Auchinleck Talbot Match Preview – Troon Football Club

There’s another vital three points up for grabs this Wednesday as we head to East Ayrshire for our 25th WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.

⚽️ Auchinleck Talbot versus Troon F.C.⚽️
Wednesday 12th April 2023
PDM Buildbase WOSFL Premier Division
Beechwood Park, Auchinleck
Kick-off 7.30pm

Troon come into this weekend’s game in confident mood, hot on the heels of a great run of form.

Jimmy Kirkwood’s men are one of the division’s form sides with six wins out of the last nine in the league, and with the supporters starting to look up the table the Manager is still cautious of getting ahead of ourselves and is targeting 2 wins out of our last 6 matches to secure our Premier Division status for next season.

Auchinleck Talbot put the disappointment of missing out on the league to Darvel last season behind them quickly, clinching a historic Cup double with the last two games of the season. This season has been full of ups and downs, and with us now firmly in the business end of the season, there is no team more experienced at chalking up the results required than the Talbot as they target Beith at the top of the league.

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

Darrell has been a busy man in the treatment room of late, with plenty of knocks & niggles to treat after a run of tough matches, but we look to be getting back to what resembles a full squad again. Or, as close to it as we can get at this stage of the season.

Ewan McLevy returned against Pollok without any adverse reaction, which is a great boost for the team at a vital stage of the season. Dale Moore is in contention for a return this week, but Raymond Montgomerie’s ankle injury appears to be worse than first suspected & he needs minor surgery which would likely end his season.

Dean Fulton completes a two match suspension, after his controversial red card against Largs, and Jack Sherrie also completes a two match suspension after his 10th yellow card of the season against Darvel.

It’s been a good season, but I can’t believe we are all of a sudden just six games to go. Properly at the business end of the season, and we’re sitting in a comfortable position in the league which is a great reflection of the campaign & a well done to the boys so far. But it’s important we see it through, another 2 or 3 wins & we’ll be happier for sure.

Talbot are always a machine at this end of the season, it’s always really impressive the way they can churn out the results needed to keep in the hunt. This has looked like Beith’s title to lose for a while now, but all of a sudden Talbot could catch & pass them if they win their games in hand and beat Beith on Monday night (10th April). Hugely impressive from Tucker’s side again.

Let’s get behind the players & see where we can end up come the seasons end!

Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)

Full Name	Auchinleck Talbot Football Club
Nickname(s)	The ‘Bot
Founded	1909
Ground	Beechwood Park, Auchinleck
Capacity	4,000 (500 seated)
President	Morton Wright
Manager	Tommy Sloan
Captain	Andy Leishman
2021-22	WOSFL Premier Division, 2nd of 20

⚽️️ NEILL McPHERSON ⚽️

26 year old Neill joined Talbot from the then-ADL side Darvel as a promising defender & he has matured into arguably the standout defender in the West.

A three time Scottish Junior Cup winner, & double league winner, Neill is strong in the air & reads the game superbly.

⚽️️ ROSS TAYLOR ⚽️

The 19 year old joined Talbot last summer after leaving Greenock Morton, and he has been a revelation at Beechwood since signing.

Spent most of last season on loan at Kilbirnie, where he featured at full-back, but he has thrived in a more attacking role this term & toasted his Scottish Cup debut with a hat-trick against Coldstream.

Auchinleck Talbot

	v	Beith	(H)		Monday 10th April	WOSFL Premier Division
WON	v	Kilwinning Rangers	(H)	4-2	Saturday 8^th April	WOSFL Cup Semi-Final
WON	v	Kilwinning Rangers	(H)	3-1	Monday 3rd April	WOSFL Premier Division
LOST	v	Caledonian Braves	(A)	2-1	Saturday 1^st April	WOSFL Premier Division
LOST	v	Clydebank	(H)	1-2	Wednesday 29^th March	WOSFL Premier Division
DREW	v	Irvine Meadow XI	(H)	2-2	Wednesday 22^nd March	WOSFL Premier Division

Troon F.C.

LOST	v	Pollok	(A)	5-3	Saturday 1^st April	WOSFL Premier Division
LOST	v	Largs Thistle	(H)	1-2	Friday 24^th March	WOSFL Premier Division
WON	v	Darvel	(H)	4-1	Saturday 18^th March	WOSFL Premier Division
LOST	v	Cumnock	(A)	4-2	Wednesday 15^th March	WOSFL Premier Division
WON	v	Petershill	(A)	0-2	Saturday 11^th March	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:

Live updates from the official Troon F.C. Twitter feed: @Troon_FC

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

Troon travelled to Beechwood last July for our first encounter of 2021-22, with Talbot leaving it late to narrowly overcome a spirited Troon side 2-1 with goals from Bryan Boylan & Keir Samson cancelling out Sam Jamieson’s opener.

The return match in February was another close affair, an 86th minute Dwayne Hislop goal & an injury time Keir Samson strike the difference again.

(before this week’s matches)

Referee:	Gary Hanvidge
Assistant Referee:	Christopher Irving
Assistant Referee:	Gary Robertson

Referee Observer:	John McElhinney

For travelling supporters, follow the Google Map below for directions to Beechwood 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 Auchinleck, visit the “Journey Planner” section of Stagecoach’s website.

🔗 STAGECOACH.com

🚝 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟 𝗕𝗬 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 🚉

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

🔗 SCOTRAIL.co.uk

Tickets are available at the turnstiles at Beechwood Park:

Adult:	£7.00
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.