Arthurlie F.C.

Arthurlie Football Club is a Scottish football club from Barrhead, East Renfrewshire. Based at Dunterlie Park, they play in the West of Scotland League Premier Division. The club played in the Scottish Football League in two spells, 1901 to 1915 and 1923 to 1929. They have won the Scottish Junior Cup twice, in 1937 and 1998. History Arthurlie was founded in 1874 and played as a senior side until 1929. The club reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup in three consecutive seasons from 1880–81, with their 1883 tie with Kilmarnock Athletic taking four games to settle. A notable early result was a 4–2 defeat of Celtic in the first round of the 1896–97 Scottish Cup. Celtic avenged this defeat with a 7–0 victory in Barrhead at the same stage the following season and the two clubs met again in Arthurlie's last Scottish Cup tie to date in 1929, with the Glasgow side winning 5–1 at Celtic Park. With regard to league football, the club became a founder member of the Scottish Football Federation in 1891, winning that competition in its first year before joining the Scottish Football Alliance in 1893. Arthurlie obtained membership of the Scottish Football League in 1901 and achieved modest results in the Second Division, with a highest finish of joint second in 1906–07. That division ceased operations in 1915, during the First World War, but Arthurlie did not immediately rejoin the league after the war ended. They instead waited until 1923 to apply for membership of the newly created Third Division. Arthurlie immediately won the Third Division championship, and four reasonably successful seasons in the Second Division followed. Financial problems forced the club to resign its membership of the league with six games of the 1928–29 season to play. As the club had played all the promotion-chasing clubs, their results were allowed to stand. A club of the same name joined the Junior grade during the early 1930s. They found success quickly with a Scottish Junior Cup win in 1937 – defeating Kirkintilloch Rob Roy 5–1 in the final in front of a crowd of 23,000 at Celtic Park. Two unsuccessful final appearances followed, against Fauldhouse United in 1946, then derby rivals Pollok in 1981, before they lifted the trophy again in 1998, taking revenge on Pollok with a 4–0 victory in the final at Fir Park with strikes from Mark McLaughlin, Johnny Millar, Steven Convery and Steven Nugent. In the Junior Super League era, the club were the first ever winners of the second tier West of Scotland Super League First Division in 2003 and enjoyed an unbroken 15 seasons in the West of Scotland Super League Premier Division until relegation to the newly configured SJFA West Region Championship in 2018. The club's most recent trophy success was in the 2015 West of Scotland Cup final, defeating Kilwinning Rangers 4–2 at Newlandsfield Park, with goals from Gary Smith (3), and Ryan McGregor. It was Arthurlie's sixth victory in the West of Scotland Cup, a feat equalled by Pollok in 2017 and only Auchinleck Talbot (12) and Irvine Meadow (9), have won the tournament more often. The team are managed by former Scotland Junior international defender, Duncan Sinclair, who joined the club from Larkhall Thistle in June 2018. Sinclair has also previously managed Shotts Bon Accord, Kilsyth Rangers and Lanark United. He is Arthurlie's ninth manager since 2010. On 15 April 2020, Andy McFadyen become the club's new manager. On 18 July 2022, Craig Palmer was appointed as new manager. Scottish Junior Cup finals record Ground In 1882 Arthurlie moved to the first Dunterlie Park from their Arthurlie Cross ground. They moved to the second Dunterlie Park in 1906, and the current Dunterlie Park in 1919. Honours League Scottish Football League Division Three champions 1923–24 Scottish Federation Champions 1891–92 Scottish Combination Champions 1900–01 SJFA West Region Division One champions 2002–03 Central Junior League Premier Division champions 1987–88, 1988–89, 1993–94, 2000–01 Western Division champions 1936–37 Division B champions 1942–43 West of Scotland League Conference A winners: 2021–22 First Division winners: 2024–25 Cup Scottish Junior Cup Winners: 1936–37, 1997–98 Runners-up: 1945–46, 1980–81, 2023–24 Scottish Consolation Cup Winners 1910 Western League League Cup winners 1924 Renfrewshire FA Challenge Cup Winners 1881, 1882 Renfrewshire Junior FA Challenge Cup Winners – 1934, 1945, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1957 West of Scotland Challenge Cup Winners 1943, 1976, 1978, 1997, 2011, 2015 Renfrewshire & Dumbartonshire Cup Winners 1934, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1960 Evening Times Trophy Winners 1937, 1946 Evening Times Cup Winners Trophy Winners 1987, 1989, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2011 Central Junior League League Cup winners 1939, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2008 Sectional League Cup winners 1979, 1987, 2009, 2010 JC Alan Challenge Cup: Winners 2012 Champions League winners 1972, 1985 See also Barrhead Rangers, another senior club in town, which Arthurlie took over in 1880 References Further reading Dave Twydell (1993) Rejected FC Glasgow & District, Yore Publishing John Aitken (2013) The Scottish Football League 125, Scottish Non League publishing John Aitken (2005) West of Scotland Juniors. Scottish Non League publishing John Aitken (2013) The Scottish Junior Football Association 125 years, Scottish Non League publishing Brian McColl (2013) Western League, Scottish Football Archive External links Official website