association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
The club was formed in 1880, and its first reported match was against the 2nd XI of a club simply termed "Dundee" in February 1881.
Once the club had acquired private grounds, it was able to enter the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1882–83. West End beat Strathmore of Dundee 1–0 at Rollo's Pier, thanks to the only goal of the game from White, converting a cross 7 minutes before half-time. In the second round, West End lost 5–1 to Vale of Teith, although an "excellent tea" at the Woodside Hotel in
Doune
Doune (; from Scottish Gaelic: ''An Dùn'', meaning 'the fort') is a burgh within Perthshire. The town is administered by Stirling Council. Doune is assigned Falkirk postcodes starting "FK". The village lies within the parish of Kilmadock and ma ...
afterwards left the West End players "highly delighted".
The club entered the Cup three more times, but never won another tie. It gained a walkover into the second round in 1884–85 when the ill-named
Perseverance
Perseverance may refer to:
Behaviour
* Psychological resilience
* Perseverance of the saints, a Protestant Christian teaching
* Assurance (theology)
Geography
* Perseverance, Queensland, a locality in Australia
* Perseverance Island, Seychelles
* ...
did not turn up for the first round tie, but was thrashed 8–1 at
Dundee Our Boys
Dundee Our Boys Football Club were a football club from Dundee, Scotland. Founded in 1877, the club merged with Dundee East End in 1893 to form Dundee, with the new side elected to the Scottish Football League.
History
Our Boys' first app ...
. In its last entry, in 1885–86, West End was drawn at home to
Broughty
Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the River Tay in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454, when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, received permission ...
, and, benefitting from a strong wind behind its players' backs in the first half, took a two-goal lead in the first five minutes, and went 3–0 up before Broughty pulled one back before half-time; now playing with the wind, Broughty brought the match back to 3–3 but could not force a winner. The replay at Forthill also ended 3–3, the final goal of the game being an own goal in West End's favour, and both sides progressed to the second round. West End was drawn at home to the other Strathmore of
Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
...
and lost 5–4, eight of the goals coming in a "fast and furious" second half.
West End had a little more success in the
Forfarshire Cup
The Forfarshire Cup is a football competition in Scotland competed for by teams in the Forfarshire Football Association from Angus, Dundee and Perth. The name of the competition is often baffling to some, as "Forfarshire" is an archaic and angli ...
, entering from 1883–84 to 1885–86, and winning in the first round in each of its entries; its first tie, against Windmill F.C., was the club's biggest competitive win, scoring 11 without reply. The club was drawn at home to holders
Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
...
in the second round, and narrowly lost 3–2, surprising the spectators by taking an early lead. It reached the semi-final in 1884–85 - albeit only winning one tie to get so far - but scratched to Strathmore (Arbroath) in the semi-final.
West End's final tie in the competition was against the Arbroath Strathmore again, in the second round in 1885–86. West End won the tie 4–1, but it was replayed after a protest, and this time the Strathie won 4–3; a West End protest that it had two goals wrongly disallowed was dismissed.
By 1885 the club was outgunned by the other Dundee sides, not having significantly recruited since its foundation. It had 57 members, compared to East End's 90, Strathmore's 150, Dundee Harp's 170, and Our Boys' 240. Although at the time the club "ha never been seen to better advantage in the past seasons", the club did not survive the 1885–86 season, the final reported match known being a 4–2 defeat at Strathmore (Arbroath) in February. The club was struck off the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility fo ...
roll before the start of the 1886–87 season. The West End name was taken in April 1887 by the Dundee Bluebell club.
Colours
The club played in navy jersey and hose, with white knickers.
Grounds
In common with other Dundee clubs, West End had a number of grounds:
*1880–82: Magdalen Green public park
*1882–83: private ground on Perth Road
*1883–84: Balgay Farm
*1884–86: private grounds named Boghead, on Blackness Road.
The club borrowed Rollo's Pier to host Hibernian in a friendly in October 1885; an estimated 3–4,000 spectators saw the visitors win 10–0.