Auchinleck Talbot Football Club is a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Auchinleck Auchinleck ( ; ;
) is a village southea ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

. They currently play in the . The club is also a member of the

Scottish Junior Football Association The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football (soccer), football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the ...

, and have won the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA). The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA on the 2nd October 1886 and, as of the 2023–24 ed ...

on a record 14 occasions. They compete in a

local derby A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and th ...

against near neighbours and biggest rivals Cumnock Juniors.

History

Auchinleck Talbot was formed in 1909 and take their name from the 2nd Baron Talbot de Malahide, Richard Wogan Talbot, a landowner who donated the site of their Beechwood Park home. Beechwood Park opened in 1909 with a charity match between The Old Players and The Merchants. Talbot made their team debut the same year when they defeat the juvenile side Highhouse Rangers 4–0. Weeks later they lost their first competitive game at Cronberry Eglinton in the league. Their first win came in September 1909 when they defeated Patna Doon Athletic in their first

tie. The early and middle history of the club is characterised by periods of fluctuating fortune, often related to the economic conditions in this coal mining district of rural Ayrshire. Talbot folded in 1916 due to financial problems and the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but made a comeback four years later, ushering in a relatively successful period for the club. The Ayrshire Cup was won in 1920 by defeating Irvine Meadow 3–0 at Rugby Park. That same year they set a club goalscoring record in the Scottish Junior Cup, defeating Craigbank 11–0 at home, a scoreline surpassed in 2008 when defeating Nairn St. Ninian, 13–1. The South Ayrshire League was won for the first time in 1921 and the following year, a terrace was raised at Beechwood Park to accommodate larger crowds ahead of a Junior Cup quarter-final tie against the eventual winners, a

Jimmy McGrory James Edward McGrory (26 April 1904 – 20 October 1982) was a Scottish footballer who played for Celtic and Clydebank as a forward. He later managed Kilmarnock and Celtic. McGrory is also the all-time leading goalscorer in top-flight Bri ...

inspired St Roch's. Talbot made their first foray to the semi-finals of this tournament in 1924, losing 1–0 to

Baillieston Baillieston () is a working class suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre. It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament. Geographical ...

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. In the 1928–29 season however, the club were forced into abeyance due to financial difficulties. Restarting the next year, Talbot suffered a lean decade through the 1930s until a second Ayrshire Cup victory arrived in 1939. The club closed down for the duration of World War II but on resuming after hostilities, they enjoyed another successful spell, winning five trophies in 1947–48 including the first of twelve West of Scotland Cups before lifting the Scottish Junior Cup for the first time in 1949. The 3–2 victory over Petershill at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

was watched by a then record crowd of 68,837 and it remains the third highest attendance at a Junior Cup final. Talbot's first defence of the trophy drew a record crowd to Beechwood Park when 10,000 people saw Irvine Meadow knock the holders out in the 3rd round. The ground was expanded for the occasion with thousands of tons of mining spoil added to build up the terracing and the "

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" was a feature of the park for a number of years. By the end of the 1950s, the club's fortunes were again on the wane and the 60s was a down-at-heel decade of little success, with a constant battle being fought against vandalism at the ground. This culminated in the pavilion being burned down in 1972. Around this time, Talbot also suffered their record defeat, a humiliating 11–0 reverse at the hands of arch local rivals Cumnock Juniors. From the depths of despair however, a new resolve emerged. A public meeting on the future of the club infused Talbot with new blood. The clubhouse was rebuilt and onfield performances improved under a new manager, Jimsie Kirkland. Willie Knox, a former Raith Rovers and

Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, was appointed as manager in 1977 and an unprecedented era of success for the club began. The Ayrshire League was won in Knox's first season and in 1979, Talbot's hegemony over the West of Scotland Cup began with the first of nine victories in eleven years. The Scottish Junior Cup proved initially elusive with two successive semi-final losses in 1983 and '84 before Talbot defeated

Pollok Pollok (, ) is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,000 at its peak, its population ha ...

3–2 in the Junior Cup Centenary final of 1986, coming back from 2–0 down after fifteen minutes of the game. The club followed up with Junior Cup final victories against Kilbirnie Ladeside in 1987 (after a replay), and Petershill in 1988, becoming the first and so far, only club to win the tournament three times in a row. Talbot added a further two Junior Cup wins under Knox in 1991 and 1992 and when he stepped down as manager in 1993, the number of trophies accumulated under his 16-year tenure stood at 43. Talbot made their seventh Junior Cup final appearance in 2002 under the management of Tam McDonald, a player in the 1980s three-in-a-row side, but lost on the big day for the first time to Linlithgow Rose. Tommy Sloan had joined the club from Kilwinning Rangers as a player–coach under McDonald in 2003 and he stepped up to the managers role later that year, assisted firstly by Iain Jardine, then by Allan McLuckie. Sloan has led the club to a further seven Scottish finals, winning five times. His first victory in 2006 against Bathgate Thistle also comprised one half of a

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

and Junior Cup double, a feat to be repeated in 2015. After escaping relegation on the final day in his first season, Sloan has established Talbot as the preeminent force in the West Super League with the club winning four successive league titles from 2012–13 onwards, and five in total. Off the field, Beechwood Park has also been improved in recent years. A building sub-committee formed in 1989 oversaw the purchase of the Main Stand extension from Hamilton Accies old Douglas Park ground for £30,000 in the 1990s and the 460 seat structure was finally opened around 10 years later. The building committee was subsumed into a larger Beechwood Regeneration Committee in 2013 who continue to upgrade facilities. The club have also been accredited with the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...

"Standard" Quality Mark award since 2012. In the eventually cancelled 2019–20 season, a bizarre incident occurred, where Talbot, who were sitting 3rd place, and 12 points off the leaders, Kilwinning Rangers, were awarded the league title. However the debacle was quickly resolved by clearing up that the league was decided on a

Points Per Game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

ratio, rather than calling it as it stood. In 2020, Talbot moved from the SJFA, to join the pyramid system in Scottish football as one of the inaugural members of the

West of Scotland Football League The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League. Founded in 20 ...

. On 11 October 2020, the club announced it would not participate in the inaugural West of Scotland League season due to concerns relating to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

Scottish Junior Cup finals record

Talbot's record in the Scottish Junior Cup is the best of any club by some considerable distance. The 2021–22 final was their 17th appearance at this stage of the competition, ahead of Cambuslang Rangers (11 final appearances) and Petershill (10 appearances). In terms of cup victories, the margin is more marked. Talbot's 14 Junior Cup wins is more than double the total of the next best clubs, Cambuslang Rangers,

Parkhead Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...

and Petershill, who have all won the tournament five times.

Participation in the Scottish Cup

Since the 2007–08 season, a Junior club which wins the

or one of the three regional Superleague competitions is eligible to compete in the following season's Senior

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

in the 2009 Junior Cup final saw them enter the Senior tournament for the first time in 2009–10. The club was drawn at home to Highland League side Fort William in their first ever tie, winning the match 7–0. Talbot then defeated

Huntly Huntly ( or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlements include Keith ...

after a replay before eventually losing to Stirling Albion in the third round. In their first three years of qualification, Talbot went out to League opposition although they took

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

to a replay in 2013–14. Their greatest run until that point had come two years before, when the club reached the fourth round and faced

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

side Hearts at

Tynecastle Stadium Tynecastle Park, also known as Tynecastle Stadium, is a association football, football stadium in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian ...

, losing narrowly 1–0. The club took over 2,000 supporters to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

for the occasion. Hearts would go on to win the cup. In 2018–19, the club extended their longest run in front of 3,100 crowd at home with a 1–0 fourth round win over

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side Ayr United; this victory was their first against full-time opponents.

Former players

Talbot have seen a number of players step up to Senior football over the years, although the club was not as prolific a nursery as some Junior sides. Two

Auchinleck Auchinleck ( ; ;
) is a village southea ...

men who moved from their local club to the professional game are Hugh Robertson and Kris Doolan. Winger Robertson was signed by Willie Thornton for

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

from Talbot in 1957 at the age of 17 while working as a miner at Barony Colliery. He was a member of the ''Dark Blues'' League title winning side in 1961–62 managed by Bob Shankly and their subsequent European campaigns including an 8–1 rout of FC Cologne at Dens Park. Robertson was capped once for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in a November 1961 World Cup qualification play-off against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, setting up both Scotland goals for

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key m ...

in a 4–2 defeat. Shankly himself played for Talbot for a season in 1929 before joining his own local club, the famous Glenbuck Cherrypickers. Kris Doolan was an established player with Kello Rovers when Tommy Sloan signed him for his hometown club aged 20 in 2007. His form at Beechwood earned him recognition at Junior international level for

, winning three caps in the 2008

Junior International Quadrangular Tournament The Junior International Quadrangular Tournament (most recently known as the Umbro Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament held on an irregular basis between junior representative teams from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Irela ...

held in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. After a season and a half at Talbot, Doolan signed for

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

in January 2009 after a successful trial and has gone on to be the club's fourth equal highest goal scorer of all time.

Players and staff

Current squad

Coaching staff

Honours

** Winners (14): 1949, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22 ** Runners-up: 2002, 2012, 2017 * South Challenge Cup ** Winners: 2021–22 *

SJFA West Region The Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region was one of three regions of the SJFA which organised its own distinct league and cup competitions. The SJFA used to be split into six regions, but in 2002 they decided to reform into three (Ea ...

Super League Premier Division / Premiership ** Champions (7): 2005–06, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20 ** Runners-up: 2006–07, 2017–18 * West of Scotland Cup ** Winners (12): 1947–48, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 2013–14, 2015–16 *West of Scotland League Cup ** Winners: 2022–23, 2024-25 *Sectional League Cup **Winners: 2018–19 * Ayrshire First Division ** Champions (11): 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1996–97 ** Runners Up (4): 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00 *Ayrshire Cup ** Winners (15): 1920, 1939, 1956, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2017 *Ayrshire League Cup ** Winners (11): 1977–78, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2017–18 *Evening Times League Champions Cup ** Winners: 2013, 2014, 2016 *Ayrshire District Cup ** Winners (7): 1948, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1997 *Cumnock & Doon Valley Cup ** Winners (4): 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 *East Ayrshire Cup ** Winners (4): 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 *Ayrshire Super Cup ** Winners (5): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000

References

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/auchinleck-talbot-0-5-heart-of-midlothian

External links

* {{SJFA West Region Association football clubs established in 1909 Football clubs in Scotland Scottish Junior Football Association clubs Football in East Ayrshire 1909 establishments in Scotland Auchinleck West of Scotland Football League teams