It’s time for the last 16 of the South Challenge Cup, and our first ever competitive match against Lowland League side (and last season’s semi-finalist’s) Caledonian Braves as Ricky Waddell’s side visit Portland Park.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Caledonian Braves⚽️
Saturday 3rd February 2024
South Region Challenge Cup, 5th Round
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm
We’ve passed the midway point of our league campaign, and the target for the rest of the season is very simple; secure our position in the league, try to progress in the Cup & get in as good a shape as we can for next season. All very achievable, but points are King.
Inconsistency has plagued Troon in the early part of this season, with performances up & down and results unpredictable. Delicate surgery to the squad has given Manager Jimmy Kirkwood hope that the New Year gives the chance of a fresh start & a run of results to propel us into next season.
Caledonian Braves are a club we have never faced before in any competition, with them having competed in the South of Scotland League (as Edusport) since their foundation in 2011 until they were accepted into the Lowland League in 2017. Having previously played out of Ravenscraig, Lesser Hampden & Annan, they set up a permanent home at Alliance Park in Strathclyde Country Park between Hamilton and Motherwell in 2019. Managing Director Chris Ewing has been at the forefront of a number of clever initiatives to further the club over the years, including launching a members scheme aimed at driving the club forward to eventually reach the Scottish Premiership.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
There’s a real feelgood atmosphere around the squad just now, with some of our missing players returning to training after injury and a number of our squad committing their future to the club with extended contracts.
Kyle Gilroy, Mark Shankland, Leyton Dunlop, Jack Sherrie, Ewan McLevy, Sam McCloskey, Ben Black & Dale Burgess have all put pen to paper in the last couple of weeks, which is a massive boost for the side going into an important part of this season.
Top scorer Mark Shankland is back in training after missing the last few matches with a foot injury picked up against his old club Auchinleck Talbot. Ewan McLevy has returned to full training and is very close to a full return to action, although he is suspended for this weekend’s match after picking up two bookings in the competition in previous rounds this season. But he is targeting a return against Beith next Saturday, which will be a huge boost to the side. Jack Sherrie has also returned to training as he approaches a return to fitness after an ankle ligament injury at Cumnock in October, that will be monitored in the build-up to the game to see if he can play a part.
Mark Morrison has been recalled from his loan by parent club East Kilbride, which is a blow as he had performed well back at Portland Park, and Chris Millar misses out again after pulling a hamstring against Auchinleck Talbot a few weeks ago. Nicky Docherty is still awaiting a scan on his injured knee, after he was stretchered off in our home match against Hurlford with suspected knee ligament damage.
Cup weekend this week, and we welcome a new opponent to Portland Park who we have never faced before in Caledonian Braves. A strong, fit & well-organised side who will be a real challenge & will likely be favourites as the club from the higher tier, and probably rightly so. They won the South of Scotland League in 2016-17 and won promotion to the Lowland League, where they have played since, but we’ve seen them play a few times recently & have an idea what they’re all about.
Last Saturday was ideal in terms of preparation for this weekend. We had been planning on giving the boys a weekend off with no official fixture, but with the Gartcairn game being off the week before it was the right decision to arrange a friendly & a decent game down at Maybole. With most of the players getting 45 minutes at least, 7 of the Development Team players up for some first team exposure and to score 3 goals and keep a clean sheet is exactly what was needed & hopefully brings us into this week firing on all cylinders. Plenty of positives again for us to carry in to this week’s match.
The crowd were excellent last time out against Cumnock, here’s hoping we can get a strong turnout again & you all get right behind the lads. Fortress Portland!
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Caledonian Braves Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Braves |
| Founded | 2011 (as Edusport Academy) |
| Ground | Alliance Park, Strathclyde Country Park |
| Capacity | 500 (100 seated) |
| Chairman | Chris Ewing |
| Manager | Ricky Waddell |
| Captain | John Guthrie |
| 2022-23 | Lowland Football League, 10th from 19 |
⚽️️ DANIEL MARTINS ⚽️
The Nigerian-born centre-back began his footballing career in the youth system of Greenock Morton, before stints with Livingston and Alloa and a brief spell with Irvine Victoria, where he first came onto our radar.
Daniel spent time in Poland with Watra Bialka in 2021, before returning to Scotland to pick up Lowland League experience with Gretna and Cowdenbeath. Daniel then spent half a season with Camelon, before joining the Braves in July 2023.
⚽️️ JOHN GUTHRIE ⚽️
The 23-year-old joined the Braves after two seasons with Albion Rovers, instantly becoming a fans favourite with back to back ‘Brave of the Month’ awards for the season in October/November 2019.
The tough-tackling midfielder is a versatile player who can also comfortably occupy the full back positions. He was named team Captain in the summer, and leads by example on & off the park.
© Thanks to Caledonian Braves for their photos
Troon F.C.
| DREW | LOST | LOST | WON | LOST |
| 2-2 | 3-2 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 4-1 |
| Cumnock (H) | Auchinleck Talbot (A) | Hurlford United (H) | Largs Thistle (A) | Auchinleck Talbot (A) |
| Sat 13th January | Sat 6th January | Fri 29th December | Sat 16th December | Sat 9th December |
| WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Cup (Round 3) |
Caledonian Braves
| DREW | DREW | DREW |