After a bit of toing and froing on fixtures following last weekend’s blanket postponement, we find ourselves back in league action as we welcome our Ayrshire counterparts Auchinleck Talbot to Portland Park for our 11th GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division match of the season.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Auchinleck Talbot ⚽️
Saturday 30th November 2024
GreenVersity WOSFL Premier Division
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm
Frustrations were abound after last week’s late postponement, especially given the Portland Park surface had easily passed a precautionary pitch inspection, but that frustration more was about the manner of the decision rather than the decision itself after Storm Bert caused havoc across the UK.
We’re now seventeen competitive matches into the season, and it’s been a promising start to the season so far. We’re sitting fifth in the Premier Division table and into the fourth round of the Scottish Junior Cup & and the 3rd round of the West, which demonstrates real progress from recent seasons. Our current points tally is 19, it took us until mid-February to register that tally last season. As disappointing as last Saturday’s defeat to Arthurlie was, it was our first in 10 matches & only our fourth in 17 matches all season.
Auchinleck Talbot have had a very un-Talbot like season so far, with just 3 wins from their first 9 league matches and knocked out of both the Scottish Cup (by Broxburn) and the Scottish Junior Cup (by Lossie United). But given their second half of the season form last season you can never rule them out of anything, having charged from the relegation zone through to finish second in the latter part of 2023-24. It is certainly a new-look Talbot side this season again, and the smart money is on Tommy Sloan gelling the side together ahead of the business end of the season once again.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
Not great news on the injury front this week.
Scott McLean received some bad news on the injury front, as his scan results showed serious damage to his knee with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament & meniscus which require surgery that would bring his season to a premature end. With a date of January for his knee reconstruction surgery, Scott is targeting a return to playing for next pre-season & we all wish him all the very best.
Similarly, Ewan is awaiting results on his scan but he is also anticipating surgery on a suspected torn ACL which would bring his season to an end as well.
Dreadful news to be missing two of our brightest talents for the remainder of this season already.
On the plus side, the extra week off has helped a couple of our players edge closer to a return & we expect to see a full squad available for this weekend’s match.
Nothing reminds you how much you enjoy football on a Saturday than a Saturday without football!
We made our frustration clear on the manner of last weekend’s postponements, but one thing’s for sure we now have a massive month ahead of us. In the run up to Christmas we have today’s match, Port Glasgow in the West next Saturday, then Lochee in the Scottish & Largs in the League. Huge matches that should really whet the appetite of all of our supporters & players.
Look forward to welcoming Talbot down to Portland on Saturday, always good encounters when we face each other. Our two league matches last season there was nothing between the two teams & we saw two absolute crackers, so more of the same would certainly please the supporters. As always, it’s a challenge we look forward to. They might not be on top form right now, but we all saw their form in the second half of last season when they swept everyone aside so we take their current form with a pretty large pinch of salt. Form is temporary, as they say.
Last Saturday’s defeat against Arthurlie was obviously disappointing, but it’s not something we dwell on. It’s only our second defeat in 16 matches, so it’s hardly time for panic; we have been in outstanding form and we need to get back to that straight away & I’m confident we will. The boys have been sharp in training & shrugged it off quickly, so it’s over to them to show what they can do this weekend.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Auchinleck Talbot Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The ‘Bot |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Ground | Beechwood Park, Auchinleck |
| Capacity | 4,000 (500 seated) |
| Chairman | Morton Wright |
| Manager | Tommy Sloan |
| Captain | Neill McPherson |
| 2023-24 | 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 this new-look Talbot side.
A three time Scottish Junior Cup winner, & double league winner, Neill is strong in the air & reads the game superbly.
⚽️️ MICHAEL WARDROPE ⚽️
The 27 year old arrived at Beechwood from Irvine Meadow in March ’22 with a steep price tag, but he has consistently proven himself to be a real spark over the last few seasons with both Medda & Hurlford.
His creativity is key to the Talbot attack, and Tommy Sloan will be expecting him to be a major piece in the jigsaw in this new phase of the club’s history.
© Thanks to our club photographer Graeme McKenzie for his photos – fantastic, as always!
Troon F.C.
| LOST | DREW | WON | WON | WON |
| 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 1-1 (4-2 on pens) | 1-3 |
| Arthurlie (H) | Glenafton (A) | Easterhouse (A) | Glasgow Utd (H) | St. Roch’s (A) |
| Sat 16th November | Sat 9th November | Sat 2nd November | Sat 19th October | Sat 12th October |
| South Challenge Cup R4 | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Cup R2 | Scottish Junior Cup R3 | South Challenge Cup R3 |
Auchinleck Talbot
| WON | DREW | DREW | LOST | WON |
| 1-0 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 3-0 |
| Cumbernauld Utd (H) | Gartcairn (H) | Benburb (H) | Broxburn (H) | Jeanfield Swifts (H) |
| Sat 16th November | Sat 9th November | Sat 2nd November | Sat 26th October | Sat 12th October |
| South Challenge Cup R4 | WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | Scottish Cup R2 | South Challenge Cup R3 |
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 BRAND NEW official Troon F.C. Twitter feed (I’m 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 the finest of margins between the sides last season, with a draw & a narrow victory for Talbot the outcomes in the league. The Cup encounter was a different story, with Talbot taking full advantage of a weakened Troon side to progress.
HOME MATCH
| Wednesday 16th August 2023 | Match Centre |
| TROON FOOTBALL CLUB |