It’s a bonus midweek fixture for the Seasiders this week, as we head to East Ayrshire & Townhead Park for the second time in 24 days, this time on league duty. We take on Cumnock for our 12th WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.
⚽️ Cumnock versus Troon F.C.⚽️
Wednesday 15th November 2023
PDM Huws Gray WOSFL Premier Division
Townhead Park, Cumnock
Kick-off 7.45pm
Following the original postponement of this fixture back in August, we head back to face Murdie McKinnon’s side at a time when both teams probably feel it’s a good time to face the other.
Jimmy Kirkwood’s men have had an inconsistent season, with good wins followed up by frustrating performances. But following a few changes to the squad, the results have been picking up of late & the Seasiders were 3 wins & a draw before the disappointing defeat to Rutherglen in the Cup & last weekend’s agonising 2-1 late reverse at Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.
Cumnock had a fantastic end to last season, lifting the holy grail of the Scottish Junior Cup for the third time in June at Broadwood. The club have been on a rollercoaster of changes since the final whistle rang – Brian McGinty departed the hot seat to be replaced by former St. Cadoc’s boss Johnny Doyle & top scorer Jordan Moore departed for Darvel for a record £20,000. Doyle left last month to be replaced by former Pollok Manager Murdo MacKinnon.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s match…
Jaime Gallagher came off early in the second half on Saturday, but it’s hoped with some treatment he’ll be available to play a part. Dean Fulton missed out again after a recurrence of his previous groin injury, but he is under Darrell’s watch & is making progress. Jack Sherrie continues rehabilitation after an ankle injury, and he is expected to miss a couple of matches at least, but hopefully not too much longer for a key member of the side.
Sam McCloskey and Logan Smith have both returned to the starting line-up after a number of weeks out with no ill-effects. Two important players for us, a huge boost for the side. Jack Marks also returns to the squad, following his loan spell at Whitletts Victoria being terminated early.
Work is continuing in the background to add to the squad, keep your eyes peeled…
Hard one to take at the weekend. We started well & deserved to take the lead through Kyle, but we spurned the chance to kill them off in the first half. Burgess did superbly with the penalty save, but we should have taken our chances & killed the game off when we had the chance. To have been in the lead for 70 minutes & then lose out to two late goals was sickening. We have to harness that feeling and us it to our advantage in the next few matches, we need to push ourselves up the table.
We had a good win at Townhead a few weeks ago, but this is a very different challenge. It’s a Cumnock side that’s maybe in transition, but it’ll be every bit as tough a match as what we’ve become used to at Townhead. Murdie will be looking for revenge on us, as will their players, so it should be a right good contest.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Cumnock Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The ‘Nock |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Ground | Townhead Park, Cumnock |
| Capacity | 3,000 |
| Club President | Kevin Orr |
| Manager | Murdo MacKinnon |
| Captain | Findlay Frye |
| 2022-23 | WOSFL Premier Division, 9th from 16 |
⚽️️ SAM JAMIESON ⚽️
The 24 year old signed for Cumnock in August after leaving Portland Park, and he is a player everyone at Troon knows well!
Previously with Rangers, St. Mirren, East Kilbride & Albion Rovers, Sam is a real goal scorer at this level after netting 37 times in 86 matches with the Seasiders.
The main burden of goalscoring will now fall on Sam’s shoulders following the departure of Jordan Moore to Darvel in the summer.
⚽️️ JAMIE BARCLAY ⚽️
The 34 year old is a veritable wall at the back for Cumnock; a strong, experienced netminder whose physical presence is vital to the Townhead side.
Began his career in the Premier Division with Falkirk & enjoyed spells with Berwick Rangers, Clyde, Stenhousemuir & Dumbarton, but he is best known in senior football for his 5 year spell at East Stirlingshire. Signed by Brian McGinty at Cumnock after a season with Kilwinning Rangers.
© Thanks to our club photographer Graeme McKenzie for his photos – amazing, as always!
Cumnock
| LOST | DREW | WON | LOST | DREW |
| 1-3 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 1-1 (2-4 on pens) | 2-2 |
| Auchinleck Talbot (H) | Irvine Meadow XI (A) | Turriff United (H) | Troon (H) | Darvel (A) |
| Sat 11th November | Sat 4th November | Sat 28th October | Sat 21st October | Sat 14th October |
| WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | Scottish Gas Scottish Cup | West of Scotland Cup | WOSFL Premier |
Troon F.C.
| LOST | LOST | WON | WON | WON |
| 2-1 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 (2-4 on pens) | 3-0 |
| Kirkintilloch Rob Roy (A) | Rutherglen (A) | Darvel (A) | Cumnock (A) | Abbey Vale (H) |
| Sat 11th November | Sat 4th November | Sat 28th October | Sat 21st October | Sat 14th October |
| WOSFL Premier | Scottish Junior Cup | WOSFL Premier | West of Scotland Cup | South Challenge Cup |
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 (I’m not calling it X yet):
- 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
The first league clash between the sides was an away trip to Townhead Park under the lights. An enthralling affair got off to a great start, three goals in the opening 11 minutes saw Troon race into a 2-1 lead with a lovely double from Sam McCloskey before a strong second half from the hosts saw them chalk up a 4-2 win.
The return league match in May saw a lacklustre Troon side on the wrong side of a 3-0 defeat, as Cumnock continued their build up to the Scottish Junior Cup Final in style. Jordan Moore scored a double that day, Findlay Frye rounding off the scoring in injury time.
The most keenly contested of last season’s matches was reserved for the South Challenge Cup 4th round match in February which saw Cumnock sneak through to the Quarter Finals after extra-time. Jordan Moore & Cammy Ross proved to be the difference, but a real ding dong encounter was enjoyed by both sets of fans.
(before this week’s matches)
| REFEREE: | ||
| Paul Timmons | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Nicolas Speirs | Reiss Paterson |
| Referee Observer: | To be appointed |
🚌 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚌
Due to the close proximity, there will be no official supporter’s bus this week.
🚍 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚏
🔗 STAGECOACH.com
🚝 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 🚉
🔗 SCOTRAIL.co.uk
Tickets are available at the turnstiles at Townhead Park:
| Adult: | £8.00 |
| Concession: | £5.00 |
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.
⚽️ Irvine Meadow XI versus Troon Development Team ⚽️
Friday 17th November 2023
WOSFDL Conference D
KFA Academy Park, Kilwinning
Kick-off 8pm
Head along & support the Troon stars of tomorrow!
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Thornton Hibs⚽️
Saturday 18th November 2023
South Region Challenge Cup, 4th Round
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm