New Douglas Park
Cadzow Avenue
Hamilton
ML3 0FT
Ground Number: 1404
Sunday 16th March 2025
Sunday 16th March 2025
Hamilton Academical - Ayr United
SWFL Premier League 2
SWFL Premier League 2
HAMILTON ACADEMICAL FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
Hamilton Academical FC was established in 1874 by the school football team at Hamilton Academy and remains the only professional club in British football to have originated from a school team. They joined the Scottish League in 1897, following the resignation of Renton FC. Starting in Division 2, they won the title in 1904 but would have to wait until 1906 to be elected to Division 1. In 1935, the club finished in a record 4th place. They would remain in the top tier until 1947 when they finished bottom and suffered relegation. Hamilton would win promotion back as runners-up behind Stirling Albion in 1953. They only lasted a single season, as they did during 1965/66 having finished behind the same opponent. In the 1970s, Hamilton briefly resigned from the league due to mounting debts. They won second-tier titles in 1986 and 1988, again only lasting a single season on both occasions.
In 1994 the club sold its home ground, Douglas Park, to Sainsbury's supermarket, and subsequently ground-shared at Albion Rovers and Partick Thistle for seven years. During this period the club went through financial hardships and unpaid players went on strike. As a result, Hamilton was unable to fulfil one fixture during the 1999/2000 season and was docked 15 points, the result of which was relegation to the Third Division. They moved into their new home in 2001, having won the Division 3 title months before. In 2008, they won the Division 1 title to return to the Premier League for the first time in thirty years. It was a three-year stay this time before relegation in 2011. Hamilton would win promotion back as runners-up to Dundee in 2014 following playoff wins against Falkirk and Hibs. They stayed until 2021 this time but worse was to come in 2023 when they suffered defeat to Airdrieonians in a relegation playoff and went down to League 1. Last season Hamilton were promoted back to the Scottish Championship after defeating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5–3 on aggregate in the play-off final following a runners-up spot to Falkirk.
Hamilton Academical's cup successes include two Scottish Cup Finals in 1911 losing to Celtic and in 1935 losing to Rangers. They've also won three Scottish Challenge Cups. Hamilton is a large town in South Lanarkshire. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area and is located twelve miles from Glasgow. The town itself has a population of around 55,000, which makes it the 9th largest locality in Scotland, and anchors a defined settlement of 84,000 (including neighbouring Blantyre, Bothwell and Uddingston) which is the country's 8th largest. Famous people from the town include former Scotland managers Craig Brown and Jock Stein as well as a host of footballers.
MY BLOG
For the Sunday afternoon game, Hamilton Academical were clear winners. Kicking off at 4 and being based not far from Glasgow where we needed to be by 9.25 PM that night made them certainties to be visited. I had visited the ground before on 20th July 2016 whilst on a road trip from Lancaster City the previous night to Celtic v Lincoln Red Imps which was my first taste of Scottish football. I was met by a friendly groundsman who gave me a free hat and I vowed to visit when I could. I didn't think it would take nearly nine years though.
It was top v bottom in terms of league placings although Hamilton were in patchy form by their standards having won two, drawn one and last two of their last five. Ayr had drawn four of their last five but were winless in eight. Predictably it did not take long for Hamilton to take the lead from close range after around five minutes. It was then 2-0 on 28 minutes, a shot from just outside the area. It was 3-0 a couple of minutes later and it felt like another landslide was coming along. It calmed down before halftime but following the break it was 4-0 on 46 minutes, in a similar fashion to the opener. It was 5-0 from the penalty spot on 65 minutes. The game was quite dull from then on but a few minutes from time it was 6-0 through a lob over the keeper.
It had been a decent weekend, although a busy one. I was starting to look forward to winding down although the coach trip I was not looking forward to with Colin's backside emitting all kinds of unpleasant smells during the game. It was good to catch up with fellow hopper Daniel and Colchester fan Andy although it was not even a day since I'd last seen them both. We made our way to Hamilton West Station, the 18:05 to Glasgow. I did consider stopping to tick off a couple of Wetherspoons but decided to leave it as I had two to complete in the city centre. The plan was to get a haggis pizza and a few drinks as well as ticking Wetherspoons 398 & 399. We were back in the city at 6.30, just in time to see Newcastle lift the League Cup, their first trophy for 70 years. The John Moore was first up. A nice establishment named after a Glasgow-born soldier,a pleasant place to rest for a while. The haggis pizza with extra chillies were excellent and the staff were understanding and helpful when Colin sent his order to table 2 rather than table 29. There was no rush and so I had a pint of Stowford Press before we moved on to The Crystal Palace where we would see out the night before the cach
THE GROUND
NEW DOUGLAS PARK is a venue with two prominent stands, one along the side and one behind the goal. These combined have a capacity of around 7,000. In addition, there is a smaller temporary stand on the other side. I did not have the chance to try the bar, food or shop as they were closed upon my visit. There is a decent amount of parking and Hamilton West station is around ten minutes walk away.
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