It’s time for some Friday night festive football in Troon, and it’s an Ayrshire derby! We welcome our old friends Hurlford United for our 14th WOSFL Premier Division match of the season, under the lights.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Hurlford United⚽️
Friday 29th December 2023
PDM Huws Gray WOSFL Premier Division
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 7.30pm
You could level a lot of things at this Troon side at times, but everyone must agree on one thing – it’s never boring!
Inconsistency may have been the watchword for Troon this season, with good wins followed up by frustrating performances, but after a good end to November & a promising start to December there is real cause for optimism for 2024 with a young & talented squad.
Hurlford had an excellent season last time out, despite being many people’s tip to struggle. A 7th placed finish probably didn’t represent the good season they had either, having spent most of the year in the top 4 or 5 in the league. They’ve had a solid, if perhaps unspectacular, start to the league season this year but they are still flying high in the West of Scotland Cup, and in the Scottish Junior Cup Quarter-Finals.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Friday night’s match…
The festive break has perhaps come at the ideal time for a couple of our players, and the squad is returning to shape ahead of an important run of fixtures in the New Year.
Dean Fulton returned to the starting line-up at Auchinleck & Largs after missing a few weeks with a groin injury, although he will need to be managed carefully in the next few matches to avoid a recurrence. Ewan McLevy & Kori Howard are hoped to return after sitting out last week with minor knocks, whereas Jack Sherrie (ankle) is stepping up his rehabilitation under Darrell’s watch & is starting to eye a return.
You cannot beat some football under the lights, there’s a magic feel to it & I’m sure this week will be no different.
Games between ourselves and Hurlford are usually entertaining, I had a wee look back at our results against each other through the last few years and you are almost guaranteed goals and talking points. Perfect match to be on under the lights, be great to get a right good crowd in & make it a really good night for everyone.
Largs last week was really pleasing. I saw a report which said Largs were almost robbed; don’t know what game they were watching to be perfectly honest, but I thought we were really strong & thoroughly deserved the 3 points. We’ve played better football this year, sure, but it was a really mature & grown-up display that we have been threatening to deliver for some time, and it was very satisfying to see it. And at a ground we’ve had a dreadful record at in recent years as well.
Been a number of changes in the January & February fixtures, for whatever reason I cannot fathom for the life of me, but looks like being an exciting start to the New Year anyway. This is only our 5th home league game of the season so we still have 10 to play at home in the second half of the season. We need to put that to our advantage by making Portland Park a place we keep the points, and a place teams don’t want to come to. Supporters play a huge part in that, we’ve got the chance to start that this week.
Hope everyone has a great Christmas, and an even better New Year when it comes around!
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Hurlford United Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Ford |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Ground | Blair Park, Hurlford |
| Capacity | 2,005 |
| Club Secretary | Clark Nicol |
| Manager | Darren Henderson |
| Captain | Paul McKenzie |
| 2022-23 | WOSFL Premier Division, 7th from 16 |
⚽️️ MICHAEL MULLEN ⚽️
The 20 year old joined up at Blair Park in the summer of 2022 after spending years in the Kilmarnock youth system, and he has really hit the ground running this season after his introduction last term.
Son of former Queen of the South, Stranraer & Stirling front man of the same name, Michael is top scorer this season so far with 12 goals from 16 appearances. Keeping him quiet will be key to winning the game this Friday night.
⚽️️ CARTER FREW ⚽️
In a defence with experienced campaigners like Chris Robertson, Craig Reid & Chris McKnight, young Carter has done really well to stand out with some assured displays in the past couple of seasons.
The 21 year old began his career with St. Mirren as a youth, but signed on at Blair Park in the summer of 2021 & has impressed ever since. Comfortable at either centre-back or at full-back, he is certainly one to watch in the coming years.
© Thanks to Drew Wilson and www.hurlfordunited.com for their photos
Troon F.C.
| WON | LOST | WON | WON | LOST |
| 3-4 | 4-1 | 5-1 | 3-2 | 4-3 |
| Largs Thistle (A) | Auchinleck Talbot (A) | Girvan (H) | Thornton Hibs (H) | Cumnock (A) |
| Sat 16th December | Sat 9th December | Sat 25th November | Sat 18th November | Weds 15th November |
| WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Cup (Round 3) | WOSFL Cup (Round 2) | South Challenge Cup | WOSFL Premier |
Hurlford United
| WON | LOST | WON | WON |