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.[1] However, a more likely reason for the nickname is the proximity of the club to the nearby blast furnaces of the former Glengarnock Steelworks.
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| Full name | Kilbirnie Ladeside Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blasties |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Ground | Valefield Park, Kilbirnie |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Manager | Colin Spence |
| League | West of Scotland League First Division |
| 2023–24 | West of Scotland League First Division, 11th of 16 |
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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4][5][6]
Valefield Park
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| Location | Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, Scotland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55°44′43″N 4°40′58″W |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Tenants | |
| Kilbirnie Ladeside | |
Valefield Park is home to Kilbirnie Ladeside. The average attendance is around two hundred (varying for cup games).
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. There is a small snack bar offering a wide range of hot and cold food and a licensed bar located on the south east corner welcoming both home and away support.
Current squad
- As of 1 July 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club staff
| 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
- George Stevenson, Motherwell and Scotland.[7]
- Ernie McGarr, Aberdeen and Scotland.[8]
References
External links
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