Kilbirnie Ladeside F.C.
{{Short description|Association football club in Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Kilbirnie Ladeside
| image = Kilbirnie_Ladeside_F.C.png
| fullname = Kilbirnie Ladeside Football Club
| nickname = The Blasties
| founded = 1901
| ground = Valefield Park, Kilbirnie
| capacity = 1,000
| chairman =
| mgrtitle =
| manager = Colin Spence
| league = {{Scottish football updater|KilbirnL}}
| season = {{Scottish football updater|KilbirnL2}}
| position = {{Scottish football updater|KilbirnL3}}
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Kilbirnie Ladeside Football Club are a Scottish football club, from Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire. Based at Valefield Park, they currently play in the West of Scotland Football League. Their main rivals are Beith Juniors. The club nickname, The Blasties, derives from a Robert Burns poem, The Inventory, written in 1786.[http://www.robertburns.org/works/94.shtml The Inventory], robertburns.org However, a more likely reason for the nickname is the proximity of the club to the nearby blast furnaces of the former Glengarnock Steelworks.
History
Kilbirnie won their first Scottish Junior Cup title in 1952 with a 1–0 victory over Camelon Juniors at Hampden Park, with over 69,000 fans in attendance. The team's Goalkeeper on the day was Tom McQueen, father of future Scotland international Gordon McQueen.{{Cite web|title=Scottish Junior Cup Finals 1950-1959|url=https://www.scottishjuniorfa.com/scottish-junior-cup/history-of-junior-cup/previous-finals/1950s/|access-date=2024-07-27|website=Scottish Junior Football Association}}
In 2020, Kilbirnie moved from the SJFA, to join the pyramid system in Scottish football as one of the inaugural members of the West of Scotland Football League.{{Cite web|last=Pirie|first=Mark|date=2020-05-04|title=West of Scotland League unveil full division list ahead of non-league overhaul|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/west-scotland-league-unveil-full-21973428|access-date=2020-10-10|website=Daily Record|archive-date=16 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616180933/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/west-scotland-league-unveil-full-21973428|url-status=live}}
On 10 October 2020, the club announced they would not be participating in the inaugural season of the West of Scotland League due to concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the inability of fans to be able to attend games as a huge issue for the club.{{Cite web|title=Club Statement regarding recent News - Latest News - Kilbirnie Ladeside FC|url=https://www.kilbirnieladesidefc.co.uk/item.php?pg=news&pd=1002&it=75|access-date=2020-10-10|website=www.kilbirnieladesidefc.co.uk|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Club Ballot Results – West of Scotland Football League|url=https://wosfl.co.uk/club-ballot-results/|access-date=2020-10-10|language=en-GB|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031213144/https://wosfl.co.uk/club-ballot-results/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|last=Pirie|first=Mark|date=2020-10-10|title=BREAKING: West of Scotland League chaos as 14 clubs pull out ahead of kick off|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/west-scotland-league-thrown-chaos-22822954|access-date=2020-10-10|website=Daily Record}}
Valefield Park
{{Infobox venue
|stadium_name = Valefield Park
|nicknames =
|image = Kilbirnieladesdieground.JPG
|image_size = 160
|location = Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, Scotland
|coordinates = {{Coord|55|44|43|N|4|40|58|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|broke_ground =
|opened =
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|owner =
|operator =
|surface = Grass
|construction_cost =
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|former_names =
|seating_capacity = 1,000
|tenants = Kilbirnie Ladeside
}}
Valefield Park is home to Kilbirnie Ladeside. The average attendance is around two hundred (varying for cup games).{{cn|date=December 2024}}
=History=
The Blasties' (the nickname of Kilbirnie Ladeside) original home of Ladeside Park on Mill Road was partly built on by the army during World War II and the club relocated to Valefield, the home of Glengarnock Vale, another local side. Vale did not re-appear after the war and Valefield Park became Ladeside's permanent ground. The name 'Ladeside' derives from the lade that runs near the ground from the old Nether Mill at Knoxsville Road near the Miller's Knowe.
=Structure=
Although the ground is small it can comfortably hold up to six hundred spectators. On the north-west side there are two main stands which were both constructed at the start of the new millennium. The ground has around four main turnstiles, two of which are located on Kirkland Road.{{cn|date=December 2024}}
Current squad
{{Updated|1 July 2023}}
{{Fs start}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=GK|name=Jamie McGowan}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=GK|name=Calum Robertson}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=DF|name=James Ballantyne}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=DF|name=Lewis Crawford}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=DF|name=Mickey Wilson}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=DF|name=Paul Doyle}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=DF|name=Jamie Ballantyne}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=DF|name=Jack Wilson}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=MF|name=Danny Bamford}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=MF|name=Ryan Connelly}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=DF|name=Ruairidh Clark}}
{{Fs mid}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=MF|name=Chris Black}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=MF|name=CJ Johnston}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Scott Lewis}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=MF|name=Ryan McCubbin}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Alex Bell}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Aaron Robertson}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Sam McLoy}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Jon Scullion}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Alan Frizzell}}
{{Fs player|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Aiden Gilmartin}}
{{Fs end}}
Club staff
| class="wikitable" | |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Colin Spence |
| Assistant manager | Willie Lyle |
| Goalkeeping Coach | |
| Physio |
Honours
- Winners: 1951–52, 1976–77
- Runners-up: 1986–87
=Other honours=
- West of Scotland Cup winners: 2007–08
- Scottish Junior League winners: 1903–04
- Ayrshire League champions: 1975–76
- Western League champions: 1947–48, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1967–68
- Ayrshire Cup: 1912–13, 1923–24, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1986–87
- Western/Ayrshire League Cup winners: 1923–24, 1931–32, 1938–39, 1988–89, 1994–95, 2009–10, 2016–17
Notable former players
{{See also|:Category:Kilbirnie Ladeside F.C. players}}
- George Stevenson, Motherwell and Scotland.[http://www.motherwell-mad.co.uk/sngl/edz2/glf76true_steelmen_george_stevenson_616523/index.shtml True Steelmen - George Stevenson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919164449/http://www.motherwell-mad.co.uk/sngl/edz2/glf76true_steelmen_george_stevenson_616523/index.shtml |date=19 September 2017 }} motherwell-mad.co.uk
- Ernie McGarr, Aberdeen and Scotland.[http://www.afc.co.uk/articles/20070213/ernie-mcgarr_2212041_980532 Dark Blue Dons - Ernie McGarr] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401090654/http://www.afc.co.uk/articles/20070213/ernie-mcgarr_2212041_980532 |date=1 April 2012 }} afc.co.uk, 13 February 2007, Retrieved 24 June 2011
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.kilbirnieladesidefc.co.uk/ Official site]
- [https://www.facebook.com/Kilbirnieladesidefc/ Facebook]
- [https://www.twitter.com/KLFC_official/ Twitter]
{{West of Scotland League}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Football clubs in Scotland
Category:Scottish Junior Football Association clubs
Category:Association football clubs established in 1901
Category:Football in North Ayrshire
Category:1901 establishments in Scotland