Thornliebank Football Club was a football club that existed between 1875 and 1907, based in

Thornliebank Thornliebank (Scots: ''Thonliebank'', Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach nan Dealgan'') is a suburban area in East Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, it is located on the Auldhouse Burn about so ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

, Scotland.

History

Thornliebank's first recorded fixture was a defeat at the

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

club in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

in October 1875, and by January 1876 the club had enough player members to provide two teams. It first entered the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1876–77, losing in the first round to the 23rd Renfrew R.V. side from

Cathcart Cathcart ( sco, Kithcart, gd, Coille Chart)
is an are ...

. The club gained revenge the following year, beating the 23rd on the way to the 5th round (last 12), where the club lost at Renton. The club had progressed from the fourth round after drawing twice with Hibernian; the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

club claimed to have won the original tie 2–1, but 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 ...

noted the referee had reported the result as 1–1, so ordered a replay, which was drawn; both clubs were put through to the fifth. The first

Renfrewshire Cup The Renfrewshire Cup was an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final was generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest teams ...

took place in 1878–79. Thornliebank was a favourite in the competition, as the club supplied 4 players to the Renfrewshire representative side for the season's matches against the Ayrshire association. and Thornliebank duly won the competition, a feat it repeated in 1879–80. Thornliebank's second win was at the expense of village rivals

Kennishead Kennishead ( sco, Kennisheid, gd, Ceann Ceanais)
is a ...

, the Thornliebank committee being so impressed with the forwards McFarlane, Moonie, Wiseman, and captain M'Cabe that Thornliebank signed them up for 1880–81, an action which effectively killed Kennishead off.

1879–80 Scottish Cup run

That season, the club also reached the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Barrhead Rangers, with a breakaway goal five minutes from time. In the fourth round, the club hammered

Possilpark Possilpark is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde and centred around Saracen Street. The area developed around Saracen Foundry of Walter MacFarlane & Co., which was the main employer. In the wake of the ...

by a score given as 12–0 or 13–0; the Rutherglen Reformer noting that "they had nothing to do but score, and they did it". The club also put 12 past Rob Roy of

Callander Callander (; gd, Calasraid) is a small town in the council area of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. The town se ...

in the fifth round before meeting the 3rd Lanarkshire R.V. in a tie that Thornliebank was not expected to win. After the original tie at Deacon's Bank ended in a draw, and a hurricane-force storm prevented extra-time, the replay took place at Copeland Park in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south b ...

, the home of South-Western, as the Thirds' regular

Cathkin Park Cathkin Park is a municipal park in Glasgow, Scotland. The park is maintained by the city's parks department, and it is a public place where football is still played. The park contains the site of the second Hampden Park, previously home to the ...

ground was being used for Scottish FA trial matches. The Thirds thought they had opened the scoring, but the goal was disallowed as they had already claimed for a foul, which was instead given; after 90 minutes, the score was 1–1, so the clubs played an extra 20 minutes. Thornliebank won the game with "a capital shot by Wham, 35 yards off". It was noted that the Thirds were unable to play their usual passing game because of the pressing of Thornliebank, so resorted to long balls, charging, and scrimmaging, which was more Thornliebank's style. Despite being able to beat the powerful Volunteers, the club was not fancied to beat

Pollokshields Athletic Pollokshields Athletic F.C. was a Scottish football team, based in the Pollokshields district of Glasgow (at the time a separate burgh). History The club was founded in 1875, originally as a rugby union club, and was playing association footb ...

in the semi-final. Neutral venues were not used at that time, and the draw had the match played at Thornliebank. The home advantage proved decisive; although Shields took the lead, and generally dominated the game, the ground was "hard as iron, rendering dribbling an impossibility", and the home side scored two late goals to reach the final. The final however was a step too far, Queen's Park proving too strong in awful conditions. Thornliebank had the previous week made a trip to

Vale of Leven F.C. Vale of Leven Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Alexandria, in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''the Vale'' and formed in 1939, they play at Millburn Park. They play in the , the ninth ti ...

for a warm-up match, in which it suffered its first defeat of the season.

Later history

The 1879–80 season was the high water mark of the club - it never won the Renfrewshire Cup again and its attempt at the Scottish Cup in 1880–81 ended surprisingly early, with a home defeat by

Pollok Pollok ( gd, Pollag, lit=a pool, sco, Powk) is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,0 ...

in the second round. The club's next best run in the Cup came in 1884–85, beaten by

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 '' ...

in the quarter-finals, although the club entered until 1907–08; its biggest win had come in the second round in 1883–84, 14–0 against Bute Rangers. The advent of professionalism (often "under the counter") was deleterious to the club - in consecutive ties against

Abercorn F.C. Abercorn Football Club was a football club based in Paisley, Scotland. The club were members of the Scottish Football League from 1890 until 1915 and folded in 1920. Abercorn were founder members of the Scottish Football League, but eventuall ...

in 1888 and 1889, the club conceded 8 and 10 goals. After qualifying rounds were introduced, the club did not reach the main stages of the draw once. The club replaced

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...

in the

Scottish Football Combination The Scottish Football Combination was a football league football structure set up in Scotland for clubs outside the Scottish Football League and the reserves (or A sides) of some of the League members. History 1896–1911 The competition was formed ...

during the 1897–98 season and stayed in the league until 1901, albeit always struggling, and finishing bottom in 1900–01. Thornliebank returned in 1902 but the club did not complete the 1905–06 season. In December 1905, in a match at

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where ...

, eight Thornliebank players were ordered off for dissent, with 17 minutes to go and the club 8–1 down; the club was also penalized for not turning up to fixtures, and ultimately expelled. The club's final competitive match came in the 1907–08 Scottish Cup qualifying, against

Abercorn Abercorn ( Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a ...

; the game was abandoned because of bad light with Abercorn 3–1 up, and the result was allowed to stand. Thornliebank scratched from the consolation cup and was formally dissolved at the end of the season.

Colours

The club originally played in white jerseys with blue knickers, and from 1884 until its demise it wore black and white 1" hoops and blue knickers.

Grounds

The club played at three grounds; originally at Cowglen on Heatherty Hill, and by 1879 the club had moved to Deacon's Bank Park, where it played throughout the 1880s. The club's final ground was Summerlee Park.

Honours

;Scottish Cup: *Runners-up: 1879–80 ;

* Winners: 1878–79, 1879–80 ; Renfrewshire Victoria Cup * Winners: 1897–98,

1902–03 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Musi ...

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Former players

Scottish League/Football League players

* James Bonar *

Paddy Travers Patrick Travers (28 May 1883 – 5 February 1962) was a Scottish football player and manager in the first half of the 20th century. He played for many clubs in his native Scotland and for Barnsley in England, before becoming involved in coachi ...

William McFetridge William Lane McFetridge (November 28, 1893Fink, ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor,'' 1984. – March 15, 1969) was an American labor leader and president of the Building Service Employees International Union (BSEIU), the precursor to ...

* William Brown (

Preston North End FC Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

Tottenham Hotspur FC Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has ...

Lincoln City FC Lincoln City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the "Imps" after the legend of t ...

) * Neil Lindsay *

William Garside William Garside (26 February 1872 – 2 October 1951) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridges ...

Players with full international caps

* Thomas Jackson (whilst at

St Mirren FC St Mirren Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire, that competes in the Scottish Premiership after winning the 2017–18 Scottish Championship. Founded in 1877, the team has two nicknames, ''the B ...

) *

Robert Downie Robert Downie Victoria Cross, VC, Military Medal, MM (12 January 1894 – 18 April 1968) was a Scotland, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded ...

(whilst at

Third Lanark AC Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottis ...

) *

Thomas Sloan Thomas Henry Sloan (1870–1941) was an Irish and British politician and founder of the Independent Orange Order. He represented the Belfast South constituency as an Independent Unionist at the Westminster parliament from 1902 to 1910. Career ...

(whilst at

)

External links

Scottish Cup results

References

{{Defunct Scottish football clubs, state=collapsed Defunct football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1875 Association football clubs disestablished in 1908 1875 establishments in Scotland 1908 disestablishments in Scotland Football in East Renfrewshire