Cup Tied: scenes and stories from every round of the 150th Scottish Cup

To celebrate 150 years of the Scottish Cup, photographer Alan McCredie and writer Daniel Gray attended every round last season and produced the photo essay book Cup TiedIt is a thrill to be there when numbered balls clack. The sound is keener, crisper than on television – the difference between hearing a song live and listening through headphones. They grumble when rifled through by those making the draw. Then, as balls are plucked, there follows a satisfying, comforting clatter akin to that of seaside pebbles clashing. Otherwise all is hushed, reverent, a church during prayers. It is even possible to hear those decisive, tie-conjuring marbles being placed in their craters.Before a season watching the Scottish Cup, we were there to observe the draw for the qualifying rounds. It happened in the clubhouse of a bowling club like no other: Hampden. This place occupies sacred land. “The passing game was born here,” reads a sign clamped to an adjacent iron fence. “Hampden Bowling Club,” it continues, “sits on the site of the first Hampden Park.”The tall flats dominate the skyline as Pollok Juniors take on Benburb in the second preliminary round.