Darvel Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of
Darvel
Darvel
( sco, Dairvel, gd, Darbhail) is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" ( en, the Long Town).
The town's Latin motto, , means "Not for ou ...
, Ayrshire. Nicknamed ''"The Vale"'' and formed in 1889, the club play at Recreation Park, and currently compete in the .
History
The club reached the final of the 1975–76
Scottish Junior Cup
The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compet ...
, but were beaten 3–0 by Bo'ness United.
Darvel won the Ayrshire District League title in 2016–17 to gain promotion to the West Super League First Division (renamed as the West Championship), the second tier of the
SJFA West Region
The Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region was one of three regions of the SJFA which organised its own distinct league and cup competitions. The SJFA used to be split into six regions, but in 2002 they took the decision to reform into t ...
league structure.
The team was managed from June 2013 to November 2017 by Scott Clelland. On 14 February 2019, Darvel announced that Mick Kennedy would be the new manager for the season 2019–20.
The club and Blantyre Victoria were declared joint-winners of the West Region Championship in 2019–20 after the season was prematurely halted by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Darvel joined the
West of Scotland Football League
The West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) is a senior football league based in the west of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–10 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League.
Founded in 202 ...
in 2020–21 along with all other West Region junior clubs, and were promoted to the Premier Division for the inaugural season. In the first full season they won the Premier Division in 2021–22.
On 23 January 2023, Darvel pulled off one of the biggest shocks in
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Premiership side
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
1–0 in the
fourth round
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
Scottish Junior Cup
The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compet ...