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 ...
club based in the village of
Duntocher
Duntocher (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Tòchair'' or ''Druim Tòchair'') is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 6,850. The etymology of the name of the village indicates that its name means "the fort on the c ...
, in
West Dunbartonshire
West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...
, which entered the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Junior-level football; the season's highlight was winning the Buchanan Charity Cup, played for by clubs from
Old
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
* Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...
and
New Kilpatrick
New Kilpatrick, (also known as East Kilpatrick or Easter Kilpatrick) is an ecclesiastical Parish and former Civil Parish in Dunbartonshire. It was formed in 1649 from the eastern half of the parish of Kilpatrick (also known as Kirkpatrick), the w ...
. The club won the competition twice more, in 1890–91 and 1891–92, after which the cup was retired.
After winning the competition for the first time, the club joined 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 ...
, and entered the
1889–90 Scottish Cup
The 1889–90 Scottish Cup was the 17th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Queen's Park defeated rivals Vale of Leven
2–1 in a replayed final.
Calendar
Teams
All 158 teams entered the competition in th ...
. The Harp was drawn at home to Smithstone Hibs and enjoyed an easy 5–0 win. In the second round, the club was drawn at home to Vale of Leven Wanderers, who had reached the quarter-final the previous season, and Wanderers won 4–3; the Harp had taken a 3–1 half-time lead, but the Wanderers had the benefit of the wind and slope in the second half.
The club did not renew its subscription to the Scottish FA in 1890, but rejoined in 1891; by this time, the Scottish FA had introduced qualifying rounds for the Cup, and Harp never qualified for the first round proper.
The Harp entered 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 ...
for the first time in 1889–90, but did not win a tie in it until 1893–94, when it beat the junior side Radnor Park 9–0, the club's record competitive victory. The Harp won twice more in the competition that season to reach the final for the only time, but lost 4–1 to
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
, which, by this time, had joined the
Scottish League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
Vale of Leven
The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning '' ...
. This had decimated the smaller clubs in the county and by the time the Harp was dissolved, there was only one senior side left in Dumbartonshire outside the League.
The final competitive matches for the Harp were in the
Scottish Qualifying Cup
The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup ...
in 1896–97. The club beat Helensburgh Union 6–0 in a first preliminary round replay - the original tie ending 4–4, but Harp, in an indication of the club's problems, having to play out the entire tie with 9 men - but lost 8–2 at Royal Albert in the second. The club was formally struck off the Scottish FA roll in August 1897.
Colours
The club's colours were consistently green jerseys and hose, but the knickers changed in 1891 from navy blue to black, and in 1894 to white.
Ground
The club started out at St Helena Park in Duntocher. In 1894 it moved to Fore Park.
Notable players
* Pat Smith, goalkeeper, who left for
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. The club have been mem ...
in 1894–95, but, because he had played for the Harp in a pre-season 5-a-side tournament, was declared ineligible for other Cup competitions that year, resulting in the overturning of a Partick win over
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...