After 9 league matches, focus shifts to the Cup competitions. And first up is everyone’s favourite, the Scottish Junior Cup! For our second round match, we welcome a team we enjoyed four thrilling encounters with last season in Drumchapel United.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Drumchapel United ⚽️
Saturday 19th September 2026
Scottish Communities Cup Second Round
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2.30pm
A taxing looking September got off to the perfect start with two wins out of two and ten goals scored, but the first half in Wednesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Johnstone Burgh was disappointing. The second half continues the hope however, a spirited comeback and a superb goal from Dario got the crowd warmed up on a wild night and with momentum firmly in our favour we could have sneaked a draw.
Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup draw was a really exciting first for us, and we’ve now got a cracking away trip to look forward to as we head for Banff and Deveronvale. Jim is putting the plans in place just now with many planning a Friday night stay, hopefully we can look forward to a healthy travelling support as we head into unchartered territory for us. If you are interested in joining the travelling support, speak to Jim, John Redmond or Richard as soon as you can.
Drumchapel had a real rollercoaster of a season last term. They began the season superbly under Adam Hopes and John Black, sitting comfortably in the top 4 in the early stages of the season where finishing in the top nine was so crucial. Hopes departed the club in February, eventually joining Darian MacKinnon’s backroom team at Hamilton Academical, and the Drum went on a slide which became hard to arrest. A final day shoot-out against Glenafton ultimately saw both sides miss out on promotion by the finest margins with Renfrew and Beith sealing the last two spots in the new Lowland League West. New Manager Mick Oliver was appointed in the summer and he has seen his side start this season superbly; they are right in the title hunt, and have taken their place in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup for the first time as SFA Licence holders.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
There were one or two new knocks to contend with after Wednesday night’s match, mainly Martin McDonald who was forced off following the visitor’s second goal. He is seeing Darrell on Friday to work on the knock, and he’ll hopefully make it in time. Lewis Allan has been working with Darrell to get back to fitness after suffering a knock on his knee, hopefully he shouldn’t be missing too much longer.
After the great news of Club Captain Mark Morrison‘s return after more than a year out with injury, we were able to welcome back Leyton Dunlop on Saturday in the second half at Newton Stewart. Both still making a staged comeback, don’t want to do too much too soon, but great to have them back on the pitch and in the reckoning.
It’s everyone’s favourite, the Scottish Junior Cup weekend! Everybody’s favourite weekend of the year & something we all look forward to. Not a bus away day this weekend unfortunately, but at least the Chairman will be happy about that.
A warm welcome to Mick Oliver and his Drumchapel side, a team we faced four times last season and I don’t think there was a boring match amongst them. They’ve got some really good players in their side and have started the Premier Division strongly, so we have a real game on our hands here, pretty much the toughest ask of all the 2nd round ties I thought. But this is a competition that has eluded us in recent years and it’s always one we look to do well in, so it’s a match we throw our all into.
Wednesday was one hell of a night, the wind and rain in that first half couldn’t have come at a worse time. A disappointing performance in the first half as a result, Burgh adapted far better to the conditions and capitalised, but the second half was really encouraging. The equaliser was a top, top effort and I thought if we had another 5 or so minutes we would get the equaliser, but we just ran out of time. We need to learn the lesson though.
The Scottish Gas Scottish Cup draw is almost like an old fashioned Junior Cup draw with us heading north to Banff. Another tough draw, a very decent Highland League side, but the “big Scottish” is a new experience for us and I’m really looking forward to it. The Chairman is putting travel plans together, anyone who wants to be part of this historic trip make sure you speak to him ASAP and don’t miss out.
Let’s get a strong turnout on Saturday, support the club & try to cheer us on to the 3rd round.
‘MON THE TROON!!
Jimmy Kirkwood (Team Manager)
| Full Name | Drumchapel United Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Drum |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Ground | The Donald Dewar Centre, Drumchapel |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Club Secretary | William Chisholm |
| Manager | Mick Oliver |
| Captain | David Hopkirk |
| 2025-26 | WOSFL Premier Division, 12th from 16 |
⚽️️ AIDEN GILMARTIN ⚽️
The 21 year old forward was a superb summer signing from the Drum, joining from Johnstone Burgh in July.
The big frontman began his career in the St. Mirren youth academy, and he enjoyed loan moves to Cowdenbeath, East Kilbride and Stranraer as he honed his trade. He moved on to Darvel in the summer of 2024 and made such an impression in a short space of time that Johnstone Burgh splashed out to take him to Keanie Park in January, before he headed back to Darvel on loan to end that season. A solid season followed back at Burgh last season where he caught the eye of several clubs, before he made the move to the Dewar in the summer.
A big physical presence, Gilly will work the defence well, hold the ball up for his team-mates and is more than capable of a goal or two. Will need to be well marshalled.
⚽️️ DARREN CHRISTIE ⚽️
A Scottish Junior Cup & Premier Division winner in his time with Beith, Darren was frequently featured towards the top of the goalscorer’s charts at the end of each season.
The 38 year old began his career with Neilston before moving to Bellsdale, and after seven seasons he joined up at Newlandsfield in 2020 before Pollok decided not to compete the season. Spells at BSC Glasgow, Annan Athletic & then Stenhousemuir followed before he returned to Pollok in the summer of 2022. He moved on to Johnstone Burgh in the summer of 2024 and became a Scottish Junior Cup winner for the second time that season, before he headed for the Dewar this summer.
© Thanks to our club photographer Graeme McKenzie for his photos – fantastic, as always!
TROON F.C.
Last 5 Matches
| 16th Sep | Troon F.C. | Troon F.C. | Lowland League (West) | |
| 12th Sep | Newton Stewart | 1-5 | Troon F.C. | Lowland League (West) |
| 5th Sep | Saltire City | 2-5 | Troon F.C. | South Challenge Cup R2 |
| 29th Aug | Troon F.C. | 1-3 | Cumbernauld Colts | Lowland League (West) |
| 22nd Aug | Beith Juniors | 1-3 | Troon F.C. | Lowland League (West) |
| 19th Aug | Troon F.C. | 2-0 | Renfrew | Lowland League (West) |
DRUMCHAPEL UNITED
Last 5 Matches
| 12th Sep | Drumchapel United | 0-3 | Haddington Athletic | Scottish Gas Scottish Cup PR3 |
| 5th Sep | Drumchapel United | 9-2 | Girvan | South Challenge Cup R2 |
| 29th Aug | Drumchapel United | 3-1 | Cumbernauld United | WOSFL Premier Division |
| 22nd Aug | Vale of Leithen | 0-4 | Drumchapel United | Scottish Gas Scottish Cup PR2 |
| 15th Aug | Drumchapel United | 3-0 | Kirkintilloch Rob Roy | WOSFL Premier Division |
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:
X / TWITTER
Live updates from the official Troon F.C. Twitter feed
Match news via the official Troon F.C. Facebook page
TIKTOK
Our newest addition! Watch some official Troon F.C. clips on our TikTok feed
All news on the club FIRST via the official Troon F.C. WhatsApp Supporter’s Group chat
Troon were undefeated in our three matches between the clubs last season, winning one and drawing one in the league and eventually winning out via penalties in our WOSFL Cup match at the second attempt.
AWAY MATCH
| DRUMCHAPEL UNITED | 2-3 | TROON F.C. |
| The Donald Dewar Centre, Drumchapel | Saturday 6th September 2025 | WOSFL Premier Division |
The first encounter of 2025-26 was a real rollercoaster of a match!
Troon came storming out of the blocks right from kick-off, and dominated the opening proceedings. Dario Viviani opened the scoring in the fifth minute, before a quickfire Stephen Docherty double gave us a 3-0 lead after 23 minutes.
Botti Biabi gave the home side a semblance of hope on the half hour against the run of play, but the Drum mounted a comeback in the second half following a 68th minute David Hopkirk strike.
HOME MATCH
| TROON F.C. | 2-2 | DRUMCHAPEL UNITED |
| Portland Park, Troon | Saturday 7th March 2026 | WOSFL Premier Division |
The return match in March was another competitive affair, with another four goals shared between the sides.
After a drab first half, the match burst into life after the interval and Jack Allan opened the scoring in the 55th minute. Dario Viviani doubled the lead five minutes later, and just as Troon began to look comfortable Bradley Rodden halved the deficit before he netted the equaliser in the 71st minute. The drama wasn’t over, as Kyle Faulds was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on the touchline which saw Troon sit in late on to ride it out for a point.
CUP MATCH
| TROON F.C. | 2-2 (Troon win 4-2 on penalties) | DRUMCHAPEL UNITED |
| Portland Park, Troon | Wednesday 11th March 2026 | Strathclyde Demo West of Scotland Cup |
Troon held their nerve to win on penalties and reach the semi-finals of the WOSFL Cup at the second time of asking.
The original match was abandoned on Saturday 27th February following a nasty looking injury to young Jack Barr, but the rescheduled match was another enthralling affair.
Talisman Kieran Moore gave the visitors an early lead, before Kyle Gilroy struck an equaliser on the hour mark. Lewis Lovering completed the turnaround just a few minutes later, but a late strike from that man David Hopkirk took the game to spot kicks. Not for the first time, Dale Burgess was the hero from 12 yards as both Rodden and Moore were denied and Troon progressed.
(before this week’s matches)
| REFEREE: | ||
| Conor Greenan | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Lewis Littlejohn | Josh Boag |
| Referee Observer: | To be appointed |
Tickets are available at the cash turnstiles at Portland Park:
| Adult: | £12.00 |
| Concession: | £6.00 |
| Under-16: | FREE |
Season Tickets are NOT valid for this match.
You can find out all about the match itself by visiting the match centre both before and 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 12.30pm ahead of the 2.30pm kick-off, and supporters of both clubs are very welcome.
And, indeed, neutrals!
📺 Come early & enjoy the football on the big screen! 📺
| ⏰ 12.30pm | Millwall v West Ham United | (FA Championship) ⚽️ |
| ⏰ 5.30pm | Nottingham Forest v Coventry City | (FA Premier League) ⚽️ |
The bar will close following the conclusion of the 5.30pm kick-off 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 all day & will be open til late, selling a variety of hot food & drinks as well as cold drinks.
If you’ve never been to SCRAN before, you really need to watch Blair McNally’s YouTube video after his visit to Portland Park…and SCRAN!
⚽️ Cumnock Juniors versus Troon F.C. ⚽️
Wednesday 23rd September 2026
Scottish Lowland Football League (West)
Townhead Park, Cumnock
Kick-off 7.45pm