Edinburgh City’s first visit to Pittodrie had been many years in the making.
It is unlikely to be their last, and nor will it be so long before Aberdeen are crossing swords with another of the sides new to the national stage.
In recent seasons the Scottish Cup has been something of a graveyard for many of the long-tenured inhabitants of the senior game, swatted aside by newcomers making the most of entries denied them for many years.
Though there never appeared any chance of the Dons falling victim here, holders St Johnstone were not so lucky, and it wasn’t an isolated incident.
Three of the clubs through to the last 16 were not members of the senior leagues 15 years ago, and it is part of a wider story of the game’s regeneration at its lower levels.
The implementation of the league’s pyramid system has allowed for the dredging of its stagnant waters, and the opening of the pathway has been particularly instrumental in infusing those clubs beyond League Two with the ambition and optimism to gun for those whose league membership owes more to historical accident than professional potential.
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🔴 All the goals from yesterday's Scottish Cup victory at Pittodrie. pic.twitter.com/TUTlXl31WH
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) January 23, 2022
The 38 names read out in Scotland’s classified results had remained unchanged for two full decades prior to the admission of Caley Thistle and Ross County, but 22 of them have never been heard in a top-flight fixture in the 28 years since.
Such stasis was bad for all levels of the game, and it can only be positive that others are now being given the chance to make the sort of impact lower-league entities never previously needed to.
Another generation on, the SPFL’s roster will likely look very different again, and there is no telling where Edinburgh City – or the weekend’s heroes, Kelty Hearts and Cove Rangers – will sit within it.