Troon are on Cup duty again this weekend, this time it’s the turn of the South Region Challenge Cup and a first visit to Portland Park for East of Scotland Football League Division Two side Thornton Hibs.
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Thornton Hibs⚽️
Saturday 18th November 2023
South Region Challenge Cup, 4th Round
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm
Jimmy Kirkwood’s men have had an inconsistent season so far, with good wins followed up by frustrating performances. But results on the road have been disappointing of late & with a few injuries now affecting the squad, they are keen to both return home & return to form.
Thornton Hibs are very confident of a promotion push this season, and they are sitting in prime position to enter the promotion spots if they can win 3 of their 4 games in hand. They recorded an impressive 6-2 win over St. Roch’s in the last round, and will no doubt fancy their chances again against WOSFL opposition this time out.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match…
Jaime Gallagher missed the game against Cumnock on Wednesday with a slight hamstring strain picked up at Kirkintilloch Rob Roy on Saturday, but it’s hoped with some treatment he’ll be available to play a part. Dean Fulton missed out again after a recurrence of his previous groin injury, but he is under Darrell’s watch & is making progress. 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.
Work is continuing in the background to add to the squad, keep your eyes peeled…
Back home at long last, after over a month of away games. And what we could do with a good home support this weekend to hopefully get the boys back on track.
Jeez, what do I say about Wednesday’s game? You’d be delighted if you were a neutral! Plenty of goals & talking points, worth every penny of the entrance fee. But from our point of view it’s nothing but frustration, which is a word I seem to be using a lot just now. The first half was just wholly unacceptable from start to finish; we can clearly point at a terrible offside call which lets them in to score the third goal, but there’s no such excuses for conceding two extremely soft goals in the first place & capitulating. There were some home truths in the dressing room at half-time, and then it was like a completely different side that come out in the second half. We did exactly what we can do when we play well all of a sudden, scored 3 good goals & could easily have taken something out of the game in the end. Which only serves to make the first half even more frustrating.
Again, I seem to be saying this an awful lot as well, but it’s all about us & how we approach the game this weekend. I feel the same way in most games, if we prepare how we can & approach the game how we can, I’d be confident of getting the result we’re looking for & being in the hat for the next round. But Thornton Hibs are not coming here for a day out, they have already shown what they’re all about by dispatching St Roch’s in the last round & are going well in the league. They’ll come here full of confidence.
Jimmy Kirkwood (Manager)
| Full Name | Thornton Hibs Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Hibs |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Ground | Memorial Park, Thornton, Fife |
| Capacity | 1,500 |
| Chairman | Mike McCool |
| Manager | Craig Gilbert |
| Captain | Garry Thomson |
| 2022-23 | EOSFL Second Division, 6th from 17 |
⚽️️ CRAIG GILBERT ⚽️
Alright, he’s not a player, but there’s no doubt the main man at Thornton Hibs is the longest serving Manager in Scottish Football; Craig Gilbert.
Craig spent 8 seasons as a player at Hibs, before departing for St. Andrews in 2001 and returning in 2007. He was appointed Manager in 2008 and has seen it all in his time in charge; Cup finals, promotions, relegations and a first ever appearance in the EOSFL Premier Division in 2010/11.
He featured on BBC Scotland’s “A View From The Terrace” last weekend, which you can watch on the link below:
⚽️️ GARRY THOMSON ⚽️
Long-serving forward Garry has been in scintillating form this season, with 9 goals in 11 matches so far for the HIbs.
Joined Thornton Hibs from Raith Rovers back in 2009, and has been the focal point for Craig Gilbert’s side ever since, racking up promotions & Cup wins throughout his time at Memorial Park. Amazingly, in four separate seasons at the club, Garry has collected a clean sweep of trophies at the club’s awards night: Players’, Committee’s and Supporters’ Player of the Year Trophies as well as the top scorer trophy. The first player to ever do so – and he’s now done it four times!
© Thanks to Thornton Hibs for their photos
Troon F.C.
| LOST | LOST | LOST | WON | WON |
| 4-3 | 2-1 | 2-0 | 1-2 | 1-1 (2-4 on pens) |
| Cumnock (A) | Kirkintilloch Rob Roy (A) | Rutherglen (A) | Darvel (A) | Cumnock (A) |
| Weds 15th October | Sat 11th November | Sat 4th November | Sat 28th October | Sat 21st October |
| WOSFL Premier | WOSFL Premier | Scottish Junior Cup | WOSFL Premier | West of Scotland Cup |
Thornton Hibs
| LOST | DREW | WON | WON | WON |
| 0-2 | 0-0 | 6-2 | 1-3 | 4-2 |
| Armadale (H) | Burntisland Shipyard (H) | St. Roch’s (H) | Easthouses Lily (A) | Rossvale (H) |
| Sat 11th November | Sat 4th November | Sat 14th October | Sat 30th September | Sat 16th September |
| EOSFL 2nd Division | EOSFL 2nd Division | South Challenge Cup | EOSFL 2nd Division | EOSFL 2nd 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 (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
Thornton Hibs finished 6th in a fiercely competitive East of Scotland Football League Second Division with 58 points from 32 games winning 18 of their games.
Troon finished 11th in the 16 team WOSFL Premier Division 2022-23 last season; a great start was marred by a mid-season drop, before a strong finish secured safety & actually ended up in a little disappointment that we didn’t finish higher.
(before this week’s matches)
| REFEREE: | ||
| Euan Birch | ||
| Assistant Referee 1: | Assistant Referee 2: | |
| Jonathan Rose | Alan Sloss |
| Referee Observer: | Dougie Smith |
Tickets are available at the turnstiles at Portland Park:
| Adult: | £8.00 |
| Concession: | £4.00 |
| Under-16: | FREE |
Season Tickets are NOT valid for this game.
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.
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 & stay late – enjoy the football on the big screen! 📺
| ⏰ 12.30pm | Notts County v Bradford City | (English Football League Two) ⚽️ |
| ⏰ 5pm | Latvia v Croatia | (UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifier) ⚽️ |
The bar will close after 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 from 10am on Saturday & will be open right through the match til the evening, selling a variety of hot food & drinks as well as cold drinks.
⚽️ Irvine Meadow XI versus Troon Development Team ⚽️
Friday 17th November 2023
WOSFDL Conference D
KFA Academy Park, Kilwinning
Kick-off 8pm
Head along & support the Troon stars of tomorrow!
⚽️ Troon F.C. versus Girvan ⚽️
Saturday 25th November 2023
West of Scotland Football League Cup (Round 2)
Portland Park, Troon
Kick-off 2pm