association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club based in
Dalbeattie
Dalbeattie (, , meaning 'haugh of the birch', or 'drowned haugh' (i.e. liable to flood) is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dalbeattie is in a wooded valley on the Urr Water east of Ca ...
,
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
. It currently competes in the .
The club had previously played in the Lowland League. Home matches are played at Islecroft Stadium in Dalbeattie, and as an SFA member they also play in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,South of Scotland League.
In 2001 Dalbeattie joined the East of Scotland League, playing in the league for eight seasons and finishing as runners-up in 2008–09, before returning to the South of Scotland League.
They reached the third round of the 2008–09 Scottish Cup, before losing to Highland League side Forres Mechanics 2–4 after extra time, following a very creditable 2–2 draw at Mosset Park.
The Star finished runners-up behind Threave Rovers in their first season back in the South of Scotland League,
and the
Castle Douglas
Castle Douglas () is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in the ecclesiastical paris ...
side prevailed again in 2010–11. Although pushed all the way, a 0–2 home defeat by Threave in the penultimate game of the season tipped the title race in favour of the champions.
In 2011–12, Dalbettie won the South of Scotland League for the first time since 1988–89, finishing the league season unbeaten having won 21 of the 24 matches. The title was clinched with a 1–1 draw away to Threave Rovers, the defending champions. As well as the league, the Star also won four cups – the Challenge Cup, League Cup, Potts Cup and the Haig Gordon Cup, meaning the 2011–12 season was one of the best ever in the club's history.
The following season, 2012–13, Star retained the league title with a couple of games to spare, though their long unbeaten league was ended (41 games). The South of Scotland Challenge Cup and the League Cup were also retained with wins over Nithsdale Wanderers and Threave Rovers, and the Tweedie Cup was won with another victory over Threave.
In the summer of 2013 Star joined the newly formed Lowland League. In the inaugural season of the league Star finished a creditable third and though 2013–14 was not trophy laden like the previous two seasons, significant progress was made on the park with some excellent results and performances. There were big disappointments as well, none more so than a second SFA South Region Challenge Cup final defeat in a row, this time to East Kilbride (0–2) at Palmerston. The following season the club finished fourth in the league but again missed out on silverware in the cups. Manager Paul McGinley announced in February that he would be stepping down at the end of the season. Darren Kerr was named as the new boss for 2015–16 season. In his four years in charge, Star won the South of Scotland Challenge Cup twice (2016–17 & 2017–18) and held on to their Lowland League status. At the end of season 2018–19 Kerr left the club by mutual consent and was replaced by Ritchie Maxwell, who had enjoyed a highly successful nine-year spell as a player at Islecroft.
In 2021–22 Star won their first five league matches and briefly sat top of the Lowland League though they would end the term 12th. The club enjoyed their best Scottish Cup run for a number of years including a first away win over a Highland League side when they beat Rothes 1–0. Midway through the season manager Ritchie Maxwell announced he would have to step down due to a change in his work circumstances and his assistant Chris Jardine took over for the remainder. He led the team to Southern Counties Challenge Cup success beating Caledonian Braves 3–2 in the final at Galabank. He too had to turn the job down due to work and Jordan Williamson was announced as the new manager for season 2022–23 after leading St. Cuthbert Wanderers to the South league title. Unfortunately things did not work out well under Williamson's leadership and he was soon replaced by Eddie Warwick. However Star's ten-year stay in the Lowland League eventually came to an end with relegation and a return to the South of Scotland League.
In season 2023–24, Star won the South of Scotland League title.
Ground
Dalbeattie Star play their home matches at Islecroft Stadium, in the northeast of the town.Details for Islecroft Stadium, Dalbeattie ''worldstadia.com''. Retrieved 10 August 2013. It has a capacity of 1,320 and features a 100-seater stand. Floodlights were added in 2016. ''nonleaguescotland.org.uk''. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
Current squad
As of 07 May 2025
Coaching staff
As of 07 May 2025
Season-by-season record
Lowland League
† Season curtailed due to coronavirus pandemic.
South of Scotland Football League
Honours
* South of Scotland League
**Winners (12): 1924–25, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1988–89, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2023–24
*Southern Counties Cup
**Winners (12): 1906–07, 1908–09, 1924–25, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1992–93, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22
*South of Scotland League Cup
**Winners 1988–89, 1992–93, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
*East of Scotland League Cup
**Winners: 2008–09
*Potts Cup
**Winners 1924–25, 1932–33, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2011–12
*J Haig Gordon Memorial Trophy
**Winners 1977–78, 1983–84, 1988–89, 2011–12
*Cree Lodge Cup
**Winners 1980–81, 1984–85
*Tweedie Cup
**Winners 1999–00, 2012–13
*James Brown Fair Play Trophy
**Winners 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12
*Detroit Trophy (Overall)
**Winners 1983–84 (share with Annan), 1984–85, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2011–12, 2012–13
*South of Scotland Cup
**Winners 1929–30, 1930–31
*Dumfries & Galloway Cup
**Winners 1911–12, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31