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Ground Number: 1278

Saturday 16th March 2024

Luncarty 4-3 Crossgates Primrose

East Of Scotland Premier

LUNCARTY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

They were formed in 1886 by employees of a local bleachworks and after some years in local Senior football, joined the Junior grade in 1921. Until the end of the 2005–06 season, they played in Tayside Division One in the Scottish Junior Football Association's East Region, finishing as runners-up in the division's final season. This would have seen them promoted into the Tayside Premier League but the SJFA restructured prior to the 2006–07 season, and the Bleachers found themselves in the twelve-team East Region, Central Division. They finished sixth in their first season in the division. Luncarty played in its first major cup final for 25 years in May 2014, reaching the GA Engineering Cup Final, played at Tannadice Stadium, Dundee. The Bleachers lost out on penalties to Lochee United after the match finished 1–1.

They spent a year in abeyance during the 2015–16 season but returned to competitive action in 2016–17 with a new management team of Jon Kelly and Richie Montgomery. On 29th January 2020, Jonny Kelly stepped down as manager after four years. One of their local rivals was Bankfoot Athletic, but the club based a few miles to the north folded in 2014. Four years later, two other rivals from the city of Perth, Jeanfield Swifts and Kinnoull left the Junior setup to join the East of Scotland Football League within the senior pyramid, a move Luncarty themselves made in 2020. The club won the Alex Jack Cup and Cup Winners Shield in 2023  to qualify for the 2023–24 Scottish Cup – they won their opening three rounds against opponents from as far afield as Fortrose and Newton Stewart before being eliminated by Bo'ness United of the Lowland League.

CLUB HONOURS

Perthshire Junior League winners: 1928–29, 1931–32, 1949–50, 1964–65

East Region Tayside Division One runners-up: 2005–06

Tayside League Division Two winners: 1972–73, 1989–90

Constitutional Cup winners: 1940–41, 1964–66

Currie Cup winners: 1957–58

PA Cup winners: 1963–64, 1971–72

Perthshire Junior Cup winners: 1940–41, 1952–53, 1963–64

Perthshire Rose Bowl winners: 1962–63, 1968–69

Supplementary League winners: 1968–69

Davie Scott Good Conduct Trophy: 1983–84, 1991–92, 1993–94

Luncarty Tournament winners: 2004

Alex Jack Cup winners: 2022–23

Cup Winners Shield winners: 2022–23

MY VISIT

I awoke at 7 am to the sound of Colin breaking wind. I felt pretty good and had a shower and got dressed and some Cornflake cakes for breakfast. I did some preparation on tomorrow's blog before we went out for a walk at 9, stopping at Tesco where I picked up some Scottish treats. Colin got his customary milk before we headed to a look at St Johnstone FC. It was a smart ground and some good pictures were captured. The others picked us up from there and it was only ten minutes to Luncarty. £7 got us entry and a superb steak pie from a local butcher was £2.50. It was nice to see familiar faces aplenty. Colin predictably made a beeline to Terry's badges. Luncarty merchandise was sadly limited to scarves and pin badges. The shirt was nice and I'd have considered getting one. So I made up for it by having a second pie before settling down for the game. The mobile Internet was hopeless, so it was useful to have free WiFi in the bar.

Luncarty sat second bottom of the table. Their form had improved lately, in their last four they had won two and lost two. Their last game was a 2-1 defeat at Hutchison Vale. Crossgates Primrose were a place above in 14th. They'd not won in thirteen and had suffered more than most with the poor weather. Their last game was a 2-1 loss at Sauchie Juniors. When the two sides had met on 22nd August, Crossgates won 2-0. Kickoff was early at 11.13 so it was a good job Barry The Twat was not in attendance. He infamously threw a tantrum at a Hellenic Hop at Wokingham when they kicked off a couple of minutes early and tried to get the game restarted by the referee. There was an early goal this time too, three minutes on, a ball over the top and the ball was bundled home by Jake Sutherland to see the visitors lead. It was Crossgates Primrose who were the better team, they had the ball in the net again but it was ruled offside. On 20 minutes, it was all square, a decent strike from just inside the area by Kyle Woolley. On 31 minutes, Crossgates retook the lead, the keeper parried before it was followed up by Cammy Muirhead. Two minutes later, it was all square, Ross McLachlan capitalising on some sloppy defending to head home. Rhys Davies poked home a couple of minutes later to make it 3-2. On 38 minutes, a penalty was awarded for a blatant handball and it was converted by Davies to make it 4-2 in a breathless first half. The second half was a bit calmer but the attendance was given as 386. Crossgates Primrose pulled a goal back on 76 minutes, a shot into the bottom corner. Five minutes later, Ben Scarborough appeared to have sealed the game with a superb cross-shot that looped over the keeper's head.

THE GROUND

BROWNFIELDS PARK is a basic but pleasant venue. A three-sided fenced pitch with a small bit of cover behind one goal. But is so much better than that with steep banks on two sides allowing a great view from behind the goal. It is a really scenic venue with trains running high above one side. The bar is decent and provides free WiFi. The highlight is the tea hut, offering superb steak pies from a local butcher called T.H Stevenson.