It’s the first midweek home match of the league season, and we welcome our old friends from Cumnock to Portland Park in our 5th GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Cumnock ⚽️
Wednesday 14th August 2024
GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 7.30pm
It’s the fifth match of the new season already, and it’s two excellent wins & two frustrating defeats so far. But certainly been plenty of positives to keep confidence up & optimism high amongst our supporters!
Cumnock have had yet another summer of huge change, introducing yet another new Management team in the shape of former Kilbirnie gaffer Stephen Swift and former Glenafton gaffer Craig McEwan. A raft of new signings have come into the club to herald a new dawn, and the supporters will be praying for some consistency at last to go with success.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s match…
It was great to see Ben Black making his comeback from a long-standing groin injury at Johnstone Burgh on Saturday, his first football since March. Still got some sharpness to get back, but great to see him playing without a reaction afterwards.
Attacker Scott McLean continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury sustained last season when with Glenafton, but he’s edging closer to a return to full training & hopefully we’ll see him on the field soon.
Looking forward to a midweek game at Portland, there’s something special about games under the lights or in the twilight. Always great crowds too, here’s hoping that continues this week. Our games against Cumnock are rarely dull, the last few have been well worth the entry fee.
Saturday was a disappointing one for me, I felt we were the better side in the first half & thought we could easily have been in front. Chances for Sam & Jack could have easily gone in on another day & that would have been critical, but to lose a goal from a corner that should never have been (and the footage showed it was clearly a goal-kick) was a bitter pill to swallow. The first goal was critical & that swung the match on that decision. We should certainly have done better with the subsequent goals, but it all swung on that decision.
Look at the matches between Troon and Cumnock in the last 3-4 years, it normally equals goals. The new management at Townhead haven’t been shy in the transfer market this summer & have recruited really well, so we’ll see how we shape up against a side who will no doubt be expecting to be fighting up the top of the league & getting a return on that investment. It’s a challenge we’ll relish, that’s for sure.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Cumnock Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The ‘Nock |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Ground | Townhead Park, Cumnock |
| Capacity | 3,000 |
| Club President | Kevin Orr |
| Manager | Stephen Swift |
| Captain | Jamie Wilson |
| 2023-24 | WOSFL Premier Division, 8th from 16 |
⚽️️ BLAIR CURRIE ⚽️
Goalkeeper Blair was a headline signing for Cumnock in the summer, signing up at Townhead Park after leaving a successful five year spell at Stirling Albion where he lifted the League Two Championship in 2022-23.
The 30 year old older brother of St. Cadoc’s keeper Max began his career with a 10 year spell with Rangers as a youth, and he also counts Hamilton, Annan and Clyde as his former clubs.
⚽️️ STEFAN McCLUSKEY ⚽️
33 year old Stef is the showpiece signing of the summer for Cumnock, the exciting forward coming in from League One Kelty Hearts.
No stranger to this level, he began his career with Blantyre Victoria before he moved into the SPFL with Airdrie. A season each with Lanark & Shotts saw him lift the Scottish Junior Cup with Tony McInally’s men in 2012 before he headed off on a monadic career which took in Clyde, Morton, Peterhead, Alloa, Pollok, Dumbarton & Forfar before he joined up at Kelty in 2023.
© Thanks to Cumnock for their photos
Troon F.C.