association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club from
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
in
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 ...
.
History
The club was founded in 1873, out of a cricket club, and quickly became the leading club in Kilmarnock. The club's name - often given simply as Portland - was taken from Portland Street in the town centre.
The first time the club undertook competitive play was in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1876–77. The club won its first tie 2–1 at
Cumnock
Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cumnag'') is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie j ...
In the second it beat fellow Kilmarnock side St Andrew's 2–0, in a "one-sided game". The third round consisted of 21 clubs, and was still drawn on a regional basis; Portland lost 7–0 at the strong
Mauchline
Mauchline (; ) is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial.
Location
The town lies by the Glasgow and South Western Railway ...
side, to the surprise of those attending who were expecting a close game - at the time, with 130 members, Portland was the biggest club outside Glasgow, except for
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 ...
, and had 60 more members than Mauchline. Portland conceded within 90 seconds of the start and the second goal came from a Portland attack, when Harrison "selfishly" failed to pass the ball, and Mauchline broke back.
Portland was runner-up to Mauchline in the first
Ayrshire Cup
The Ayrshire Cup was an annual association football regional competition in Scotland. The cup competition was a knockout tournament between football clubs in the historic county of Ayrshire. The Ayrshire Cup was first held in 1877–78, the tr ...
in 1877–78, losing 4–2 in the final, played at Holm Quarry, the home ground for a number of other Kilmarnock sides. The match proved to be a test between the Portland's wider wing play and Mauchline's more compact forward line; Portland's opening goal was a Goldie header from a Sinclair corner, and the club went 2–1 up after Mauchline's back Wilson impeded his goalkeeper, but two goals in the last 20 minutes won the trophy for Mauchline.
The club reached the final again in 1878–79, beating Ayr Academicals in the club's penultimate tie by defending a one-goal lead through time-wasting tactics, continually sending the ball "into 'touch'". The club had also survived an apparent elimination by
Beith
Beith (locally ) is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) afte ...
, in a tie which included 500 spectators from Kilmarnock travelling by a special train; the only goal of the game came from a free-kick after an appeal for hands, which the referee had not actually given, but for which the Beith umpire had flagged. Despite Portland protesting the goal, which under the rules at the time would be considered later, Beith refused to play extra-time. The Ayrshire Football Association ordered a replay at Hamilton Park, which Portland won following "a fine piece of cross-play" between Harrison, Gallocher, and Goldie. Again however the club was runner-up in the final, losing to Kilmarnock Athletic in a replay, in extra-time; in that period Portland's captain Vallance sent the ball into the goalmouth from a free-kick, and the ball went through the goal without touching anyone. At the time, all free-kicks were indirect, so no goal was given. Worse for Vallance was that it was his slip near the end that presented Johnston with the winning goal.
Portland had some consolation in 1878–79 by winning the Burns Cup, an invitational tournament to raise funds for a statue to
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
, coming from behind to beat Mauchline 2–1 in the final - the first time the Portland had beaten the Mauchline. The club placed the cup in the Burns Museum in order to raise more funds for the monument.
The season also saw the club gain its longest run in the Scottish Cup, reaching the fourth round, made up of 18 clubs; the first round saw Portland gain its biggest Cup win with a 9–0 score against
Dean
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* Dean (given name)
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* Dean Sw ...
. In the fourth round, the club was drawn at home to the quasi-professional
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. ...
side, and earned a 1–1 draw (Vallance this time placing a free-kick "beautifully" for Campbell to equalize), but in the replay was 5–0 down at half-time, albeit some honour was gained with a (disputed) goal in the second-half.
Portland finally won the Ayrshire Cup in 1881–82, beating
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
4–0 in the final thanks to goals from Richmond (2), Connell, and Harrison, and completed a double with a win in the invitational Merchants' Charity Cup final, over Lugar Boswell. The club's defence of both trophies ended with defeats to Kilmarnock Athletic, which had reached the Scottish Cup semi-final for the previous two years, and which would go on to match Portland's double.
With Kilmarnock Athletic losing players to English clubs, Portland looked as if it could take over the mantle as the leading side in Kilmarnock. However, in July 1883, despite having already entered the Scottish and Ayrshire Cups for 1883–84, the club disbanded, "in consequence of losing its ground". One problem was that the Athletic had been getting bigger crowds during the season. Portland's assets were put up for sale in September 1883.
Colours
The club's colours were originally navy and white one-inch hoops. From 1877 onwards they were white jerseys with a badge, white knickers, and blue stockings.
Ground
The club originally played on Mr Blair's field at Holehouse Road. In 1875, the club moved to Nursery Park, off West Netherton Street. In 1877 the club moved to its most famous ground, Hamilton Park, next door to
Rugby Park
Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scotland, Scottish town of Kilmarnoc ...
.
Honours
*Ayrshire Cup
**Winners: 1881–82
**Runners-up: 1877–78, 1878–79
*Burns Cup
**Winners: 1878–79
*Kilmarnock Merchants Charity Cup
**Winners: 1881–82