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STIRLING CITY FOOTBALL CLUB - HISTORY
Stirling City F.C. was established in 2004, previously playing their trade under the name of Abbey Inn F.C. The club was in a transition period where players and management had left the Abbey Inn and Barry Wardrop took charge of team affairs at the beginning of 2004. It was at this stage that the suggestion of moving to Saturday amateur football was made and they applied and were accepted by the Stirling & District amateur football league. The Club then decided for a fresh start, paving way for the name of Stirling City F.C.
We currently play our home matches at Kings Park and during the winter use local high schools, Kings Park and Forthbank for training. The Club are also in good hands with the management, coaching staff and committee of Gordon McPherson, Eddie Dormer, Scott Kinross, Alan Reid and Sandy Kerr. The Club recently introduced to their set up a youth section who compete in the Forth Valley Football Development League.
The youth section of the Club was formed under the umbrella of Stirling City F.C. amateur team in 2006 by a Committee of parents. Through a lot of hard work and effort, sponsors were secured for strips and training gear and the team gained entry to the Forth Valley Football Development Association leagues and our first competitive game was played on 21st October 2006.
In 2008 the Club expanded again by adding a dedicated adult ‘disability’ section. Sandy White is the drive behind this section. This project started during the summer of 2007 when Sandy noticed a lack of opportunities for adults with disabilities to participate in recreational football. A meeting time and place was arranged and gradually a couple of players came down. There was just enough interest to justify continuing through the winter. Lynne Glen and FVDS provided financial and general support and funded the guys to play indoors during the dark nights. Once the weather and lighter nights came we returned to the Kings Park and extended the training from 6pm til 7.30pm.
They have competed in a couple of competitions/ games and the guys really enjoyed it and tasted some success. Currently they have 15 players approx, 3 coaches and a couple of volunteers. The aim is to compete in as many competitions and arrange as many games as possible. Any players, coaches, sponsors, opposing teams feel free to contact us.
Off the pitch, an AGM was held in April 08 and they registered as a club under the name of Stirling City All Stars F.C. With a committee, constitution and bank account they’re currently looking for a main sponsor. As suggested by Lynne Glen and Scott Kinross an idea was to affiliate with local amateur team Stirling City F.C as they were looking to expand. With a lot of hard work and effort, this move was completed in September 2008.
Season 2004 - 2005
Club agreed sponsorship with the Birds & Bees Restaurant which was a convenient post-match meeting place to quench the thirst of both home and away teams for this 1st season as Stirling City F.C. the team finished 6th in the Sunday Welfare 2nd Division.
Season 2005 - 2006
The Club grew stronger as it attracted more quality players - Stuart White and Robert Reid were notable additions to the squad who helped establish the team in the Stirling area. An impressive run in the East of Scotland Cup saw them reach the quarter final stage defeated by Caledonian side, Doune Castle. With a semi final defeat to Donner Inn for the League Cup, this was a barren year for trophies although promotion was gained to Division 1.
Season 2006 - 2007 (15’s)
Our first season saw us finish fourth in the league defeating the leaders and eventual winners Milton two out of three times, we were beaten by second placed Falkirk in our first encounter then held them to two draws. Third placed Claremont proved to be our ‘bogey’ team as they were the only team we did not beat at some point in the season. We competed in the Central Safety Charity Shield where we reached the final beating league leaders at the time Falkirk in the first round but were beaten on penalties by Milton in a showpiece final watched by a crowd of around 200 at Ochilview Stadium, Stenhousemuir. The end of the season saw our Chairman/coach Gordon leave and because of S.Y.F.A. age restrictions our only female player Natalie joined Stenhousemuir Ladies.
Season 2006 - 2007 (Amateur)
Lee Wilson joined the squad from Albion Rovers to partner Robert Reid which proved to be a profitable pairing as 100 goals were scored between them. Our strongest season to date saw a strong run in the Scottish Cup losing to the eventual winners Drumchapel, we reached the final of the Mathieson Cup after winning against local rivals Milton in the semis but after being reduced to 10 men the game was lost to Plean at Camelon Juniors ground. Third place in the league also saw us miss out on promotion by one place.
Season 2007 - 2008 (16’s)
Our 2nd season began with a 2nd place plate at the Loch Lomond Festival. We had only lost 2 games before we travelled to Holland to compete in the Easter Classic where we finished 3rd in the league section of the tournament winning our second cup after playing 9 games of football over the course of 2 days. We came back home knowing that to be in with a chance of winning the league, we'd need to win every game left. The team showed their character and won every game to tie with Claremont F.C. for 1st place. The development nature of the league meant that goal difference was not a factor in deciding the winner and a play off was arranged. City became league champions after winning the thrilling play off 3 - 2 at Haws Park. We were knocked out of one domestic cup by Riverside Red but reached the final of another where we defeated Claremont F.C. 4 - 1 at Stenhousemuir for the inaugural Donnie McColl Memorial Cup.
Season 2007 - 2008 (Amateur)
Some players were attracted to other teams and this was to be a season where the Club would rebuild - the Club reached the semi final of the League Cup losing to Condorrat Club and a mid table position at the end of the season made it an anti-climax after the previous seasons success.
Season 2008 - 2009 (17’s)
Our third season sees us stay within the F.V.F.D.A. 17’s league to defend our title in what promises to be an exciting year. The season began at Stirling University in the Loch Lomond Youth Soccer Festival, our final year due to age, but it was also to be our poorest showing. Our league campaign was going strongly, losing our first league game in January had meant that domestically we hadn’t lost since February 2008. A remarkable achievement and testament to the commitment of the team. It was during the winter months the team spirit, attitude and desire seemed to disappear as we allowed the chance of a second league title to slip away with poor standards on the pitch. A turnaround of 9 players saw us unsettled and the sad loss of Tillicoultry Colts left the league with only 4 teams. Despite our run of bad luck we finished 2nd in the league, qualified for the F.V.F.D.A. League Cup final and won the F.V.F.D.A. Challenge Cup beating Claremont on penalties after a 2 - 2 draw in 90 minutes. One of our longest serving members, Matt left us (and the game) taking with him, his parents who had supported the Club by sponsoring our last few entries into the Loch Lomond Tournament - our best wishes go with them all for the future.
Season 2008 - 2009 (Amateur)
This season sees the team continue to strengthen and develop as it aims for promotion to the top flight. The league campaign saw us stay in the top 5 for most of the season - victory in the Drysdale Cup was a highlight and to win at our home ground of Kings Park was the icing on the cake. We continue to build toward next season where we will move on to a different league and find new opponents.
CLUB HONOURS.
Season 2004 - 2005
Finished 6th in the League
Player Honours.
Players Player of the Year - Liam McColl
Player of the Year - Clark Kerr
Top Goal Scorer - Ewan Millan
Season 2005 - 2006
Promoted to Division 1
East of Scotland Cup quarter finalists
League Cup semi finalists
Player Honours.
Players Player of the Year - Robert Reid & Andy Walker
Player of the Year - Robert Reid
Top Goal Scorer - Robert Reid
Season 2006 - 2007
Adult:
Scottish Cup 7th round
Mathieson Cup finalists
15’s:
Central Safety Charity Shield Runners Up.
S.F.A. Regional Finals qualifiers.
Player Honours.
Adult:
Players Player of the Year - David McInnes
Player of the Year - David McInnes
Top Goal Scorer - Lee Wilson
15’s:
Players Player of the Year - Francisco ‘Cisco’ Garcia.
Coaches Player of the Year - Ewan Sharp.
Top Goal Scorer - Stuart ‘Sebo’ Henny
Season 2007 - 2008
In season 2007 - 2008 the Club was awarded the S.F.A. Quality Mark Award and were recognised by the local authority being awarded ClubSport Stirling ‘Charter Club’ status.
Adult:
League Cup semi finalists
16’s:
Loch Lomond Youth Soccer Festival Runners Up.
Scottish Youth F.A. Challenge Cup Round 3.
Holland Easter Classic Tournament 4th Place Trophy.
Donnie McColl Memorial Cup Winners.
F.V.F.D.A. 16’s League Champions.
S.F.A. Regional Finals qualifiers.
Player Honours.
Adult:
Players Player of the Year - Greg Currie.
Player of the Year - Greg Currie.
Top Goal Scorer - Robert ‘Reidy’ Reid.
16’s:
Players Player of the Year - Jack ‘Jackamura’ Anderson.
Coaches Player of the Year - Richard ‘Joey’ Neumann.
Top Goal Scorer - Stuart ‘Sebo’ Henny
Season 2008 - 2009
Adult:
Cameron Craig Memorial Trophy ¼ Finalists
Scottish Cup 4th round.
Mathieson Cup 3rd Round
1st Division League Cup (Drysdale Cup) Champions
17’s:
Scottish Youth F.A. Challenge Cup Round 1.
Central Regional Cup Round 2.
F.V.F.D.A. 17’s League Runners-up.
F.V.F.D.A. Challenge Cup Winners.
F.V.F.DA. League Cup Winners.
Adult:
Players Player of the Year - Jamie Dickson.
Player of the Year - Robert ‘Reidy’ Reid.
Top Goal Scorer - Robert ‘Reidy’ Reid.
Goal of the Season - Lee Wilson.
Trainer of the Year - Graeme Beveridge
17’s:
Players Player of the Year - Scott MacArthur.
Coaches Player of the Year - Colin Dormer & Jack Anderson.
Top Goal Scorer - Liam Somerville.
Season 2009 - 2010
All Stars:
Top Goalscorer - John Connelly
Top Trainer - Shaun Wotton
Most Improved Player - Stuart Munro
Players players of the year - Iain McLeod
Coaches player of the year - Garrie Knight
Adult:
Fosters Bunrigh Trophy League Cup Round 2
Cinema Cup Round 2
Scottish Cup Round 3
East of Scotland Cup
19’s:
Central Regional Cup Round 1
Scottish Youth F.A. Challenge Cup Round 4
For further information you can email Barry, Sandy, Gavin or Raymond using the email links within the website.
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