After a brief Cup hiatus we’re back to league duty, and this week we return home to face Auchinleck Talbot at Portland Park in our 6th WOSFL Premier Division match of the season already.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Auchinleck Talbot ⚽️
Saturday 23rd August 2025
WOSFL Premier Division
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm
Five wins out of five is certainly an encouraging start, but that’s all it is as focus shifts to Saturday’s match. Plenty to be happy about in the matches so far, but always plenty of areas still to improve on as well.
Last season was a fantastic season for the club, even if there was perhaps a little disappointment it didn’t end up in silverware of any kind. But there is certainly a steely determination in the camp to improve on that this season. As a result, this close season has perhaps been more evolution than revolution as we look to tweak what was good last year to go one better.
Auchinleck Talbot have made a similarly strong start, and the two teams are only separated by goal difference so far with a 3 point gap to the rest of the pack. After two summers of rebuilding and mass changes, consistency has been the watchword at Beechwood this summer with fine tuning rather than overhauling being the plan. Experienced goalkeeper Willie Muir is a key addition, after two seasons of young loan keepers in Aiden Glavin & Corey Armour, whilst Robbie Scullion and Kieren Wood are shrewd additions to an already competitive squad that finished 2nd last season.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
Starting to see the strength of our squad at last, with some of our injured players returning to action & making their presence felt on the park.
Captain Mark Morrison is back to training, whilst Kyle Faulds returned to the park at our win over Cumnock last Wednesday. Jack Sherrie is suspended following his red card at Cumnock.
Sam Jamieson is nearing a return after undergoing treatment for an ankle injury sustained against Renfrew in the first league match of the season, while Scott McLean is continuing his rehab from his knee reconstruction surgery, he is back to gentle running now & is eyeing a comeback around Hallowe’en.
Comfortable win on the road last weekend, and a grand day out for all the supporters down at Sanquhar. 9 goals, 5 different scorers and a clean sheet can only mark a good day out, not to mention getting 3 U20s players into the mix, who all did really well. Young Clayton started & has really impressed since we first saw him last season.
It’s been a fantastic start to the season, but we are looking to make this last the distance & test ourselves against the best. A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes by a lot of people, from the Chairman to Richard and to all the coaching staff, and this run of results hasn’t happened overnight. A lot of effort and dedication makes the club work and the players rightly get the credit for their efforts, but it’s a whole club effort and the good feeling just now is because that whole club effort is pulling in the same direction. Let’s see where that takes us.
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 | Neill McPherson |
| 2024-25 | WOSFL Premier Division, 2nd from 16 |
⚽️️ NEILL McPHERSON ⚽️
28 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 Premier, and the undisputed leader of Tommy Sloan’s new-look Talbot side.
A three time Scottish Junior Cup winner, & double league winner, Neill is strong in the air & reads the game superbly.
⚽️️ LUKE GILLIES ⚽️
The 22 year old has been a revelation in this Talbot side since his move from St. Peter’s in the summer of 2023.
Most often seen coming from wide left, Luke is equally comfortable playing in the centre of the midfield and his consistency often belies his youth.
No stranger to a goal or two, either!
© Thanks to our club photographer Graeme McKenzie for his photos – fantastic, as always!
Troon F.C.
| WON | WON | WON | WON | WON |
| 0-9 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 6-1 | 3-0 |
| Nithsdale Wanderers | Cumnock (A) | Beith (H) | Kilwinning Rangers (H) | St. Cadoc’s (H) |
| Sat 16th August | Wed 13th August | Sat 9th August | Sat 2nd August | Wed 30th July |
| South Challenge Cup | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier |
Auchinleck Talbot
| WON | WON | WON | WON | WON |
| 0-2 | 7-2 | 2-4 | 4-0 | 0-4 |
| Beith (A) | St. Cadoc’s (H) | Arthurlie (A) | Pollok (H) | Hurlford United (A) |
| Sat 16th August | Sat 9th August | Sat 2nd August | Wed 30th July | Sat 26th July |
| WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | 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 (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!
It was a win apiece for each side in the Premier Division last season, with both sides winning their home matches in two entertaining encounters.
HOME MATCH
| Saturday 30th November 2024 | Match Centre |
| TROON FOOTBALL CLUB | WON | Portland Park |
| AUCHINLECK TALBOT | 1-0 | WOSFL Premier |
The first encounter of 2024-25 was an entertaining affair at Portland Park.
Troon came into the game on the back of a healthy run of form, and their confidence carried them through the first half, although Talbot’s defence was resolute and held firm.
The second half, Troon upped their efforts and, just when it looked like the match was going to run out goalless, substitute Ben Black popped up with a great finish to secure the 3 points for the Seasiders.
AWAY MATCH
| Wednesday 14th May 2025 | Match Centre |
| AUCHINLECK TALBOT | LOST | Beechwood Park |
| TROON FOOTBALL CLUB | 2-1 | WOSFL Premier |
The return match in May was Troon’s last match of the season & saw a different contest, with Talbot playing & full of confidence and Troon shorn of a few injured players.
After a rip-roaring start to the match, the tempo slowed down a little before young Jack Allan gave Troon a deserved lead after 34 minutes with a lovely finish from a team move. Talbot didn’t take long to regain their composure, and Alex Nimmo restored parity just three minutes later. In the second half, Talbot stretched their legs against a tired side and once Luke Gillies scored a deserved second goal there was only going to be one winner.
(before this week’s matches)
| REFEREE: | ||
| Duncan Williams | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Colin McAlpine | Chris Lithgow |
| Referee Observer: | To be appointed |
Tickets are available at the cash turnstiles at Portland Park:
| Adult: | £10.00 |
| Concession: | £5.00 |
| Under-16: | FREE |
Season Tickets are valid for this game.
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.
The social club at Portland Park will be open early from 12pm ahead of the 2pm kick-off, and supporters of both clubs are very welcome.
And, indeed, neutrals!
📺 Come early & enjoy the football on the big screen! 📺
| ⏰ 12.30pm | Man City v Tottenham | (FA Premier League) ⚽️ |
| ⏰ 5.30pm | Arsenal v Leeds United | (FA Premier League) ⚽️ |
The bar close following the conclusion of the 5.30pm match.
Scott will be selling tickets for our half-time draw at the gate before kick-off, and inside the ground throughout the first half for just 50p a ticket.
Our local resident food truck, SCRAN have our hungry supporters covered with their own take on “Football Food” – highly recommended!
They will be open all day on Saturday & will be open til late, selling a variety of hot food & drinks as well as cold drinks.
If you’ve never been to SCRAN before, you really need to watch Blair McNally’s YouTube video after his visit to Portland Park…and SCRAN!
⚽️ Troon F.C. Development Team versus Larkhall Thistle U20s ⚽️
Friday 22nd August 2025
WOSFDL League Cup (Group 6)
Kilwinning Sports Club
Kick-off 7.45pm
Head along & support the Troon stars of tomorrow!
⚽️ Drumchapel United versus Troon F.C. ⚽️
Saturday 6th September 2025
WOSFL Premier Division
The Donald Dewar Centre, Drumchapel
Kick-off 2pm