Friday’s draw of the sectional stage of the 2018/19 Betfred Cup placed Motherwell with Queen of the South, Clyde, Edinburgh City and Stranraer.
Dates for the fixtures will emerge in due course when BT Sport decides on its schedule. The group stage matches will include the innovation of an extra point for the team that wins any penalty shoot-out.
Can we get back to Hampden next season?
Edinburgh City and Stranraer figured in recent ties in this competition. ‘City almost caused a shock a year ago when we needed late goals from Cadden and Frear to avoid embarrassment and in July 2016 we travelled south for a comfortable 3-0 win against the Doonhamers.
Last season we cruised through to the final after the opening four group wins. Ross County, Aberdeen and Rangers fell next before we lost to Celtic in November’s final.
The timescale laid out for this first knockout of the new season is
Group stage
Weekend of Saturday July 14
Tuesday/Wednesday July 17/18
Weekend of Saturday July 21
Tuesday/Wednesday July 24/25
Weekend of Saturday July 28
(each team plays on four of the five dates)
Second round – Weekend of Saturday August 18
Quarter-finals – Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday September 25/26/27
Semi-finals – Saturday/Sunday October 27/28
Final – Sunday December 2