tournament played in 1976. It was introduced for members of Division One and Two of the Scottish Football League

Scottish Football League

The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...

 in the wake of league reconstruction in 1975, to be played after the conclusion of all the league fixtures at the end of the 1975–76 season. It derived its title from the season (Spring) it was played in.

League Reconstruction and Foundation

When Scottish Football League member clubs voted in favour reconstruction in the Summer of 1974, the format they approved was a three division structure of 10, 14 and 14 teams respectively, to be introduced at the beginning of the 1975–76 season. The new Divisions One and Two would now contain 14 teams, previously considered a difficult number for creating a balanced schedule. A 26 game programme (with every team playing each other home and away) was considered too short, a 52 game programme (with each team playing each other home and away twice) too congested. A 39 game schedule would leave an imbalance with sides having two fixtures at home against some teams, and one against others. The solution the Scottish Football League opted for was a 26 game calendar augmented by a supplementary cup competition, the "Spring Cup". The tournament, to be played at the season's end, was open only to teams from Divisions One and Two.

Format

The 28 Division One and Two clubs were divided into seven groups of 4 teams. These sides would play each other home and away, with two points awarded for a win and one for a draw, the top two sides in the group qualifying for the second round. In addition, the two third-placed sides with the best record would also qualify. The second round and quarter-finals were played on a two-leg, home and away basis, while the semi-finals and final were to be played at neutral venues.

1975–76 Spring Cup

Division One Airdrieonians

Airdrieonians F.C.

Airdrieonians Football Club, more commonly known as Airdrie, were a Scottish professional football team from the town of Airdrie, in the Monklands area of Lanarkshire....

 won the competition, defeating Division Two Clydebank

Clydebank F.C.

Clydebank Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, near Yoker. The present club, formed in 2003, is a member of the Scottish Junior Football Association, and currently plays in West Super League Premier Division...

 in the final. They had qualified from a group containing Brechin City

Brechin City F.C.

Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football team based in Brechin, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Football League and play in the Second Division in the 2010–11 season...

, East Fife

East Fife F.C.

East Fife Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the Fife coastal town of Methil...

 and Stranraer

Stranraer F.C.

Stranraer Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football team based in the town of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway. They are members of the Scottish Football League, and currently play in the Third Division.-History:...

. In the second round they eliminated Dunfermline Athletic

Dunfermline Athletic F.C.

Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....

 5–4 on aggregate

Two-legged match

In sport , a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or legs, with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of the scores of the two legs...

, while in the quarter-finals they beat Hamilton Academical

Hamilton Academical F.C.

Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...

. In the semi-final, a strike from Cairney and two own goal

Own goal

An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

s helped them defeat Morton

Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton Football Club are a Scottish professional football club, who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs....

 3–1 at Love Street.

Final

Demise

It quickly became apparent that the competition was not proving popular with spectators, and club directors began to talk of further change. The Scottish Football League itself seemed to have an ambiguous attitude to the competition, failing to have the trophy engraved before the first final. In May 1976, a motion forwarded by Albion Rovers to have a 39-game Division One and Two calendar, effectively ending the Spring Cup, was overwhelmingly backed, coming into force for the start of the 1976–77 season.

External links

• Competition details at scottishleague.net
• "Can We Have Our Cup Back? at derek-drennan.co.uk