It’s a Cup weekend yet again at Portland Park, and this time we welcome our South of Scotland League counterparts St Cuthbert Wanderers to the Ayrshire coast for the first time on record.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus St Cuthbert Wanderers⚽️
Saturday 19th November 2022
South Region Challenge Cup, 3rd Round
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 1.30pm
After eight Cup matches already this season, it’s back to South Region Challenge Cup duty this coming Saturday.
Jimmy Kirkwood’s men have made a quietly confident start to the season, garnering 4 wins from 8 matches in what was a tough looking start. A strong position in the WOSFL Premier Division, with games in hand over some of those above, and into 4th round of the Scottish Junior Cup the 3rd round of the South Challenge Cup. Last weekend’s win over Glasgow Perthshire sees us into the 2nd round of that competition as well.
St Cuthbert Wanderers had a magnificent treble winning season in 2021-22, but a summer of change has seen the club in transition & they are in the middle of a very challenging South of Scotland Football League season, sitting in a comparatively disappointing 8th position in the 12 team league.
PLEASE REMEMBER!
Portland Park is still a work in progress, as the work continues towards erecting our new floodlights. Please see the article below & follow the guidance around the ground.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
Logan Smith’s hip complaint is improving & he has been back in full training this week, although this weekend may be a little early for him. Mark Morrison looks to miss out this week with a hamstring strain, but is hoped to return next week.
Tommy Maitland and Darren Miller will not feature after they were both made available for transfer.
Other than that, we have no new injury concerns to contend with, and the squad is looking hungry with competition for starting jerseys looking fierce.
Last weekend was a lot better from the boys, much more like us after the disappointment at Largs. We set them the challenge of not only a result, but a result in style & they delivered. The first half there was still a wee bit of a hangover from Largs, but certainly second half they were dominant & scored some cracking goals and that was what we asked them for. Definitely the feeling that we were back on song after the game, that’s for sure.
We all love a run in the Cups, but we’re actually now finding it a bit difficult to get a bit of momentum going in the league now with so many Cup weekends in the middle. Assuming no games will be called off, we will have played 10 league games and 10 Cup games by the time Christmas comes around, and it’s difficult to get a string of results going in that position, but that’s just something we have to work our way through.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
⚽️️ DEREK ARMSTRONG ⚽️
The talented young midfielder is in the middle of a season-long loan deal from Gartcairn, and he has made quite an impression with some eye-catching displays in the engine room.
A standout in the talented Gartcairn Development side when we played them in last season’s Knock-Out Cup (West) defeat, he had a solid spell on loan at Thorniewood before graduating into the Gartcairn first-team.
⚽️️ KEELAN BRAONAN ⚽️
Keelan joined Pollok in July 2020 from Airdrieonians, where he had spent a few seasons after brief spells as a talented youngster with Hearts, St. Mirren, Hibernian and Motherwell.
The silky midfielder joined Wanderers after he was released by Pollok at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Troon F.C.
| WIN | v | Glasgow Perthshire | (H) | 4-2 | Saturday 12th November | WOSFL Cup |
| LOST | v | Largs Thistle | (A) | 1-0 | Saturday 5th November | WOSFL Premier Division |
| WIN | v | Blantyre Victoria | (A) | 0-3 | Saturday 29th October | Scottish Junior Cup |
| WIN | v | Fraserburgh United | (H) | 4-0 | Saturday 22nd October | Scottish Junior Cup |
| WIN | v | Forth Wanderers | (H) | 5-0 | Saturday 15th October | South Challenge Cup |
St. Cuthbert Wanderers
| LOST | v | Lochar Thistle | (H) | 1-2 | Saturday 12th November | South of Scotland Football League |
| LOST | v | Caledonian Braves | (A) | 5-3 | Saturday 5th November | South of Scotland Football League |
| WIN | v | Wigtown & Bladnoch | (H) | 3-1 | Saturday 29th October | South of Scotland Football League |
| WIN | v | Lochmaben | (H) | 5-0 | Saturday 15th October | South Challenge Cup |
| WIN | v | Upper Annandale | (H) | 2-1 | Saturday 8th October | South of Scotland Football League |
If you can’t make it along to the game , you can keep up to date with all the latest info via the club’s social media channels:
Live updates from the official Troon F.C. Twitter feed: @Troon_FC
- Team news pre-match
- Goal alerts
- News flashes
- Real time alerts
Match news via the official Troon F.C. Facebook page
- Team news pre-match
- Half-time score & update
- Full time results
St Cuthbert Wanderers celebrated a historic treble last term, as they lifted the South of Scotland Football League trophy, the Haig Gordon Memorial Trophy & the Potts Cup. But in the Lowland League Play-off, they were beaten 7-0 by eventual winners Tranent and 3-1 at home to Darvel.
Troon started poorly in 2021-22 against some strong teams, but a mid-season surge saw them sitting comfortably in the 8th & 9th for the vast majority of the season before securing their place in the Premier Division for the 2022-23 season.
(before Saturday’s matches)
Referee: Euan Birch
Assistant Referee One: Paul Donnelly
Assistant Referee Two: Scott Grier
Referee Observer: To be appointed
For travelling supporters, have a look at our “How to get to Portland Park” page for directions and helpful tips.
Tickets are available at the turnstiles at Portland Park:
| Adult: | £8.00 |
| Concession: | £4.00 |
| Under-16: | FREE |
Season Tickets are NOT valid for this game.
A detailed match report will be posted in the match centre after the game, with the team line-ups, scorers & bookings on the specific match page for the fixture.
To visit the match centre, CLICK HERE.
The social club at Portland Park will be open from 12pm ahead of the 1.30pm kick-off, and supporters of both clubs are very welcome.
📺 Come early & stay late – enjoy the football on the big screen! 📺
| ⏰ 12pm | Exeter City v Ipswich Town | (EFL League One) ⚽️ |
| ⏰ 5.30pm | Arsenal Women v Man Utd Women | (FA Women’s Super League) ⚽️ |
The bar will close after the conclusion of the 5.30pm match.
Scott will be selling tickets for our half-time draw at the gate before kick-off, and inside the ground throughout the first half for just 50p a ticket.
Our local resident food truck, SCRAN have our hungry supporters covered with their own take on “Football Food” – highly recommended!
They will be open from 10am on Saturday & will be open right through the match til the evening, selling a variety of hot food & drinks as well as cold drinks.
The Development Team are on matchday 11 in the Lowland Development League, and they are returning home to welcome the excellent Benburb to QMA.
⚽️ Troon Development Team versus Benburb⚽️
Friday 18th November 2022
Scottish Lowland Development Football League (West Conference F)
QMA, Ayr
Kick-off 8pm
Head along & support the Troon stars of tomorrow!
⚽️ Kirkintilloch Rob Roy versus Troon F.C.⚽️
Saturday 26th November 2022
PDM Buildbase WOSFL Premier Division
Guy’s Meadow, Cumbernauld
Kick-off 1.30pm
Our supporter’s bus is booked and ready for the trip to Rob Roy next Saturday!
| ⏱ | 11.30am | Departs Troon |
| ⏱ | 12.30pm | Arrive at Guy’s Meadow, Cumbernauld |
| ⏱ | 1.30pm | Kick-off!! |
| ⏱ | 5pm | Departs Cumbernauld |
| ⏱ | 6pm | Arrive back at Portland Park social club |
| ⏱ | 7pm | Argentina v Mexico kick-off on the big screens! |
To confirm the bus, priced at £15 per seat, you 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 reserve your place. Please contact John Redmond on: 07793 420968 💺