It’s a change in fixture for the Seasiders this week, Cup postponements has led to a reshuffle & instead of hosting St. Cadoc’s we now head to Guy’s Meadow to take on our old friends Kirkintilloch Rob Roy for our 11th WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.
⚽️ Kirkintilloch Rob Roy versus Troon F.C.⚽️
Saturday 11th November 2023
PDM Huws Gray WOSFL Premier Division
Guy’s Meadow, Cumbernauld
Kick-off 2pm
Jimmy Kirkwood’s men have had an inconsistent season so far, with good wins followed up by frustrating performances. But following a few changes to the squad, the results have been picking up of late & the Seasiders were 3 wins & a draw before last weekend’s disappointing defeat to Rutherglen in the Cup.
Yet again, a lot of the chat around Rob Roy concerns their stadium issue, which still rumbles on unresolved (despite the stadium now being built) ten years after departing Adamslie Park. But on the pitch, the challenge for Rob Roy is clear; stay in the Premier League. The naysayers have regularly tipped them to flirt with relegation during Stewart Maxwell’s time in charge, and they were out in force after his departure for sure. But former Queens Park winger Kevin McGoldrick managed to foster the same kind of spirit which has proved them wrong so many times over the years, and with his move “upstairs” Danny Ferry is looking to continue that trend.
With Saturday being Armistice Day the 11th of November, there will be a minute’s silence held prior to kick-off.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
A sickness bug swept through the camp after the Darvel match, and there was maybe a bit of a hangover last Saturday from it, but we have had a full dressing room at training again this week as we build up to a key league match.
Jack Sherrie continues rehabilitation after an ankle injury, and he is expected to miss a couple of matches at least, but hopefully not too much longer for a key member of the side.
Sam McCloskey and Logan Smith have both returned to the starting line-up after a number of weeks out with no ill-effects. Two important players for us, a huge boost for the side. Jack Marks also returns to the squad, following his loan spell at Whitletts Victoria being terminated early.
Work is continuing in the background to add to the squad before Saturday, keep your eyes peeled…
Bitterly disappointed to bow out of the Scottish Junior Cup last weekend, it was one we had targeted this season & wanted to do well in. But the immediate frustration gave way to a bit more circumspect analysis; Rutherglen were last season’s finalists, they’re sitting top of the First Division and they were excellent on the day, so no shame to be bowing out to them. The bug we had in the camp last week certainly cost us a bit of energy in the second half for a fightback, so on reflection we should maybe not have been so disappointed. Only determined to go again next time out.
But it’s small steps for us just now. We made a few big calls with our squad at an early stage of the league season & these things take time to rebuild from. We’ve seen shoots of recovery & recorded some good results recently, that gives us something to work from for sure.
Rob Roy have been a thorn in our side in plenty of games over the past few seasons, as they have most teams in the division, so this is a tough one again for us. An away trip when we had prepared for a home game isn’t great from a club perspective, we’ve lost some important income from it, but we have to accept it & push on. Focus on the game, two home Cup matches coming up & we have the chance to make it a very good month.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Rabs or The Roy |
| Founded | 1878 |
| Ground | Guy’s Meadow, Cumbernauld |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| President | Neil Anderson |
| Manager | Danny Ferry |
| Captain | Scott Walker |
| 2022-23 | WOSFL Premier Division, 12th from 16 |
⚽️️ SCOTT WALKER ⚽️
The 33 year old has been a fixture on the right hand side of the Rabs defence for the last eight seasons, most of which has seen him lead the side as Club Captain. He is now approaching 200 games in the red & black since joining in 2016.
A constant threat down the right flank with his boundless energy, and a powerhouse of the team with his leadership qualities, Scott is always a stand-out in previous encounters.
⚽️️ JORDAN PIRRIE ⚽️
The 25 year old was recruited from Ashfield in March after an exciting spell at Saracen Park, which included a scintillating display at Portland Park in a Cup upset last January.
Previously worked under Kevin McGoldrick at Kilsyth Rangers, before a spell in the Lowland League with Cumbernauld Colts, Pirrie is equally dangerous from wide, deep or up front. Excellent on the ball & always a goal threat.
Kirkintilloch Rob Roy
| LOST | LOST | WON | WON | LOST |
| 0-4 | 1-0 | 1-6 | 0-1 | 2-0 |
| Gartcairn (H) | Auchinleck Talbot (A) | Saltcoats Victoria (A) | Hurlford United (A) | Clydebank (A) |
| Sat 4th November | Sat 28th October | Sat 21st October | Sat 14th October | Fri 6th October |
| WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | West of Scotland Cup | South Challenge Cup | WOSFL Premier |
Troon F.C.
| LOST | WON | WON | WON | DREW |
| 2-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 (2-4 on pens) | 3-0 | 2-2 |
| Rutherglen (A) | Darvel (A) | Cumnock (A) | Abbey Vale (H) | Pollok (A) |
| Sat 4th November | Sat 28th October | Sat 21st October | Sat 14th October | Sat 30th September |
| Scottish Junior Cup | WOSFL Premier | West of Scotland Cup | South Challenge Cup | WOSFL Premier |
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 (I’m not calling it X yet):
- 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
It was 6 points out of 6 for the Rabs last term, in two very exciting encounters between the two teams.
In an entertaining first encounter of last season at Guy’s Meadow, a really hard-fought encounter saw goals from Connor Hughes & Jamie Barclay seal the home win, and two controversial red cards to Mark Morrison & Josh Black sent Troon heading home deflated.
The return match in February was yet another close encounter, but again the same result. It was a strong performance from the Seasiders, but their profligacy was punished again with two late goals from Del McNab & Adam Martin.
(before this week’s matches)
| REFEREE: | ||
| Ross Menzies | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Chris Lithgow | Howard Wilkin |
| Referee Observer: | Euan Norris |
🚌 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚌
The supporters bus to Cumbernauld will leave Portland Park at 12pm on Saturday. Contact Billy Inglis on: 07957 539491 to reserve your seat.
🚍 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗕𝗨𝗦 🚏
🔗 STAGECOACH.com
🚝 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 🚉
🔗 SCOTRAIL.co.uk
Tickets are available at the turnstiles at Guy’s Meadow:
| 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.
⚽️ Troon Development Team versus Bonnyton Thistle ⚽️
Friday 10th November 2023
WOSFDL Conference D
QMA Sports Campus, Ayr
Kick-off 8pm
Head along & support the Troon stars of tomorrow!
⚽️ Cumnock versus Troon F.C.⚽️
Wednesday 15th November 2023
PDM Huws Gray WOSFL Premier Division
Townhead Park, Cumnock
Kick-off 7.45pm