Hurlford United Match Preview – Troon Football Club

Troon look forward to one of the more popular local derbies, as we make the shortest of trips up the A77 to Hurlford & a visit to Darren Henderson‘s troops at Blair Park on Saturday for our 4th WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.

⚽️ Hurlford United versus Troon F.C. ⚽️
Saturday 12th August 2023
PDM Huws Gray WOSFL Premier Division
Blair Park, Hurlford
Kick-off 2pm

Jimmy Kirkwood’s men are quietly confident about their start to the season following a positive pre-season, beating Stewarton, Glenrothes & Maybole and draws against Hutchison Vale & Ayr United. The side looked solid & only conceded 1 goal in 5 matches, scoring 10 in the process. Last weekend’s home defeat to Largs was a stark reminder not to get too carried away, and the coaching staff will be keen to put that behind us by picking up points this weekend.

Hurlford United have had a very positive start to the season and will not be short on confidence either. Two wins and a draw in the league has only reinforced them as some people’s dark horses in the league this season, they’ll be looking towards this encounter with some optimism.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…

Summer recruit Chris Millar made his competitive debut for Troon as a second half substitute last Saturday after shaking off a niggle sustained in pre-season. Logan Smith missed the last couple of matches as a precaution after being forced off early in the win over Irvine Meadow with a knock, but he is hopeful of playing a part this weekend.

Jack Sherrie returns to the squad after holiday, while Raymond Montgomerie is continuing his rehabilitation from ankle surgery at the end of last season. He will soon be back in contention, but no other major concerns apart from that.

Extremely disappointing last Saturday, there’s no hiding from a defeat like that.

Largs were right up for the match & really hit us straight from kick-off, so we do have to give them credit for their part in the win. But it just wasn’t good enough from us. We go 2 goals down very early on, and actually did well to grind our way back into the match to go into the interval at 2-1. But to start the second half the exact same way we started the first is just not learning your lesson, which is simply unforgivable. It’s imperative we learn from that & never see a repeat of it.

It’s very difficult not to go too overboard after a defeat like that though, we’ve had a really good pre-season & the wins over Irvine Meadow & Glenafton were excellent, so one defeat doesn’t make a good team bad. It’s got to be a learning experience though, we have to be better than that. And that’s the gauntlet that’s been throw down to the players, we need to be better than that.

We love a trip to Hurlford, always a warm welcome up there & we like to reciprocate, so a good relationship between the clubs. Darren’s a Manager I know well & have a lot of time for. Always a really challenging encounter between the sides, and rarely much between us.

Here’s hoping we can make it up to our supporters after last weekend, it’s the least they deserve.

Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)

Full Name	Hurlford United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Ford
Founded	1912
Ground	Blair Park, Hurlford
Capacity	2,005
Club Secretary	Clark Nicol
Manager	Darren Henderson
Captain	Paul McKenzie
2022-23	WOSFL Premier Division, 7th from 16

⚽️️ ALLY LOVE ⚽️

The signing of the 31 year old was quite a coup for Darren Henderson when he brought him in from Dumbarton in the summer, with a lot of interest in the left sided front man.

Began his career with St. Mirren before a stellar career with Stenhousemuir, Annan, Albion Rovers, Brechin City & most notably Clyde. Brother of former Troon forward Robert Love, he adds a real touch of class to this Hurlford side.

⚽️️ CALUM WATT ⚽️

A key member of the side is “Tiny” and his versatility is crucial to that. Happy on either wing or in behind the striker, he is a permanent fixture in this ‘Ford side

In his third spell at Hurlford, after two spells at Beith, Tiny is certainly one to watch against us.

Hurlford United

DREW	WON	WON	WON	WON
0-0	1-0	1-3	6-0	1-4
Darvel (A)	Gartcairn (H)	St. Cadoc’s (A)	Ashfield (H)	Kilbirnie (A)
Sat 5^th August	Tues 1^st August	Sat 29^th July	Sat 22^nd July	Thu 22^nd July
WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Premier	Friendly	Friendly

Troon F.C.

LOST	WON	WON	DREW	WON
1-5	1-3	2-1	1-1	0-2
Largs (H)	Glenafton (A)	Irvine Meadow XI (H)	Ayr United (H)	Glenrothes (A)
Sat 5^th August	Tues 1^st August	Sat 29^th July	Sat 22^nd July	Sat 15^th July
WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Premier	Dean Keenan Benefit	Colin Kinnes Cup

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 official Troon F.C. Twitter feed:

Team news pre-match
Goal alerts
News flashes
Real time alerts

Match news via the official Troon F.C. Facebook page

Team news pre-match
Half-time score & update
Full time results

As is the norm when these two teams face each other, there was the finest of margins between them. A league win each, with Hurlford taking the 2022-23 bragging rights thanks to a Scottish Junior Cup win.

As with this season, the fourth league match of last season was a trip to Blair Park, Hurlford chalking up a 2-0 win after an early strike from Marc MacKenzie and a late Jack Whittaker goal.

The return league match in March saw Troon hold on to the points in a 3-1 win. Loan star Joshua Jack scored an early goal, before a Kyle Gilroy beauty drew the hosts level. Another Gilroy strike gave us the lead, before Ben Black secured the points.

The most keenly contested of last season’s matches was reserved for the Scottish Junior Cup 4th round match in December which saw Hurlford eek through to a Quarter Final clash with Cumnock. Carter Frew’s 19th minute strike proved to be the difference, but a real ding dong encounter was enjoyed by both sets of fans.

(before this week’s matches)

Assistant Referee 1:	REFEREE:	Assistant Referee 2:
Daniel Boyle	Ryan Kennedy	Stephen Clyne

Referee Observer:

To be appointed

For travelling supporters, follow the Google Map below for directions to Blair Park.

🚌 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚌

Due to the close proximity, there will be no official supporter’s bus this week.

🚍 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚏

To plan your journey from Troon to Hurlford, visit the “Journey Planner” section of Stagecoach’s website.

🔗 STAGECOACH.com

🚝 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 🚉

For train times from Troon to Hurlford, or to book tickets, visit Scotrail’s website.

🔗 SCOTRAIL.co.uk

Tickets are available at the turnstiles at Blair Park:

Adult:	£8.00
Concession:	£4.00

A detailed match report will be posted in the match centre 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.