The big matches just keep coming, and this weekend we travel to a fan’s favourite venue in Bellsdale to take on reigning Champions Beith in our 19th GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.
β½οΈ Beith versus Troon F.C. β½οΈ
Saturday 1st March 2025
GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division
Bellsdale Park, Beith
Kick-off 2pm
We may have started March off in an unbeaten manner, but it’s a marathon & not a sprint with all the fixtures coming our way! A win & a draw saw us rise to 3rd position in the Premier Division table, but with 7 matches in 4 weeks there are sure to be many ups & downs before we see April.
Every talk of Beith will circulate around the Management this week & for this weekend, after Manager Chris Strain stepped down on Tuesday after more than two and a half years in charge of the Cabes. Rightly a legend at Bellsdale after winning back-to-back league Championship titles, Chris’s departure will have come as a shock to supporters & players alike, and we’ll no doubt see a reaction from that this weekend.
After two seasons Beith supporters could only have dreamed of, as back-to-back winners of the WOSFL Premier Division despite having a budget just a fraction of some of their competitors, the Mighty have seen the core of their squad cherry picked by those aforementioned rivals. A rebuild has taken place, and supporters will just be keen to see a settled team – although that may now not happen this season, as focus shifts to next campaign.
Hereβs everything you need to know ahead of Saturdayβs matchβ¦
Sam Jamieson is the latest casualty, being rushed off to hospital after Wednesday’s match with Shotts Bon Accord with a horrible looking injury which tore off half his ear. 18 hours waiting at hospital & 14 stitches later, we’re glad to say he’s on the mend now & will be back in a Troon shirt soon!
Other than Sam, the injury picture is improving as we get ready to welcome some of our regulars back into action before a busy month.
Leyton Dunlop returned (looking well cool in a protective mask!) after breaking his nose against Cumnock last week, which was a real bonus to the side. Captain Mark Morrison returned to the side on Saturday after a hamstring strain, as did Dean Fulton as a second-half substitute. Logan Smith was back in the matchday squad on Saturday as well, as was Ben Black on Wednesday. They will now be pushing for a starting slot now they have returned to fitness.
Our only other absences are long-term absentees Scott McLean & Ewan McLevy.
Interesting week up at Beith, I don’t think many folk expected that news this week! All the best to Chris, he’s done a fantastic job up there & I’m sure will be remembered fondly. Best of luck to him on whatever he goes on to do next.
If you look at the matches between Troon and Beith in the last 3-4 years, it normally equals goals. Delighted to hear the Chairman saying we had good travelling numbers for this weekend, and rightly so given the welcome we get from Beith. Their supporters enjoy a day out at Troon as well, great to see both clubs reciprocating.
Wednesday wasn’t a magnificently entertaining watch, but it might very well prove to be a decent point by the season’s end. Picking up points when you’re not playing well is the sign of a good side, so we’ll take it & move on. We haven’t had a 0-0 draw since August 2023, so we can hardly be accused of a lack of entertainment. Rarely dull following Troon!
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 |
β½οΈοΈ LEWIS LOVERING β½οΈ
The third generation of the Lovering family, Lewis is well and truly forging his own path in the game now.
The 24 year old began his career with Albion Rovers before spells with Neilston & Caledonian Braves, but he returned to New Tinto Park in 2020 and quickly became the βout-ballβ for the side, with some electric displays from the left wing.
Benburbβs Player of the Year in 2021-22 and 2022-23, Lewis made the move to Bellsdale in the summer.
β½οΈοΈ CALLUM GRAHAM β½οΈ
28 year old Callum was a big-money buy earlier this season from Clydebank & he was tasked with replacing the goals of Ciaran Diver, who departed in the summer for St. Cadoc’s. And he’s started in spectacular fashion, with 8 goals in his first 10 games!
Callum has been a goal scoring sensation in the last few seasons after joining Ashfield from Motherwell Kings Amateurs. He scored 49 goals in his first season and a half with Ashfield after netting a phenomenal 199 goals in 5 seasons in the amateurs. His Pollok career began in similar fashion, as did his Medda career.
Β© Thanks to Beith’s club photographer Stephen Kerr for his photos
Beith