Following the win over Benburb last Saturday, it’s the second home game on the bounce for the Seasiders as we welcome our old friends from Beith down to Portland Park for our 9th GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Beith ⚽️
Saturday 5th October 2024
GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm
We’re now eight league matches into the new season, and it’s a respectable five 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-January to register 15 points last season), it represents a solid improvement with us sitting in 5th position in the league. Encouraging, absolutely, but still plenty of big games to come & a lot of hard work ahead of us.
Last weekend’s win against Benburb gets a monkey off our backs – the Bens had won all of our last 5 encounters & really had the hex over us, so it was extra impressive to see the boys fight back from 2-0 down for a deserved 3-2 win over a well-organised side who were scintillating on the break.
Beith have had two seasons to dream of, back-to-back winners of the WOSFL Premier Division despite having a budget just a fraction of some of their competitors. Chris Strain has worked wonders since coming in, but this may be his most challenging season at Bellsdale yet after the core of his squad was cherry picked by the aforementioned rivals. Last season’s top scorer of 40+ goals Ciaran Diver departed for St. Cadoc’s in the summer, whilst star centre-back Danny O’Neill, Aaron Mason & Blair Rossiter all departed for Johnstone Burgh and Kian Burns joined Pollok. A rebuild has taken place, and supporters of the Mighty will be keen to see a settled team.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
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 misses out after being placed up for transfer at his own request.
Other than that, it’s a clean bill of health after Ben Black & Scott McLean both returned to the matchday squad in recent weeks.
Feels like I keep saying this, but it is another big weekend for us with the Champions coming to town.
I’ve said it a few times before, but you have to take your hat off to Chris Strain & what he’s done since he was appointed at Beith. To win two titles in a row, and particularly in an era where the sheer size of budgets some clubs have is eye-watering, is a magnificent achievement and he deserves all the plaudits he’s received for that. Bit of a rebuilding job this season, and I sympathise with him on that, but he has the track record that shows he’ll keep challenging once he can gel his new side together. And with a number of familiar faces in there, it’s no surprise that’s happening already with 4 wins from the last 5.
The wave of support at the two late goals last weekend was fantastic, the atmosphere at Portland Park has been superb this season and has really pushed the players on. Home game against the Champions this week, and two big Cup matches straight after at St. Roch’s and then home to Glasgow United, and we need your support more than ever. Let’s make this a good October & see where that takes us.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Beith Juniors Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The ‘Cabes or The Mighty |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Ground | Bellsdale Park, Beith |
| Capacity | 2,200 |
| President | Gordon Irving |
| Manager | Chris Strain |
| Captain | Paul Frize |
| 2023-24 | WOSFL Premier Division Champions, 1st of 16 |
⚽️️ RICKY LITTLE ⚽️
An old-fashioned centre-back, Ricky was a wanted man before he joined the Cabes in the summer after calling time on an 11 year spell with Arbroath.
The 35 year old Ayrshire native began his career with Ayr United & hometown team Ardrossan Winton Rovers, before taking in a glittering career in the SPFL with Partick Thistle, Queens Park & eventually the Red Lichties and an eventful spell under Dick Campbell.
⚽️️ FRASER MALCOLM ⚽️
A bit of a throwback in terms of style, the 24 year old moved to Bellsdale in the summer to lead the line & take on the goalscoring mantle left by the departing Ciaran Diver, and he boasts 4 goals in 11 appearances so far.
First came on the scene in a goal-laden spell with Rossvale before a move to Rutherglen Glencairn. He was signed by Jim Duffy & Brian McLean for Clyde in the summer of 2023, before returning to Caledonian Locomotives for a brief spell.
© Thanks to Beith’s club photographer Stephen Kerr for his photos
Troon F.C.
| WON | WON | WON |