It’s Cup weekend one of two for October, and it’s a step into the unknown as we make a trip we haven’t made in a very long time to meet our WOSFL counterparts St. Roch’s at James McGrory Park for our South Region Challenge Cup 3rd round match.
β½οΈ St. Roch’s versus Troon F.C. β½οΈ
Saturday 12th October 2024
CarMatKings South Challenge Cup Round 3
James McGrory Park, Glasgow
Kick-off 2pm
Weβre now nine league matches into the new season, and itβs a respectable six wins and three defeats to our record so far. Given our slow start to the campaigns in the last two seasons (it took us until mid-February to register 18 points last season), it represents a solid improvement with us sitting in 3rd position in the league. Encouraging, absolutely, but still plenty of big games to come & a lot of hard work ahead of us.
Last weekendβs win against Beith may not have been without it’s controversy, but considering they are back-to-back Premier Division Champions it was quite an achievement to secure the 3 points. Not just that, Chris Strain’s men had only conceded 7 goals in 8 league games before they came to Portland Park & to score 4 goals against such a miserly defence shows our strengths.
St. Roch’s have a fantastic season in the offing, currently sitting level top on points with Arthurlie & Rutherglen Glencairn in the First Division after a superb start. 6 wins in 10 has them chasing promotion & looking up the table after a season consolidating their position following their promotion from the Conferences the season before. Last Saturday’s win at Petershill comes hot on the heels of an impressive win against Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, and those results will have cemented their position amongst the promotion challengers and made a few people sit up & take note.
Hereβs everything you need to know ahead of Saturdayβs matchβ¦
Our only major injury problem, Jack Sherrie, is edging closer to a return to training after treatment with Darrell on his ankle injury sustained in our friendly match with Lugar Boswell Thistle in late August. Dale Moore joined Irvine Meadow last week whilst Robbie McBlain joined Craigmark, and we wish both of them very well for the future.
Other than that, itβs a clean bill of health after Ben Black & Scott McLean both returned to the matchday squad in recent weeks.
Back to Cup weekends this week, and it’s unchartered waters for us as we head off to a new ground for me in James McGrory Park. That’s the magic of the Cup, you head to teams & grounds you haven’t been to before & that’s fantastic. Thankfully, not as long a trip as our last away day in the Cup!
What a superb feeling it was to walk away from the game last Saturday with 3 points, a real achievement for the club to secure that win against a team who have won the league for two seasons running. We maybe started a bit poorly, but we quickly recovered & were well worth the win in the end up. Plenty on show from the team to be pleased about, not just good football & goals, but in terms of determination, togetherness & graft. Keep that up & we’ll be alright.
Great night in the club on Saturday night for the Development Team race night, superb to see the place so busy & a good amount being raised for the side. All credit to Mark Templeton for his hard work. The next big event to look forward to is the Speaker’s Brunch on 3rd November, make sure you get your tickets!
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | St. Roch’s Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Candy |
| Founded | 1920 |
| Ground | James McGrory Park, Glasgow |
| Capacity | 2,220 |
| President | Richard Todd |
| Manager | Iain Kennedy |
| Captain | Kieran Daw |
| 2023-24 | WOSFL First Division, 10th from 16 |
β½οΈοΈ SEAN SLAVEN β½οΈ
The tall front man was a headline summer signing for the Candy, arriving after a superb season leading the line for Ashfield in their promotion push where he finished top scorer in the First Division.
Only 23, he was a product of the fabled Hamilton Academicals youth academy before enjoying spells with Linlithgow Rose, Brechin City & Broomhill.
β½οΈοΈ BEN DAILY β½οΈ
Another exciting forward for the Candy, Ben was top scorer for Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in the Premier Division when he moved to JGP & he has gone on to become a vital player for the Roch as well.
The 25 year old began his career in the SPFL with Albion Rovers, before a move to Caledonian Braves in the Lowland League. The goals started to flow at Ashfield before Maxi took him to Guy’s Meadow.
Β© Thanks to St. Roch’s for their photos
St. Roch’s
| WON | WON |