It’s onto Cup number three for the season as we begin our West of Scotland Cup campaign for this season, and it’s a step into the unknown as we make a trip to a new ground for us to meet our WOSFL counterparts Easterhouse Football Academy at Stepford Football Centre.
β½οΈ Easterhouse versus Troon F.C. β½οΈ
Saturday 2nd November 2024
Indigo Unified Communications West of Scotland Cup 2nd Round
Fareplay Stepford Football Complex, Glasgow
Kick-off 2pm
Weβre now nine league matches into the new season and we’re sitting in joint second in the table and into the fourth round of both the Scottish Junior Cup & South Challenge Cup, so it’s a promising start which demonstrates real progress from recent seasons. Our current points tally is 18, it took us until mid-February to register that tally last season.
Encouraging? Absolutely, but still plenty of big games to come & a lot of hard work ahead of us.
Easterhouse Football Academy were one of the new teams who were admitted to the West of Scotland Football League upon it’s formation in 2020, and their first team are the peak of a club which boasts a number of youth teams of all ages. They play at Fareplay Stepford Football Complex, which has undergone significant upgrades of late, thanks to funding from the Scottish FA, to provide the hundreds of kids under their umbrella the facilities to play the game in a safe environment. Their first team compete in the WOSFL Fourth Division.
Hereβs everything you need to know ahead of Saturdayβs matchβ¦
For the first time this season, we’re now having to look at a few injuries within the squad before team selection is made for Saturday’s match.
Ben Black missed Saturday’s friendly win against Rob Roy with a groin injury, while Jack Sherrie wasn’t risked after feeling a little discomfort after training last week.
Ewan McLevy has a possibility of being involved this week, but Darrell, will assess him before any decision is made. Scott McLean misses out after a flare-up of the knee injury he suffered last season with Glenafton.
Back to Cup weekends this week, and itβs unchartered waters for us as we head off to a new ground for some of our number in Stepford. It’s a park I’ve actually graced before in my amateur playing days, but I believe it has undergone a fair bit of work of late so I look forward to seeing it.
This weekend is the first match of a huge month for us in November. We want to make an impact in the Cups this season, and we have matches in each of the three Cup competitions coming up, alongside two massively important league matches. Different kinds of opponents, different parts of the country & different challenges that will test us to the very limit and see exactly what we’re made of. We’ll certainly know what kind of season we are going to have come 5pm on the 30th of November, that’s for sure.
Going to be a busy weekend for us off the field as well, with ourΒ Speakerβs Brunch on Sunday 3rd November. Jimmy Nicholl is a legend in Scottish football & will have plenty of tales from his years in the game, while Billy Kirkwood is tremendous craic. Looking forward to a great day at the club, and hopefully raising a few quid for the club at the same time.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Easterhouse Football Academy |
| Nickname(s) | |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Ground | Stepford Football Centre, Glasgow |
| Capacity | 500 |
| Secretary | Dan Cameron |
| Manager | |
| Captain | Dylan Nicol |
| 2023-24 | WOSFL Fourth Division, 11th from 16 |
β½οΈοΈΒ TAYLOR MURRAYΒ β½οΈ
A young defender with a fabulous story behind him, he is very much the poster boy of the hard work that is done behind the scenes at Easterhouse Football Academy.
Fellow Easterhouse man, the super agent John Viola, gave Taylor an opportunity by putting him through his paces at a showcase in Madrid at the Spanish national teamβs training ground last July, where the 20 year old was offered a professional contract with a team in Georgia.
β½οΈοΈΒ JONATHON BAXTER β½οΈ
Any team that is travelling to face a team from a higher league will need a keeper to have a good day, and Jonathon Baxter will be that man for Easterhouse for sure.
The 32 year old had a memorable season last term at Stepford, lifting both the Player’s Player of the Year and the Player’s Player of the Year. He has started this season in similar form, and he is a big character in the team & a big presence between the sticks.
© Thanks to Easterhouse FA for their photos
Easterhouse FA
| WON | WON | WON | DREW | WON |
| 2-3 | 1-1 (1-3 on pens) | 4-0 | 4-4 | 3-1 |
| Kello (A) | Muirkirk (A) | Carluke (H) | Port Glasgow (H) | Nairn St Ninian (H) |
| Sat 26th October | Sat 19th October | Sat 12th October | Sat 28th September | Sat 21st September |
| WOSFL Fourth Division | Scottish Junior Cup R3 | WOSFL Fourth Division | WOSFL Fourth Division | Scottish Junior Cup R2 |
Troon F.C.
| WON | WON | WON | WON | WON |
| 1-1 (4-2 on pens) | 1-3 | 4-1 | 3-2 | 2-12 |
| Glasgow Utd (H) | St. Roch’s (A) | Beith (H) | Benburb (H) | Dufftown (A) |
| Sat 19th October | Sat 12th October | Sat 5th October | Sat 28th September | Sat 21st September |
| Scottish Junior Cup R3 | South Challenge Cup R3 | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | Scottish Junior Cup R2 |
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:
Live updates from the BRAND NEW official Troon F.C. Twitter feed (I’m not calling it X yet):
- Team news pre-match
- Goal alerts
- News flashes
- Real time alerts
Make sure you follow our NEW feed!
Match news via the official Troon F.C. Facebook page
- Team news pre-match
- Half-time score & update
- Full time results
Easterhouse finished in 11th position in a highly competitive Fourth Division last term, a league which was eventually won by Glenvale who were promoted alongside Thorn Athletic and Lugar Boswell Thistle. They were knocked out of the South Challenge Cup by eventual finalists Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, and Craigmark edged past them to progress in the West of Scotland Cup last season.
Troon finished 12th in the 16 team WOSFL Premier Division 2023-24 last season; a promising start quickly hit the buffers, before a strong finish secured safety & actually ended up in a little disappointment that we didnβt finish higher. One of the most frustrating parts of last season was a November defeat away to Rutherglen Glencairn in the Scottish Junior Cup, a frustrating match where we never really got going.
(before this week’s matches)
| REFEREE: | ||
| Steven MacDonald | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Cal Cunningham | Lyon Fernie |
| Referee Observer: | To be appointed |
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Billy Inglis is doing a head count to check viability for a supporterβs bus for this weekend. Please contact Billy on: 07957 539491 if youβd like to reserve a seat.
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π STAGECOACH.com
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π SCOTRAIL.co.uk
Tickets are available at the cash turnstiles at Stepford Football Centre:
| Adult: | Β£5 |
| Concession: | Β£3 |
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.
β½οΈ Troon F.C. Development Team versus Cumnock β½οΈ
Friday 1st November 2024
WOSFDL Conference E
QMA Sports Campus, Ayr
Kick-off 8pm
Head along & support the Troon stars of tomorrow!
β½οΈ Glenafton Athletic versus Troon F.C. β½οΈ
Saturday 9th November 2024
GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division
Loch Park, New Cumnock
Kick-off 2pm