Neilston Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Neilston, East Renfrewshire who currently play in the West of Scotland League Second Division.
 | |||
| Full name | Neilston Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Farmers Boys[1] | ||
| Founded | 1945 | ||
| Ground | Brig O' Lea Stadium, Neilston | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 | ||
| Chairman | Graham Walker | ||
| Manager | Kevin Muirhead | ||
| League | West of Scotland League Second Division | ||
| 2023–24 | West of Scotland League First Division, 16th of 16 (relegated) | ||
|
| |||
History
editThe club was formed on Monday 4 June 1945 when a public meeting was held in the old wooden clubhouse at Brig O’Lea. Their first league game took place on Saturday 11 August 1945. It was an away match against Riccarton Bluebell and resulted in a 4–4 draw.
Just two years after their formation, the club finished the 1946–47 season as the Western League North champions and also won the Western League Cup and the Renfrewshire Cup.
Renfrew District Council took over Brig O’Lea Stadium in the early 1960s and built a new clubhouse and installed floodlights for season 1964–65. The new look stadium was opened on Monday 21 December 1964 when Neilston played Greenock Morton under the new floodlights.
In 1967 they left the Western League to join the Central League and in their first season they finished runners-up to Petershill in the "B" Division. In season 1970–71 they were "C" Division Champions.
1995 was their 50th Anniversary year, and in all honesty the club could have folded, but due to the hard work and determined efforts of everyone at the club they came through.
On 6 October 1998 Neilston won their first major trophy in 51 years by defeating Ballieston 5–0 at Fir Park, Motherwell in the Beatons Sectional League Cup Final.
Season 2002–03 saw Neilston come close to being crowned the first ever champions of the newly created West Super League Premier Division but they missed out on goal difference to Pollok.
Season 2005–06 was their most successful for 50 years as they finished champions of the Stagecoach Super League First Division and won the Carlsberg Sectional League Cup against East Kilbride Thistle 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw at Firhill Stadium to give the club a well deserved double.
2006–07 saw the club get to the quarter finals of the Scottish Junior Cup for only the fourth time in their history and finish in fourth place in the Stagecoach Super League Premier Division.
Relegated at the end of 2008–09 from the Stagecoach Super League Premier, The Farmer's Boys then suffered back to back relegations from the Stagecoach Super First Division to the Central District First Division.
The team are managed since June 2016 by Martin Campbell and John Paul Dow.[2]
On 19 November 2018 Derek Carson and Chris Cameron become the new co-manager of the club.[3]
Neilston moved to the newly formed West of Scotland League in 2020 with members voting to drop the "Juniors" part of the club's name.[4]
Notable players
editHonours
edit- Western League Champions 1947
- Western League North Section Winners 1947
- Western League Cup Winners 1947
- Renfrewshire Junior Cup Winners - 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1965
- Renfrewshire & Dunbartonshire Cup Winners - 1953
- Kirkwood Shield Winners - 1967, 1969
- Erskine Charity Cup Winners - 1991, 1994
- McGregor Cup Winners - 1992
- Central League 'C' Champions - 1971
- West Super League Division One winners - 2006
- West Super League Premier Runners-Up - 2003
- Sectional League Cup Winners - 1999, 2006
- Strathclyde Cup Runners-Up - 2023
Coaching staff
edit- As of 4 February 2023
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Andy Whiteford
|
| Assistant manager | Mark O’Neill
|
| Coach | Craig Bingham
|
| Goalkeeping coach | Scott Cochrane
|
| Physiotherapist | Shelagh Armstrong
|
| First Team Analyst | Ross Woods
|
| Club development manager | Andy Whiteford
|
References
edit- ^ "Neilston Profile & News | the Juniors". Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- ^ O'Donnell, Jim (14 June 2016). "Beith hoping for a champagne supernova when they take on Irvine Meadow in Ayrshire Cup Final". Evening Times. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ @NeilstonFC (19 November 2018). "The club is delighted to announce that Derek Carson and Chris Cameron have been appointed co-managers of Neilston J…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @NeilstonFC (3 June 2020). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 June 2020 – via Twitter.