football club
In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...
based in
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...
, Scotland. From 1883 the club was called Dunbritton Football Club.
The name Alclutha derives from the
Scots Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongside both Irish and Manx, developed ou ...
name for the town, and means "rock of the Clyde". Dunbritton is an old form of Dumbarton, meaning "Britons' fort".
History
Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...
was a hotbed of the game in the early years of organised football in Scotland, with the county's three leading clubs of the era,
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...
Vale of Leven
The Vale of Leven () is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''fie ...
all forming in 1872, emerging out of shinty clubs in local factories who were turned to the association game by the influence of Queen's Park.
Alclutha was formed in the same year, but did not have the same factory backing. It was therefore always in the shadow of the other
Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...
clubs; indeed, it issued a series of challenges to Dumbarton F.C. in early 1875, none of which was answered, "they evidently thinking of themselves far above us...that it was not worth their while wasting time on us." Although it entered the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1875–76 to 1887–88, it only won one of its 12 matches in the competition.
The club's first match in the competition was arguably the club's best performance. Drawn at home to Renton, the lighter Alclutha side dominated the first half, despite kicking into the wind, and only conceded a winner in the 85th minute, after a stray pass from one of the backs allowed the heavier Renton forwards to force the ball home.
The club was competitive in the 1870s, with goalkeeper Fraser being chosen for the Dunbartonshire representative side in 1876, despite both Renton and Vale of Leven having been Scottish Cup finalists. However the club's lack of backing ensured it could never develop into a permanently strong club. As early as 1877 the club noted that its best players were being enticed by other sides, and in 1878, its best-ever player, James McAulay, was poached by Dumbarton in 1878 after he had impressed playing as a back in the 6–0 Cup defeat by Vale of Leven.
After eight consecutive first round defeats in the Cup, the club's change of name to Dunbritton brought an instant change of luck. In the 1883–84 tournament, the club was drawn to play Vale of Leven Wanderers at
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, and obtained a draw; even better, the club won the replay 4–0, for its only ever competitive victory.
However, after losing to Jamestown in the second round by 7–1, the club barely played. It entered the Scottish Cup for the next three seasons but withdrew every time; the
Dumbartonshire Cup
The Dumbartonshire Cup was the championship trophy of the Dumbartonshire FA from its inception in 1884 until the organization disbanded in 1938. There was however an 'extra' playing of the competition in 1939, immediately after the outbreak of the ...
competition started in 1884–85 and the club entered for the first two seasons, but again withdrew before playing a match.
The club's final match appears to have been a 10–2 Scottish Cup defeat at Dumbarton in 1887, and the club was struck from the Scottish FA register in 1888. The Alclutha name was revived for an exhibition match between former players at Dumbarton's
Boghead Park
Boghead Park was a football ground in the town of Dumbarton, Scotland. It was owned by Dumbarton F.C., who played there for 121 years between 1879 and 2000. By the time the ground closed in 2000, it was the oldest stadium in Scotland that had ...
in 1893.
Colours
The club originally wore dark blue shirts with white knickerbockers/shorts and red hose. In 1878 the club changed to all navy blue, and in 1881 re-adopted white knickers, but retained the navy stockings. This remained the club's outfit until its demise.
Ground
The club played on a pitch near Barloan Toll in Dumbarton until 1880. After then it moved to Woodyard Park.