Polton Vale Football Club was a football club from the town of
Loanhead
Loanhead is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, in a commuter belt to the south of Edinburgh, and close to Roslin, Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith. The town was built on coal and oil shale mining, and the paper industries.
History
Loanhead was a tiny villa ...
,
Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, 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 Edinbur ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. The club played in the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Edinburgh Shield in 1888–89; the Vale's quarter-final win over
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...
, in a twice-replayed tie, was considered a particular surprise. The club lost the semi-final 11–0 against Heart of Midlothian.
The club's first success of note was in the Shield's Consolation Cup (for clubs knocked out before the final) in 1890–91, beating
Penicuik Athletic
Penicuik Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football club. They were formed in 1888 and are based at Penicuik Park, in the town of Penicuik. Penicuik Park is ten miles south west of Edinburgh on the A702 road. The team now plays in the East ...
3–2 in the final. This success led to a nomination that the club be one of the four that would be exempt to the fifth round of the Shield the following season, but Vale came bottom of the six nominated clubs in the ballot.
The club's growing ambitions were shown by its first entry to the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Eastern Alliance; however the competition would not be revived until 1893–94, when the club was admitted, but the competition did not start until late in the season, and was left uncompleted, with the Vale 3rd out of 7 teams, but well behind leaders Broxburn Shamrock.
The club again reached the semi-final of the Shield in 1892–93, and again won the Consolation Cup; the club had to win 8 ties in order to take the trophy, its defeat in the main competition being again to Hearts (albeit this time only 5–0). The club beat Bathgate Rovers in the final at
New Logie Green
New Logie Green was a football ground in the Powderhall area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the home ground of St Bernard's from 1889 until 1899, and was also used to host the 1896 Scottish Cup final, the only time the Scottish Cup final has ...
4–2, indebted to some brilliant goalkeeping from Leitch. One notable occurrence during the run was that a protest by Mossend Swifts against the Vale's quarter-final win, because of bad weather affecting the match, was dismissed at a subsequent hearing by the Swifts' own club secretary Mr Williamson, his honesty "stand ngout as bold example as to how representatives should conduct themselves".
1894–95: King Cup triumph
1894–95 proved to be the club's best season. It reached the Shield semi-final for the third time, albeit at the start of the season the Edinburgh clubs in 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 ...
withdrew from the East of Scotland FA, and did not take part in the competition again. In the semi-final the club lost 1–0 to
Adventurers
An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...
of Edinburgh. The club however gained consolation by winning the King Cup for the only time, beating
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leag ...
2–1 in the final at Bonnyrigg; one consequence of the triumph was the club had to withdraw from the Shield's Consolation Cup.
The club also reached the first round proper of the
1894–95 Scottish Cup
The 1894–95 Scottish Cup was the 22nd season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by St Bernard's when they beat Renton, 2-1, in the final.
Calendar
First round
*Match Declared Void
First round ...
, beating
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
8–2 in the qualifying stages. The first round draw sent the Vale to Ayr Parkhouse, where the home side won 5–3 in a "not specially interesting" game.
1895–96: double runners-up
The club came close to retaining the King Cup, reaching the final, but losing to Mossend Swifts by 4 goals to 1 in front of 2,000 spectators at
Bathgate
Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, West Lothian, Armadale, Blackburn, ...
. The Vale protested, but, because the protest was served on the Swifts too late, the East of Scotland FA dismissed it.
The Vale also reached the final of the Shield - now called the East of Scotland Shield - for the only time, and faced Mossend Swifts again, this time at
Tynecastle Park
Tynecastle Park is a football stadium in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). It has also hosted Scotland international matches, and been used as a ...
but in front of only 1,000. It looked as if the Vale had gained revenge over the Swifts with a 2–1 win, thanks to goals from Nangle and Amos. However the Swifts protested that Vale's left-back Oag and inside-right Phillips for "professional irregularities". The protest was upheld and the Swifts won the replayed tie at
Easter Road
Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-large ...
by another 4–1 scoreline.
For 1895–96, 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 ...
introduced 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 ...
, which acted both as a tournament in its own right and as an eliminator for the Scottish Cup. By reaching the fifth round of the Qualifying Cup (losing to
Arbroath F.C.
Arbroath Football Club is a semi-professional Scottish football club based in the town of Arbroath, Angus. They currently play in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded in 1878 and plays home matches at Gayfield Park. They play in mar ...
), the Vale was entitled to enter the Scottish Cup proper, and was drawn at home to
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in the first round, but lost 3–0.
Decline
The Vale would never have a similar run of success again. A sign of desperation was when appealing its defeat by
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish Association football, football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Champ ...
in the Qualifying Cup in 1895–96, on the basis that one Walls was playing under the name Campbell; "the papers submitted to the Association went to show that the man's name was really Walls, that he was baptised Walls, and that he was married under the name Walls". The Vale did reach the King Cup final in 1896–97, drawing with the St Bernard's "A" team 2–2, albeit the game finished with the Vale fans chanting "kill the referee", requiring the official (a Mr Banks of Bathgate) to receive a police escort. The club was consequently thrown out of the East of Scotland FA and therefore forced to default the replay, but the club was re-admitted before the 1897–98 season.
The club won through the Qualifying Cup for the second and last time in 1897–98, and the club received a plum tie when drawn at home to
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 ...
in the Scottish Cup. The Vale sold home advantage, and lost 8–0 at
Ibrox Park
Ibrox Stadium is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox, Glasgow, Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers F.C., Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest List of foot ...
.
However the financial benefit from the tie was short-lived. 1899 saw the club's final King Cup matches and 1900 the club's final Scottish Qualifying Cup entry, the club scratching to
West Calder
West Calder ( sco, Wast Cauder, gd, Caladar an Iar) is a village in the council area of West Lothian, Scotland, located four miles west of Livingston. Historically it is within the County of Midlothian. The village was an important centre in t ...
; despite an attempt to rescind the withdrawal, the Scottish FA ruled that the club had ceded the tie to West Calder.
The club's final competitive match was in 1901, a 4–2 defeat at
Bathgate
Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, West Lothian, Armadale, Blackburn, ...
in the East of Scotland Consolation Cup. The very last match reported match was a 13–1 defeat at West Calder.
The club did enter the East of Scotland Shield's Qualifying Cup competition in 1901–02, but scratched when drawn to play Vale of Leithen. The club does not seem to have played during the season and the end came when it was struck off the Scottish FA member roll in April 1902.
Colours
The club's colours were originally all navy. In 1894, the club changed its shirt colour to blue and black, and in 1896–97 the club wore blue shirts with a white sash, and white shorts. In 1897 the club changed to the blue and white vertical stripes that remained its kit until the end.
Ground
The club's ground was Loanhead Park, although reports almost always refer to the ground simply as Loanhead.
Notable players
* Peter Robertson, future Scottish international, played for the club in the early 1890s