Hurlford United - Blair Park

Hurlford United FC

Blair Park

Blair Road

Hurlford 

Kilmarnock

KA1 5BN

Official Website

Twitter

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.

Greenock Morton - Cappielow Park

Greenock Morton FC 

Cappielow Park

Sinclair Street 

Greenock

PA15 2TU

01475 723571

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1524

Friday 13th March 2026

Greenock Morton 1-2 Partick Thistle
Scottish Championship

GREENOCK MORTON FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established as Morton FC in 1874. The true reason for the name 'Morton' remains unclear, though the general consensus is that the club was named after the 'Morton Terrace', a row of houses next to the original playing field, where some of the players lived. The area is located on Belville Street, a short distance from their current home and was named after a local ironmonger. They were founder members of the Scottish League Division 2 in 1893 and won promotion to the top tier after finishing as runners-up to Partick Thistle in 1900. Morton finished as runners-up to Celtic in 1917 in an extended twenty-team single division. They would remain in Division 1 until 1927 before relegation. The club would bounce back as runners-up to Dundee United in 1929. Bouncing between the top two divisions became the norm; a low of 12th in Division 2 in 1939 and a high of 6th in the renamed Premier Division were standout seasons league-wise. In 1994, the club changed its name to Greenock Morton to reflect its geographical location. This brought about the second-tier league title in 1995 and another couple of 6th place finishes in the top tier. Morton dropped as low as the 4th tier during the 2002/03 season following financial hardship and two successive relegations. They have been in the Championship since 2015, with a high of 4th in 2017 and a low of 9th in 2021 when they escaped relegation by winning playoff games against Montrose and Airdrieonians.

Morton's most famous day came in 1920 when they beat Rangers 1-0 in the Scottish Cup final. They have made two other major cup final appearances. In 1948, Morton drew 1–1 with Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final. In the replay, Rangers won 1–0 after extra time. The goal was said to be highly controversial because it was claimed that Morton goalkeeper Jimmy Cowan was blinded by the flash of a camera. These matches attracted huge crowds: the first match was played in front of 132,629, and the replay, in front of 133,750, was at the time a British record attendance for a midweek match. Morton's third and most recent major cup final was in the 1963 League Cup. Again, they faced Rangers, who won 5-0 on this occasion. They also reached the final of the 1993 Scottish Challenge Cup, losing 3-2 to Hamilton Academical. Morton has played one season in Europe, losing to Chelsea over two legs in the 1968/69 Fairs Cup.

During the Second World War, guest players were common at clubs throughout Great Britain. Morton was particularly fortunate in this respect in that two of English football's greatest ever players turned out at Cappielow. Sir Stanley Matthews and Tommy Lawton made several guest appearances for Morton. When Morton reached the 1948 Scottish Cup Final, both players sent telegrams wishing good luck to their former club. Matthews simply said, 'I am delighted to see Morton reach the final of the Scottish Cup'. Lawton's was more expressive, he said, 'Memories of happy days during the war at Cappielow compel me to wish the Morton manager & the boys all the best of luck in their cup final at Hampden'. Famous supporters include tennis coach Judy Murray and the late, iconic broadcaster Arthur Montford, who was a lifelong fan and honorary vice president. Fictionally, Jim 'Jock' McClaren supported the side in the hit sitcom Porridge with the half-Jamaican inmate born in the town, although Tony Osoba, who played him, was a half-Nigerian actor born in nearby Maryhill.

Greenock is located within Interclyde and has a population of around 43,000. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms part of a contiguous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. It lies on the south bank of the Clyde at the "Tail of the Bank" where the River Clyde deepens into the Firth of Clyde. Place-name scholar William J. Watson wrote that "Greenock is well known in Gaelic as Grianáig, dative of grianág, 'a sunny knoll'. Historically, the town relied on shipbuilding, sugar refining and wool manufacturing for employment, but none of these industries are today part of Greenock's economy. More recently, the town relied heavily on electronics manufacturing. However, this has given way mostly to: call centre business, insurance, banking and shipping export. Greenock is Scotland's best served town in terms of railway stations. It boasts eight: Bogston, Cartsdyke, Greenock Central, Greenock West, Fort Matilda, Whinhill, Drumfrochar and Branchton.  In 2012, Greenock became the setting for the BBC television drama Waterloo Road, after the series was relocated from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The series was shot at Greenock Academy, a former secondary school in the west of the town. The most famous Greenockian is the engineer James Watt. He is remembered in several placenames in the town, in the library instituted in his memory, and by the original Watt Memorial School (later College) building on the site of his birthplace in William Street, which incorporates a commemorative statue. The Finnart Campus of the local college was, until 2014, known as the James Watt College. Wetherspoons opened the James Watt pub after the building was converted from its previous use as the General Post Office.

MY VISIT

This weekend of the year was the traditional one for the Scottish Hop. However, the lineup was not as appealing as I'd have liked. Friday was the dreadful-looking Saughton Enclosure, and Sunday was the basic-looking Cowdenbeath Central. I'd have been perfectly happy to go there, but it seemed like a waste of a morning starting so late at 12:15. The Saturday was also up in the air until a few weeks before, though I'd have loved to have done Lochgelly, Albert and Cowdenbeath, which looked great. But by then, I had decided to go to Kilmarnock, which was just too far away to do all three on public transport. To replace the Friday night game, I got a bit of luck when the BBC picked their Friday night Championship game. As with when I went to Dunfermline a couple of years ago, Cowdenbeath was one of the more classic grounds and one that I was more than happy to visit. Given the high price of accommodation in Glasgow, the Premier Inn was good value at £81 a night, too, relatively speaking. Add to that the train fare from London coming in at under £30, and it was a good deal all round.

From our game at Clithroe, it was a bit of a dash to make our connections. The first bus stop was very well hidden, and we thought that Google Maps had done us dirty. Thankfully, we made it with a couple of minutes to spare, and it was all plain sailing from there. Both buses were superb with USB charging, and the second one, the Witchway, had tables, making typing my blog very easy. There was a 15-minute stop at Burnley, but we had plenty of time for our coach home. It had been a bargain day, getting to Clitheroe, back to Manchester, coach and train home cost just £18. We were back in Manchester at 6.15 and after going to a shop, went to the Wetherspoons. Not an especially good one, but it did the job with pint and wings coming in at around £5.50. Service was decent, and so we had no issues making our coach home. It left bang on time at 7.15, but it was uncomfortable next to a manspreading gorilla, albeit not as bad as the half a seat I had when seated next to a certain infamous hopper from Essex on a Scottish Hop coach some years back. We were back at Finchley Road at 11:20 and had around 25 minutes to wait for the last tube back to Amersham. Once I'd walked back to Colin's and driven home, it was 1.20 am. I sorted my stuff out, glad to be no longer carrying my passport and a bag everywhere I went. I went straight to bed, walking after less than six hours of sleep.

I walked to town and back on my bonus day off, getting some much-needed exercise. It was my normal day off on Tuesday, and so it was another walk to Wycombe and back, this time to get my hair cut. Over 20 miles walked in two days, though nowhere near enough to undo the damage done by another good weekend. In the evening, I went to Amersham Town v Wallingford & Crowmarsh. The hosts had not won for five months and had been beset by lots of weather postponements. I myself had not been further than seven miles from home since 17th December, with my last new ground in midweek coming at Stapleford on December 2nd. Wallingford & Crowmarsh raced into a three-goal lead at halftime and looked excellent. Amersham Town 'won' the second half to restore some pride. Wednesday & Thursday were merely doing a couple of days of work and biding my time for the weekend. I had a poor night's sleep for some reason, waking up a few times before giving up at 4.30. I watched YouTube for a couple of hours before getting up and getting ready. I left home at 7.30. Due to a miscalculation, I arrived at the bus stop at the time I was supposed to leave home after misreading the times on the bus company website. Still, better early than late, and I messaged Colin to let him know I was on my way. The bus took a long route, and so I was at the station at 8.20.

 

A fast Metropolitan train had us ready and waiting in the Barrel Vault Wetherspoons an hour before our train. Breakfast Muffin, Black Pudding, Old Rosie and an energy drink coming in at just over £12. From there, we made our way to Platform 6 for the 10.15 Lumo train. It was quite cramped due to being full, but comfortable all the same. Delays on the route to Stevenage were caused by overrunning engineering works, as you would expect in incompetent Britain. There were further delays up north and news of a precautionary pitch inspection at Greenock at 4 pm. We finally got to Edinburgh at 4.20 and had ten minutes to get to platform 10 for the train to Glasgow, two hours behind schedule. Despite the rampant attention seeker, PuffPuff lying to us that the game was off, it was confirmed as going ahead around 16:40. This was good news at last, not just for us but for Sean & Ollie who were coming up too. There was also a fellow hopper on our train who was going to the game, who knew Daniel by reputation. Due to a fire near Glasgow Central Station, the trains were knackered up there too. At least there was a bus service to get us there, albeit adding more time to the journey. There was further delay as PuffPuff's influence rubbed off on Colin as he stopped at Greggs for a big bag of food. As a result, we just saw our bus pulling off as we got to the stop. Due to traffic, the next one was delayed by 20 minutes, putting us back further. The bus was jam-packed and took a while to get out of Glasgow. For some reason, it was £11.50 single, £7.50 return, with the bus driver selling us the latter, good chap. The express part of the journey went well, with us getting to Greenock at 7. Bags were dumped in the room, and it was straight to the game with us getting there at 7.20. A fridge magnet from the club shop and a kebab pie relieved us of nearly a tenner.

 

Greenock Morton were sat just outside the relegation zone in 8th and were in disappointing form, having won one, drawn one and lost three of their last five. They'd lost their last three, including a 2-0 loss against St Johnstone last week. Partick Thistle were in 2nd and had won two and drawn three of their last five. In their last game, they lost 2-1 at St Mirren in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final. Just 24 miles separated the two teams, the Jags being based in central Glasgow. Former Wycombe striker Alex Samuel started for Partick. Greenock had the better of the game early on. They took the lead on 22 minutes when a low ball into the centre was put away by Callum McPherson from around the penalty spot. Both sides had chances, but Partick equalised on 38 minutes from the penalty spot with Reuben Lopata-White getting sent off for the challenge that led to it. This gave them impetus, and they dominated the second half. Morton looked to have held out, but in the last minute, it was the former Wycombe man Alex Samuel who drove into the bottom right-hand corner from a tight angle. There was still time for the hosts to have a good chance on the break, but the ball was cleared.

THE GROUND

CAPPIELOW PARK is a classic old ground. There is one seated stand, a covered area holding around 2,000. Opposite is a covered terrace with a few seats at the front. This has a capacity of around 3,000, including a few hundred seats. The two ends are uncovered. To the right of the main stand is a terrace holding a couple of thousand, and to the left is the away end. This looks like bench seating but acts as a standing terrace. As with all old grounds, there are compromises. Legroom is poor in the main stand, and there are plenty of supporting pillars. The food was poor, a bad representation of the Doner pie, which was dry and fell apart. Merchandise is from a small trailer, so it's hard to browse and see what's on offer. Cartsdyke train station is nearby, with Greenock town centre a half-hour walk away. This has a Wetherspoons, which is a pleasant place for a pint.