Largs Thistle to Host Ayr United in Historic Scottish Cup Tie Broadcast Live on BBC Scotland
The upcoming Scottish Cup third-round match between Largs Thistle and Ayr United will be broadcast live on the BBC Scotland channel, website, and iPlayer on Friday, 27 November, kicking off at 19:30. This exciting matchup follows Largs Thistle’s recent approval from North Ayrshire Council, allowing them to keep the floodlights on at Barrfields Park until 22:00 GMT.
Previously, the Lowland League West club faced restrictions that limited their use of the pitch and floodlights at the 4,500-capacity stadium beyond a 21:00 cut-off to just two nights in any calendar month. This posed challenges for Largs following their promotion from the West of Scotland League Premier Division to Scotland’s fifth tier, which requires midweek fixtures to kick off at 19:45. Consequently, the team had to relocate eleven midweek matches to Ardrossan due to the earlier limitations.
Ayr United will journey 33 miles north to face their Ayrshire rivals in a competition where Largs Thistle is making its debut, having achieved their highest-ever ranking in senior football. Under the guidance of former Queen of the South midfielder Stuart Davidson, Largs previously lost to Auchinleck Talbot in the final of last season’s Scottish Junior Cup and currently sits second in the Lowland League, just one point behind Kilwinning Rangers.
The team reached the Scottish Cup third round following impressive away victories over two Lowland League East sides, narrowly defeating Gala Fairydean Rovers 1-0 and delivering a significant 5-1 victory against Dunipace.
Ayr United, managed by Gary Naysmith, enters this round as they did last season, where they progressed to the fourth round before facing a defeat against Dundee United. Currently, Ayr sits in seventh place in the second-tier Championship, making this clash an anticipated encounter in the Scottish Cup.
