Unaccustomed As We Are…

Celtic’s Scottish Cup history against the names you don’t see every day.

- Joe Sullivan

SCOTTISH CUP weekend is upon us once more and the chances are, the luck of the draw will give most supporters throughout the country the opportunity to watch their side play against unfamiliar opposition.

This was even more commonplace in the early days of the competition when non-league combatants with weird and wonderful names vastly outnumbered the teams we have become so familiar with today.

Indeed, famous English amateur side Corinthians didn’t hold the monopoly on drawing from Greek mythology for inspiration as way ahead of recent hopefuls Spartans, the Scottish Cup featured teams such as Olympic, Athenian and Orion in the early years.

Other poetic monikers such as Tayavara, Linterdis, Pilgrims, Albatross, Ramblers, Orchard and Excelsior would have had modern-day punters scratching their heads while filling in their fixed odds coupon...

And what kind of reception could Bellstane Birds, Britannia or Champfleurie expect if they ran out of the tunnel at Celtic Park today. On the other hand, you wouldn’t have to rely on European competition to meet up with some of the more exotic names in the game if you drew Grasshopper Bonnybridge, Our Boys, Rock or Adventurers in the Scottish Cup.

Still, it has to be said that Hyde Park Loco Works hardly rolls off the tongue, while chanting from the stands for Telegraphists, Perseverance or United Abstainers Athletic would leave a lot to be desired.

Presumably these early torchbearers would have good reason, either practical or bizarre, for their whimsical epithets - the wonderfully named Rock for example hailed from Dumbarton...

However, the first instance of Celtic facing one of the more unfamiliar names in Scottish Cup history held no such capricious echoes of fabled and fanciful imagery - we faced Shettleston!