Fifth fixture in 14 days for the Seasiders, we are back to league action and back to home comforts of Portland Park as we welcome Kilwinning Rangers for an Ayrshire derby in our 11th Scottish Lowland Football League match of the season.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Kilwinning Rangers ⚽️
Saturday 26th September 2026
Scottish Lowland Football League (West)
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 3pm
A taxing looking September has proven to be exactly that; we got off to the perfect start with two wins out of two and ten goals scored, but a narrow home defeat to Johnstone Burgh checked the optimism and the defeat at Cumnock in midweek was a sobering reality check. The travelling Seagulls who went home disappointed on Wednesday will be expecting a reaction from the players this weekend.
Next Saturday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup match is a really exciting first for us, we’ve got a cracking away trip to look forward to as we head for Banff and Deveronvale. Jim has the plans in place just now with many planning a Friday night stay, hopefully we can look forward to a healthy travelling support as we head into unchartered territory for us. If you are interested in joining the travelling support, speak to Jim or Richard on Saturday.
Kilwinning Rangers are undoubtedly the pacesetters so far this season, and they emphasised that in convincing fashion on Tuesday night in front of a very healthy crowd at Kilwinning Sports Club. Chris Strain’s men produced a phenomenal performance to demolish reigning Champions Auchinleck Talbot 3-0 with more than a thousand watching at home on The Scottish Football Network YouTube free live stream (follow them on YouTube for more upcoming matches!) in what was a real statement of intent.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
Nathan Baird sat out the last two matches after picking up an ankle knock at Newton Stewart, and he will sit out this weekend as well as he continues work on his recovery. Callan Veitch is suspended for this weekend’s match following his red card against Cumnock, while Club Captain Mark Morrison is hoping to feature from the bench on Saturday as he continues to make a staged comeback from his hip injury.
Lewis Allan has been working with Darrell to get back to fitness after suffering a knock on his knee, but hopefully he shouldn’t be missing too much longer. Kieran Logan has joined Maybole on a permanent transfer.
What a challenge we have ahead of us this weekend; the division’s in-form team come to town when we are coming off the back of a really chastening defeat at Cumnock.
Kilwinning finished last season strongly after Chris Strain returned to the club, and they recruited really well in the summer, so it is hardly a surprise they are in contention this time out. Having said that, the start they’ve got off to has been exceptional and anyone watching on Tuesday night can’t have failed to be impressed. But as good as they are proving themselves to be, as ever, for me it’s about what we do in the game and that will be our focus.
Wednesday was one of the poorest performances I’ve seen from a Troon team for quite a while. We have been very unpredictable so far this season, it’s been very hard to know which Troon side we are going to see when a game starts. That is something we really need to get a grip on, we can’t be going into big games not knowing if we’re going to turn up or not and so the focus on that starts this weekend. Maybe we need to re-focus, maybe we need to be getting back to basics, but we really need to address this before the season marches on without us. Myself, Marty, Johnny & Chappy have been talking non-stop about big changes and wee adjustments alike, and how we can look to get us moving forward; that won’t change until we are where we want to be.
As difficult an encounter as this is expected to be, I’m really pleased to be heading home for it. It gives the players an opportunity to show the supporters exactly what this club means to them, and it gives the supporters a great opportunity to rally round the team and show what it means to them. We’ll come through this blip together.
‘MON THE TROON!!
Jimmy Kirkwood (Team Manager)
| Full Name | Kilwinning Rangers Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Buffs |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Ground | Buffs Park, Kilwinning |
| Capacity | 2,800 |
| Chairman | Colin Evans |
| Manager | Kevin Kelly |
| Captain | Danny O’Neill |
| 2025-26 | WOSFL Premier Division, 7th from 16 |
⚽️️ DANNY O’NEILL ⚽️
26 year old Danny has arguably been the best signing of Chris Strain’s latest Kilwinning reign so far, a deadline day signing in March from Johnstone Burgh. His leadership qualities immediately stood out and he has worn the armband with pride since his arrival, leading the team by example from the heart of their defence.
Danny first came to prominence in the WOSFL when he made quite the impact at Beith as part of Chris Strain’s revolution at Bellsdale, with some stellar performances as they lifted back-to-back titles. He joined Beith from Harmony Row in June 2020, and he went from “one for the future” to a standout for today very quickly.
He was a big-money signing for Johnstone Burgh in July 2024 and he made an instant impact, becoming a rock at the back, guiding the side to 3rd in the Premier Division & to victory in the Scottish Junior Cup Final against Tranent.
Solid at the back & a danger from set-plays, Danny was a vital member of the back-to-back league winners at Beith under Strain – he’ll be looking for more silverware now they’ve renewed their partnership.
⚽️️ CARLO MONTI ⚽️
An absolute Rolls-Royce of a footballer, Carlo has all too often been the thorn in a Troon side whether it be with Beith, Kilwinning or Pollok.
He may be 36 now, but the football brain is as sharp as ever as he was all too eager to show in the midweek win demolition of Auchinleck Talbot. His evergreen ability was clear for everyone to see in his mischievous finish for the opening goal, and is something we have to be very wary of this weekend.
Whether he is a number 10 or coming from out wide, Carlo is capable of anything and will need to be carefully marshalled.
© Thanks to our club photographer Graeme McKenzie for his photos – fantastic, as always!
TROON F.C.
Last 5 Matches
| 23rd Sep | Cumnock Juniors | 4-0 | Troon F.C. | Lowland League (West) |
| 16th Sep | Troon F.C. | 1-2 | Johnstone Burgh | Lowland League (West) |
| 12th Sep | Newton Stewart | 1-5 | Troon F.C. | Lowland League (West) |
| 5th Sep | Saltire City | 2-5 | Troon F.C. | South Challenge Cup R2 |
| 29th Aug | Troon F.C. | 1-3 | Cumbernauld Colts | Lowland League (West) |
KILWINNING RANGERS
Last 5 Matches
| 22nd Sep | Kilwinning Rangers | 3-0 | Auchinleck Talbot | Lowland League (West) |
| 19th Sep | Kilwinning Rangers | 3-0 | Easterhouse | Scottish Communities Cup R2 |
| 15th Sep | Albion Rovers | 0-3 | Kilwinning Rangers | Lowland League (West) |
| 12th Sep | Kilwinning Rangers | 4-0 | Celtic B | Lowland League (West) |
| 5th Sep | Kilwinning Rangers | 1-3 (4-5 on pens) | Caledonian Braves | South Challenge Cup R2 |
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:
X / TWITTER
Live updates from the official Troon F.C. Twitter feed
Match news via the official Troon F.C. Facebook page
TIKTOK
Our newest addition! Watch some official Troon F.C. clips on our TikTok feed
All news on the club FIRST via the official Troon F.C. WhatsApp Supporter’s Group chat
It was two convincing wins out of two for Troon in our league matches between the clubs last season.
HOME MATCH
| TROON F.C. | 6-1 | KILWINNING RANGERS |
| Portland Park, Troon | Saturday 2nd August 2025 | WOSFL Premier Division |
The first encounter of 2025-26 was one of the best performances in what was to become a record breaking season for Troon.
Troon came slowly out of the blocks from kick-off, but suddenly clicked into gear with the opening goal from Dario Viviani on 21 minutes. Dario doubled the lead on 32 minutes, before Stephen Docherty made it 3-0 and Leyton Dunlop made it 4-0 before the interval. Kilwinning didn’t have a chance to rally after the break as Lewis Lovering made it 5 after only 48 minutes, and Leyton got his second to make it 6-0 before the hour mark.
Bryan Boylan got a late consolation after 60 minutes and that finished off the scoring.
This was an emphatic statement from the Seasiders: six goals, a performance full of pace and precision, and a display that could have yielded even more. For Kilwinning, this was simply a day when they ran into a side in irresistible form.
AWAY MATCH
| KILWINNING RANGERS | 0-3 | TROON F.C. |
| Kilwinning Sports Club | Friday 30th January 2026 | WOSFL Premier Division |
The return match in January was a much more competitive affair, although two late goals made it look more comfortable.
Lewis Lovering scored a cracker after half an hour in a match, converting after a fantastic Dean Fulton run and cross. Kilwinning thought they had levelled on 68 minutes when substitute Bryan Boylan raced clear and finished coolly, only for the assistant referee’s flag to deny the home side and spare Troon any punishment for a rare defensive lapse. Any lingering doubt was removed on 80 minutes. A partial clearance from the Kilwinning defence fell invitingly to Dario Viviani on the edge of the box, and the midfielder took a neat touch before drilling a low shot beyond Glen Cameron to double Troon’s advantage.
Five minutes later, Troon put the result beyond doubt with a move of real quality. Viviani again provided the spark, threading a perfectly weighted pass through the Buffs back line for Lovering, who curved his run superbly before finishing calmly past the goalkeeper to claim his second of the night and end the contest.
(before this week’s matches)
| REFEREE: | ||
| Olivia Nicolson | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Andrew Carbry | Stephen Smith |
| Referee Observer: | Dougie Smith |
Tickets are available at the cash turnstiles at Portland Park:
| Adult: | £12.00 |
| Concession: | £6.00 |
| Under-16: | FREE |
Season Tickets are valid for this match.
You can find out all about the match itself by visiting the match centre both before and 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 early from 12.30pm ahead of the 3pm kick-off, and supporters of both clubs are very welcome.
And, indeed, neutrals!
Come early & enjoy the football on the big screen!
| ⏰ 2pm | Slovenia v Scotland | (UEFA Nations League) ⚽️ |
| ⏰ 5.30pm | Oldham Athletic v Salford City | (FA League Two) ⚽️ |
The bar will close following the conclusion of the 5.30pm kick-off 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 all day & will be open til late, selling a variety of hot food & drinks as well as cold drinks.
If you’ve never been to SCRAN before, you really need to watch Blair McNally’s YouTube video after his visit to Portland Park…and SCRAN!
⚽️ Deveronvale versus Troon F.C. ⚽️
Saturday 3rd October 2026
Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup Round 1
Princess Royal Park, Banff
Kick-off 3pm