Kilwinning Rangers Match Preview – Troon Football Club

After three wins to kick start 2026, we’re on the road again for the second of four away matches in a row and it’s Friday night under the lights at Kilwinning Sports Club for our second match of the season against Kilwinning Rangers and our 16th WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.

⚽️ Kilwinning Rangers versus Troon F.C. ⚽️
Friday 30th January 2026
WOSFL Premier Division
Buffs Park, Kilwinning
Kick-off 7.45pm

That was quite a match last weekend, great value for the entry money but maybe not so good for the heart! Amazing comeback from 3-1 down to win 4-3, all credit goes to the players for their efforts & the coaching team for their changes to turn the tide.

After a superb year in 2025, 2026 has begun in perfect fashion with three wins from three which see us sitting top of the table and into the quarter-final of the West of Scotland Cup. The challenges get tougher almost by each passing week, and we now embark on four tough league matches in a row away from home, each of those will test the players to the full. Last Saturday against Shotts was our 24th competitive match of the season, and that was our 19th win from those 24 matches. A near 80% win ratio isn’t bad, by anyone’s standards, but there is plenty of football still to be played.

Kilwinning Rangers have had an excellent first season back in the top flight since they were promoted at the last minute in the summer. A rollercoaster of emotions for their supporters on league finale day as they mathematically missed out on promotion on goal difference, before news filtered through that Broomhill would be folding at the end of the season which offered them the final space in the Premier Division for 2025-26. Manager Kevin Kelly worked tirelessly to add to his squad in the summer, including our own former defender Ewan McLevy, and after a slightly slow start they have picked up momentum and some excellent results, leaving them in 6th position in the table coming into this weekend’s round of fixtures.

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

We saw a few of our wounded soldiers taking back to the field last Saturday when they were really needed, Jack Sherrie & Luke Watt both coming off the bench in the second half amidst a fighting comeback! Sam Jamieson was back on the bench as well after missing two games with another ankle knock, which is great news & his goals will be vital in the league run-in.

Captain Mark Morrison remains out, but he has seen a specialist and is following treatment. He is ever improving and edging closer to a welcome return to action following a hip complaint that has kept him out since July.

Wow, what a match that was last Saturday. Great for the spectators, but maybe not so good for the old heart rate! We got off to the perfect start & deserved to be in the lead early stages, but big John drove Shotts on to get right back into the game & then take the lead. There were some honest words at half-time, and when the boys came out well from the interval I was quite confident we’d get back into it, but their 3rd came at a really good time for them. That could have served as a real hammer blow to lesser teams, but this dressing room just keeps answering questions & I was absolutely delighted to see them fight their way back into it. Kyle Gilroy was excellent, but it’s almost wrong to single out just one of them when the whole collective were superb. Just a shame Richard and the Chairman missed it!

A tough match this one, Kilwinning have been doing really well and have been almost under the radar as they climb the table in the last few months. Kevin is a young Manager I have a lot of time for, he’s done an excellent job at Kilwinning and he’ll have them very well prepared for us visiting, I’m certain of that. Some may look back at the first encounter in August between the teams & underestimate this weekend, but completely different set of circumstances this weekend. This will be tight, we need to be right at our game.

I really like the Friday night games, I think it’s a great idea. Always something special about playing under the lights, Friday night matches are a great suggestion in the right environment & I’m looking forward to this.

Lets get a strong travelling support on Friday night, cheer the players on & try to help us to a vital 3 points. ‘Mon the Seasiders!

Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)

Full Name	Kilwinning Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Buffs
Founded	1899
Ground	Buffs Park, Kilwinning
Capacity	2,800
Chairman	Colin Evans
Manager	Kevin Kelly
Captain	Bryan Boylan
2024-25	WOSFL First Division, 4th from 16

⚽️️ MURRAY MacKINTOSH ⚽️

The 28 year old is a player of real pedigree, and his signing from Albion Rovers was considered a real coup in the summer.

Began his career with Kilmarnock youth academy before a move north to Forfar and Brechin, before a couple of seasons in Australia with Mandurah City. He returned to Brechin City before Sandy Clark took him to Cliftonhill as a key part of his rebuild there, until he decided to return to his hometown to sign for his local club in July.

A real box-to-box midfielder, Murray adds steel and leadership to the middle of the park.

⚽️️ RYAN WILSON ⚽️

The signing of Ryan was a bit of a coup for the Buffs, after his performances last season for Ardrossan Winton Rovers where he made a clean sweep of awards at the end of last season, scoring 61 goals in 53 appearances in the last two season since his return from St. Cadoc’s.

Previously a player with Kilwinning under Chris Strain, he spent time in the amateur ranks before a spell with Ardeer Thistle earned him the move to St. Cadoc’s.

Tall, powerful & a willing runner, Ryan will add a new dimension to the Buffs attack this season.

© Thanks to our club photographer Graeme McKenzie for his photos – amazing, as always!

Kilwinning Rangers

WON	LOST	WON	LOST	WON
2-1	3-0	0-2	0-1	5-0
Renfrew (H)	Largs (A)	Arthurlie (A)	Beith (H)	Giffnock (H)
Sat 24th January	Sat 20th December	Sat 13th December	Sat 6th December	Sat 29th November
WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Cup R3	WOSFL Cup R2

Troon F.C.

WON	WON	WON	LOST	LOST
3-4	2-1	0-0 (4-1 on pens)	1-2	2-1
Shotts (A)	Renfrew (H)	Beith (H)	Johnstone Burgh (H)	Benburb (A)
Sat 24th January	Sat 17th January	Sat 10th January	Sat 20th December	Sat 13th December
WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Premier	WOSFL Cup R4	WOSFL Premier	Scottish Communities Cup R5

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 (nope, still 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

All news on the club FIRST via the official Troon F.C. WhatsApp Supporter’s Group chat

Vote for your Man of the Match
Info on functions & events
Book your seat on away buses
Discuss the match with fellow Troon fans!

Kilwinning Rangers had almost two seasons crammed into one last term, and a rollercoaster of emotions to boot! Kevin Kelly was appointed as Manager late in the summer, and a slow start to the campaign followed before his methods & signings took shape and their season took a turn for the better. A late charge in the second half of the season saw them in real contention for promotion, which they ultimately achieved.

Troon enjoyed an excellent season in the Premier Division last term, spending the majority of the season in the top three before eventually finishing 4th in the 16 team WOSFL Premier Division 2024-25. Cups were the only place we came short last season, defeats to Armadale Thistle in the Scottish Junior Cup, St. Cadoc’s in the WOSFL Cup and Arthurlie in the South Challenge Cup were a source of frustration.

(before this week’s matches)

	REFEREE:
	Regan Wallace
Assistant Referee 1:		Assistant Referee 2:
Craig Fairbairn		Joseph Hefti

Referee Observer:

Not yet appointed

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

🚌 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚌

There is no supporter’s bus planned for this week, due to the close proximity.

🚍 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚏

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

🔗 STAGECOACH.com

🚝 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 🚉

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

🔗 SCOTRAIL.co.uk

Tickets are available at the cash turnstiles at Buffs Park:

Adult:	£10
Concession:	£6
12-16 year olds:	£4
Children under 12:	Free with a paying adult

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.