Hurlford United - Blair Park

Hurlford United FC

Blair Park

Blair Road

Hurlford 

Kilmarnock

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Ground Number: 1525
Saturday 14th March 2026

Hurlford United 1-2 Cumnock Juniors

West Of Scotland Premier

HURLFORD UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1912, but not a lot of information is available about its early years. They first started to taste success in the early 1970s with two Ayrshire Regional League South titles, followed by being crowned Ayrshire Regional League champions. They joined the Scottish Junior FA Ayrshire Region in 1999. Starting in Division 2, they finished 3rd in their first season and won promotion to Division 1 after they won a replayed playoff game against Largs Thistle. They would only last one season before being relegated back, but a runners-up spot the following year saw Hurlford go up again.  The junior game in Scotland was reorganised at this point, and the team were placed in the West Region Super League Division 1. Finishes were mid-table at best, and in 2007, they were relegated to the Ayrshire League. It was another few seasons of alternating between the two divisions with Hurlford winning the Ayrshire League title in 2008 & 2010 with a relegation season in between. The second time saw them sustain their position, and then in 2013, they were Super League Division 1 Champions. Five seasons were spent in the Premier League before two in the rebranded Premiership. Another reorganisation in 2020 saw Hurlford become a founder member of the West of Scotland League.  Playing in the Premier Division, the best finish of 6th came in 2022, and they've been there ever since.

Hurlford United have played one season in the Scottish Cup but enjoyed a remarkable run in 2014. In the Preliminary Round, they drew 2-2 against Edinburgh University before winning the replay 5-0. A trip to Clachnacuddin followed, where they triumphed 7-1 in the 1st Round. Another victory on the road followed in Round 2 as they won 3-0 at Inverurie Loco Works. They drew 1-1 at home to Scottish League side Stirling Albion in the 3rd Round, taking them to a replay and drawing 2-2 before bowing out on penalties. They also won the Scottish Junior Cup in 2013, beating East Ayrshire rivals Glenafton Athletic 3–0 in the final at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock. Local cup wins include the West of Scotland Cup in 2018, the West of Scotland League Cup in 2022, four Ayrshire Cups, five Ayrshire League Cups, three Ayrshire District (Irvine Times) Cups, five Kilmarnock & Loudoun Cups and the East Ayrshire Cup in 2021.

The most well-known player to have played for Hurlford United is Ian Bryson. He came from their youth ranks before moving on to Kilmarnock, Sheffield United, Preston North End, Barnsley & Rochdale. Hurlford is a village in East Ayrshire, situated on the outskirts of Kilmarnock. It has a population of just under 5,000. Like much of the area of what is now the present-day East Ayrshire, Hurlford suffered greatly as a result of the interwar depression, which resulted in large unemployment numbers in the area. Hurlford's main economic history centred around ironworks at the Portland Iron Works site, along with additional iron work sites located in Lugar, Muirkirk and Galston, which contributed to the wider iron work industry in East Ayrshire.

MY VISIT

Once I had confirmed I was going to Kilmarnock in the evening, I had to decide where to go in the afternoon. The late kickoff gave plenty of scope for options. I was originally trying to make it a treble with a game in the Glasgow Saturday Morning League. However, the grounds looked very boring and the team that I wanted to see, Wishaw Wycombe Wanderers, did not have a game scheduled when I looked. That left me with Queens Park's tiny stadium, which, although being used in the second tier in Scotland, would barely be fit for a village side in England, almost certainly not good enough for the seventh tier in England, due to the sub-thousand capacity. Talk about going from the sublime to the ridiculous, having played at the huge Hampden Park for years. That left a load of West Of Scotland League grounds, which were far better venues. I opted for the one closest to Kilmarnock in Hurlford United. A bonus was that it was just 20 minutes from our Travelodge for the night. I researched the club and felt a really good vibe about a village team having a proud history. Although Greenock Morton was the highlight ground-wise of the weekend, this was the club I was looking forward to most.

From our game at Morton, we headed into Greenock to tick the Wetherspoons. We briefly met Sean, who was a good bloke and the rude and ignorant Ollie, who has taken against me, due to my friendship with his arch rival River. He obviously went to the same charm school as his obnoxious mother, as River is a great lad. Plus, for some reason, he also ignored his previous best buddy, Colin. Nevertheless, an Iron Brew Beer, a haggis and chilli pizza, and two pints of cider had me feeling fabulous. Although not as fabulous as another one would have me feel. It was good to finally relax after another day where travel was a pain. But Wetherspoons 489, The James Watt was a lovely building, great food service, but drinks service was very poor, and it was amusing watching Colin get frustrated at the staff. We were back in the room at 11.30, and I didn't feel tired, even at 1. However, five minutes of YouTube and I felt sleepy and went to sleep.

 

I only had four hours of sleep before waking naturally around 5. I listened to an audiobook for a couple of hours whilst Colin slept. He got up just after 7, and so I had time for a nice shower and got dressed. I got my blog up before we left at 8.30. Several train apps said that we could get a train, via Paisley for the Wetherspoons for breakfast and Troon, to Kilmarnock for under a tenner. Timings worked out well, but when we got to the station, everything was cancelled, even though we didn't touch Glasgow. Rather than run short and offer bus replacement, Scotrail would rather stick two fingers up and leave people to fend for themselves. We had no choice but to take the bus for £7.50, and by now, I was hungry, having banked on Paisley Wetherspoons for breakfast. The bus was far less comfortable than a train, but I did get some of my blog done. We were in Glasgow at 9.50 and headed straight to Wetherspoons. A revisit and city centre prices, but £6.50 was reasonable for a breakfast muffin, black pudding, haggis and cranberry juice. cranberry juice. It was delicious. After that, it was a five-minute walk to the stop for the bus to Kilmarnock. £7.70 was OK value, but the whole journey had cost us a fiver more on the train and directed us to a more expensive Spoons, all because Scotfail couldn't be bothered to provide any kind of service.

We were in Kilmarnock at 11.10, and it was a good service getting there to be fair. It was a five-minute walk to the Wetherspoons, the Wheatsheaf Inn. Colin had spilt egg down himself from breakfast and needed to go for a dump twice in the space of half an hour. I had a couple of pints but was still full from a late breakfast. From there, it was a 40-minute walk to our Travelodge. We dropped our bags off briefly and walked the 20 minutes to the game. It was all cash, which limited my spending, but I got entry (£10), a pen (£1), a can of Strongbow (£2.90) and chips and gravy (£2.60). All nice and great value for money. I felt a lot better after food, and I liked the ground and the friendly welcome. We were even invited into the boardroom at half-time for a free drink. Cumnock Juniors were also friendly, bringing strong support and inviting us to their place. It was a big attendance for the level overall.

 

Hurlford United were 5th in the league, having won eleven and lost eight. They were in a run of three wins in a row in the league, having won 5-0 at Thorn Athletic in their last game. However, they had lost 3-1 in midweek to Johnstone Burgh in the League Cup.  Cumnock Juniors were in 2nd and had won twelve, drawn three and lost four. They'd won three in a row, including a 2-0 win at Rutherglen Glencairn in midweek. The visitors, who had travelled around 14 miles, had dominated the game. They took the lead with a header on 19 minutes from Adam Forde. They continued to dominate and on 35 minutes, doubled their lead, Jamie Conn finishing from a tight angle. On 55 minutes, Hurlford pulled one back from a great volley from 20 yards. It was the visitors who just about deserved the win, but it was a highly charged local derby. A Cumnock player had a Hurlford player in a headlock, and so both sides had a man sent off for the retaliation. It was a combative game, which was enjoyable to watch.

THE GROUND

BLAIR PARK is a venue full of character. It is only three-sided, and of those that are there, they are tightly hemmed in. There are various small areas of cover on both sides, probably around 200 will be kept dry. There are steps of terracing all around and plenty of colour and stuff to identify who plays at the ground. The food, drink and merchandise offer good options at reasonable prices, though it is cash only. The club are super friendly, and various places such as takeaways and shops are located near the ground.