Troon are on Cup duty again this weekend, this time it’s the turn of the South Region Challenge Cup and a first visit to Portland Park for South of Scotland League Champions Abbey Vale.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Abbey Vale⚽️
Saturday 14th October 2023
South Region Challenge Cup, 3rd Round
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm
Jimmy Kirkwood’s men have been consistently inconsistent this season, with good wins followed up by frustrating performances. A confident pre-season led us into a strong start to the league campaign, but the form guide has been as much up as it’s been down since then.
Abbey Vale had a sticky start to the campaign, but they have suddenly found form & are unbeaten in five matches, recording an 11-1 win last weekend to see confidence high coming into this week’s match.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
It was great to see Logan Smith back in action last Saturday at Pollok, as he made his return after being ruled out since the opening day win over Irvine Meadow XI. Sam McCloskey is back in full training after being stretchered off against Kirkintilloch Rob Roy with a torn hamstring. This week might be a little soon for him, but he’s not looking too far from action which is a huge boost for the side.
A lot of the chat in recent weeks has been on the promising crop of youngsters coming out of Portland Park, and no doubt the focus will again be on them this week.
Former Development Team Captain Aaron Boyd & last season’s Development Team Player of the Year Kori Howard have both started regularly this season, whilst fellow Academy graduates Charlie Brown, Leyton Dunlop, Joe McCarroll and Nathan Chambers have all featured regularly as well. Fantastic to see the pathway from Under 17s to Development Team to First Team.
| Full Name | Abbey Vale Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Vale |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Ground | Maryfield Park, New Abbey |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Chairman | Andy Brolls |
| Manager | Allan Clark |
| Captain | Greig Corbett |
| 2022-23 | South of Scotland League, 1st from 12 |
Troon F.C.
| DREW | LOST | WON | LOST | WON |
| 2-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 (8-7 on pens) | 2-1 | 0-3 |
| Pollok (A) | Arthurlie (H) | Craigmark (H) | Benburb (A) | Blairgowrie (A) |
| Sat 30th September | Sat 23rd September | Sat 16th September | Sat 9th September | Sat 2nd September |
| WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | South Challenge Cup | WOSFL Premier | Scottish Junior Cup |
Abbey Vale
| WON | DREW | WON | WON | WON |
| 1-11 | 3-3 | 7-1 | 7-2 | 1-3 |
| St Cuthbert Wanderers (A) | Stranraer (H) | Lochmaben (H) | Royal Albert (H) | Lochmaben (A) |
| Sat 7th October | Sat 30th September | Sat 23rd September | Sat 16th September | Sat 9th September |
| South of Scotland League | South of Scotland League | South of Scotland League | South Challenge Cup | South of Scotland 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 (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
Abbey Vale celebrated success last season, winning the South of Scotland Football League by 3 points from Creetown after a 22 game season, losing just twice.
Troon finished 11th in the 16 team WOSFL Premier Division 2022-23 last season; a great start was marred by a mid-season drop, before a strong finish secured safety & actually ended up in a little disappointment that we didn’t finish higher.
(before this week’s matches)
| Match Referee: | ||
| Michael McCart | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Robbie Fraser | Scott Gunion |
| Referee Observer: | John A. Young |
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 early from 12pm ahead of the 2pm kick-off, and supporters of both clubs are very welcome.
And, indeed, neutrals!
📺 Come early & stay late – enjoy the football on the big screen! 📺
| ⏰ 12.30pm | Notts County v Mansfield Town | (English Football League Two) ⚽️ |
| ⏰ 5.30pm | Peterhead v Dundee United | (SPFL Trust Trophy) ⚽️ |
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.
⚽️ Troon F.C. Development Team versus Kilwinning Rangers ⚽️
Friday 13th October 2023
WOSFDL (Conference D)
QMA Sports Campus, Ayr
Kick-off 8pm
Head along & support the Troon stars of tomorrow!
⚽️ Cumnock versus Troon F.C.⚽️
Saturday 21st October 2023
West of Scotland Football League Cup (Round 1)
Townhead Park, Cumnock
Kick-off 2pm