Bonnyrigg Rose 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 from the town of

Bonnyrigg Bonnyrigg is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, which is southeast of Edinburgh city centre, between the Rivers North and South Esk. The town had a population of 14,663 in the 2001 census which rose to 15,677 in the 2011 census, both figures b ...

. Formed in 1881 and nicknamed ''the Rose'', the team plays in the , having been relegated in 2024–25. Their home ground is New Dundas Park, and they have traditionally played in red and white hoops. They 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 ...

twice, in 1966 and in 1978, as well as finishing runners-up in 1972. Their 6–1 defeat of Whitburn in 1966 holds a joint record for the margin of victory in a Scottish Junior Cup final. Bonnyrigg won the East Region Super League championship four times during their membership, making them the league's most successful side. At a special general meeting held in March 2018, the club's members voted in favour of applying to join the senior

East of Scotland Football League The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior association football, football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowlan ...

. Bonnyrigg were part of a larger movement of eastern junior clubs to the East of Scotland League that year. In 2019, they won promotion to the Lowland League and successfully applied for

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 ...

membership. In 2022, they won promotion to

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...

, thus entering the

Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As well ...

for the first time, and after doing so, changed their name from Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic to the more streamlined Bonnyrigg Rose.

Scottish Cup

Prior to becoming an SFA member in 2019, Bonnyrigg qualified to enter the senior

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,East Superleague on four occasions. In their first campaign in 2009–10, Bonnyrigg lost in their opening tie to Highland League club

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

. Better results were achieved in 2012–13, losing to SFL Second Division side

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

in a third round replay after wins over

Girvan Girvan (, "mouth of the River Girvan") is a burgh and harbour town in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan is situated on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of about 6,450. It lies south of Ayr, and north of St ...

and

Stirling University The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthr ...

. The third Scottish Cup adventure in 2016–17 was their most successful. The Rose easily saw off

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

and then defeated Burntisland Shipyard 14–0, the biggest win in the competition since 1984. This was followed by wins over Highland sides Turriff United and Cove Rangers. In an upset, Bonnyrigg then eliminated

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. ...

of the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

after a replay to progress to the Fourth Round. They were drawn at home against the cup holders Hibernian, with the match moved to

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 ...

in Edinburgh to accommodate the expected number of spectators and the basic facilities at New Dundas Park. The result, an 8–1 defeat, was a disappointing end to the run for the team and the 5,000 fans who had travelled from

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

to give their support. The club qualified again for the Scottish Cup in 2018–19, having won the East Superleague for a record fourth time. Now playing in the senior pyramid, this campaign ultimately ended in disappointment for the club, losing 2–1 to Deveronvale in the first round. 2018 also saw them take part in the inaugural Shaun Woodburn Memorial Cup, established in memory of former player Woodburn, who had been killed on the previous

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 ...

. In June 2019, the club announced it had been accepted as a member of the

, which would allow them to automatically qualify for the Scottish Cup annually. In their first Scottish Cup as a licensed team, Bonnyrigg would once again go on an impressive run, defeating Highland League sides

and Buckie Thistle before dispatching

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

side Montrose 2–1 at New Dundas Park, despite being a man down. In the Fourth round, Bonnyrigg would again valiantly fight against a League One team, but could not repeat their heroics and lost 0–1 late on to Clyde. Entering in the Second round in 2020–21, Bonnyrigg would defeat fellow Lowland Leaguers Bo'ness United 5–2, with Lee Currie scoring a hat-trick of penalties within 10 minutes of each other. In the next round, the ''Rosey Posey'' would nearly have a cup upset for the ages, with another Currie penalty and a strong performance from keeper Mark Weir nearly knocking out

side

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 ...

before a late equaliser sent the game to extra time. Currie again put Bonnyrigg ahead from the spot, but two goals by Dundee in the second half of extra time ended the club's dream.

Lowland League

Rose were promoted to the

Lowland League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) and the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League for sponsorship reasons is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits a ...

in 2019 after winning the

and gaining SFA membership. They took the place of relegated Whitehill Welfare, based only two miles from Bonnyrigg in the village of

Rosewell, Midlothian Rosewell is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland, east of Roslin and south-west of Bonnyrigg. The village is in the civil parish of Lasswade and was previously a separate ecclesiastical parish,Gazetteer of Scotland, 2nd edition, ...

. After finishing second and third in their first two seasons, both curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the following season they went on to win the league title in 2021–22.

Current squad

Coaching staff

*Manager: Jonny Stewart *Assistant manager: Ross Gray *First team coach: Calum Smith *Goalkeeping coach: Michael Andrews *Sports therapist: Danielle McNaught

Managers

The team was managed from June 2015 until August 2017 by former

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England, who play in the Scottish football system. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite being ba ...

player and assistant manager, Robbie Horn. Horn resigned in August 2017 to take over the vacant managerial position at Berwick. He later returned as manager in November 2018.

Season-by-season record

Senior

† Season curtailed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours

Major honours

** Champions: 2021–22 * East of Scotland League **Champions: 2018–19 **Conference B Winners: 2018–19 *

**Winners: 1965–66, 1977–78 **Runners-up: 1971–72 * SJFA East Region Super League **Winners: 2008–09, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2017–18 **Runners-up: 2006–07, 2012–13, 2016–17

Other honours

* Edinburgh & District League: 1937–38, 1963–64 * East Region Division One: 1975–76, 1976–77, 1984–85 *East of Scotland Junior Cup: 1897–98, 1962–63, 1985–86, 1986–87, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2012–13 *Fife & Lothians Cup: 1981–82, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2017–18 *Lanark & Lothians Cup: 1963–64, 1965–66 *National Dryburgh Cup: 1985–86 * East Region Division Two: 1983–84 *East Junior League Cup: 1975–76, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1987–88, 2000–01 *Brown Cup: 1933–34, 1963–64, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1985–86, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 *St. Michaels Cup: 1965–66, 1970–71, 1974–75 *RL Rae Cup: 1974–75 *Peter Craigie Cup: 1992–93 *Thornton Shield: 1955–56, 1956–57 *Dalmeny Cup: 1922–23 *Marshall Cup: 1913–14 *Musselburgh Cup: 1909–10, 1924–25 *Roseberry Charity Cup: 1937–38 *Simpson Shield: 1905–06 *Andy Kelly Memorial Cup: 2006

Notable former players

Per Bartram Andreas Per Bartram (8 January 1944 – 12 May 2025) was a Danish footballer, who played as a forward. He made 61 appearances in the Scottish League and Football League for Morton and Crystal Palace, scoring 28 goals. He also played for Danis ...

(F) (1978) Denmark international *Jim Begbie (D) (1968–1972) Represented Hong Kong League XI * Ally Brazil (D) (1992–1993) Scotland under-21 international *

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

(early 1950s) future actor * Graham Harvey (F) (1998–1999) Represented Hong Kong League XI * Jim Hermiston (M) (1964–1965) Scotland under-23 international * Jimmy Mackay (M) (1961–1964) Represented Australia in the 1974 FIFA World Cup having scored the decisive goal in the final qualifier * Billy Neil (M) Made 186

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances for

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

* Craig Paterson (D) (1977–1979) Scotland under-21 international and Scotland's most expensive player in 1982 * Chris Robertson (F) (1990s) Scotland under-21 international * Pat Stanton (M) (1961–1963) 16 caps for Scotland * John White (M) (1955–1956) 22 caps for Scotland (3 goals) * Tommy White (F) Scotland under-23 international

References

External links

Official club site
{{SJFA East Region Football clubs in Scotland Scottish Junior Football Association clubs Football in Midlothian Association football clubs established in 1890 1890 establishments in Scotland East of Scotland Football League teams Lowland Football League teams Bonnyrigg and Lasswade