Kilsyth Rangers Football Club are a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in the town of

Kilsyth Kilsyth (; Scottish Gaelic ''Cill Saidhe'') is a town and civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 9,860. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the relig ...

, North Lanarkshire. Nicknamed ''The Wee Gers'', they were formed in 1913 and play at Duncansfield Park, which used to be one of the bigger ''non-league'' football grounds in Scotland. They wear blue tops and shorts, the away strip being red tops, black shorts and black socks, and currently compete in the .

History

The club played in its first Junior Cup Final at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

in 1954–55 against Duntocher Hibs before a crowd of 64,976. The game ended 1–1 and Kilsyth won the replay 4–1 before a crowd of 30,000, all four goals being scored by the club's most prolific ever striker Alex Querrie. This feat is still a record to this day. Kilsyth lost the 1957 final against Banks O'Dee (1–0) after being hot favourites. The last final success was in 1967 when they beat

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). G ...

3–1 after a 1–1 draw in the first game at Hampden which was played in front of 22,000 fans. The 2000s brought the first league and cup trophies for many years with the club winning the Central League Division One title (2002–03), followed by the Superleague First Division title (2004–05) and the Evening Times Cup Winners Cup 2002–03. Some famous players to have played for the team are Drew Jarvie (Airdrieonians, Aberdeen, St. Mirren), William Wallace (Heart of Midlothian, Celtic),

Frank McGarvey Francis Peter McGarvey (17 March 1956 – 1 January 2023) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a forward, mostly for Celtic and St Mirren. He also played seven times in international matches for Scotland. Career McGarvey was ...

(St.Mirren, Liverpool, Celtic), David Stewart (Leeds United), Pat McMahon (Celtic, Aston Villa),

George Mulhall George Mulhall (8 May 1936 – 27 April 2018) was a Scottish football player and manager. Born in Falkirk, Mulhall played as an outside left for Aberdeen and Sunderland. He was capped three times for Scotland. He became the manager of Bradfor ...

(Aberdeen, Sunderland),

Jim Storrie James Storrie (31 March 1940 – 11 November 2014) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager, best known as a centre forward who helped Leeds United gain promotion in 1964 to the First Division. Playing career Born in Kirkintilloch, D ...

(Airdrieonians, Aberdeen, Leeds United), Gary McStay (Falkirk) plus many more. Six players from Kilsyth Rangers have gone on to represent Scotland at full international level: James Dougall (one cap 1932), George Mulhall (three caps 1960–64), Drew Jarvie (three caps 1971), David Stewart (one cap 1977), Frank McGarvey (seven caps 1979–84), Willie Wallace (seven caps 1965–69). The club launched a nostalgic DVD "Glory Days" at Garrell Vale on 28 May 2011, which also coincided with the club winning the Central League Division One title for a second time. From August 2017, team were managed by former Dunfermline Athletic player,

Chris McGroarty Chris McGroarty (born 6 February 1981 in Bellshill) is a Scottish professional footballer who is currently player-manager of Scottish Junior Football Association, West Region side Kilsyth Rangers. He has previously played in the Scottish Premi ...

. On 1 May 2018, the club appointed former Queen of the South captain Jim Thomson and ex-

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; gd, Featha Thaigh nan Clach) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in ...

and Junior Scotland coach

Kevin McGoldrick Kevin McGoldrick (born 12 May 1972) is a Scottish football coach and former player who is the manager of Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. Playing career As a player, he made over 110 appearances as a left winger in the Scottish League for Queen's Park ...

to take over as Kilsyth Rangers' new management team. With both Thomson and McGoldrick moving on, Kilsyth appointed former player Gary Kelly as manager on 28 September 2019, assisted by Stuart Livingston, also a former player. In December 2021 Gary Kelly and Stuart Livingston announced they were standing down from the Club Management. After Christmas the Club announced a new management team of Alan McConville (another former player) and Dylan Daniels. On 22nd October 2022, Carlo Girasoli has been appointed new manager at the club. His assistants will be Peter Keegan and Kevin Walsh.

Rivalries

The club's biggest rivals are

Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''The Rabs'' or ''The Roy'', they were formed in 1878. They wear red and black strips and currently compete in t ...

, who are based in nearby

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; sco, Kirkintulloch; gd, Cair Cheann Tulaich) is a town and former barony burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. ...

. There were two league derbies in season 2014–15 as Rob Roy were relegated into the same league as Kilsyth. However, while

immediately returned to the Super Premier Division, and finished second in season 2016-17, Kilsyth Rangers still languish in the lower divisions and there have been no league derbies since. Rob Roy are currently ground-sharing at Guy's Meadow with

Cumbernauld United Cumbernauld United Football Club are a football club based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play at Guy's Meadow in the Cumbernauld Village area of the town. Formed in 1964, they currently compete in the , having previously pla ...

Stadium

The record attendance at Duncansfield Park is 8,740 for a game against Broxburn Athletic in a 1951 Scottish Junior Cup tie. Currently the capacity is around 2000, capacity of the enclosure which runs the length of the pitch is officially 500.

Honours

Scottish Junior Cup * Winners: 1954–55, 1966–67 * Runners-up: 1956–57 West Superleague First Division * Winners: 2004–05 Central League First Division * Winners: 2002–03, 2010–11

Other Honours

* West of Scotland Cup winners: 1953–54, 1967–68 *

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

champions: 1947–48, 1953–54, 1956–57 * Central League Division One: 1982–83 *

Scottish Junior League The Scottish Junior Football League (SJL) was a Scottish football competition that, through various incarnations, existed from 1892 to 1947. It was based in the west of Scotland and largely consisted of Junior clubs that were not considered goo ...

: 1926–27 * Glasgow Dryburgh Cup: 1953–54, 1967–68 * Evening Times Cup Winners Cup: 2002–03 * Stirlingshire Junior Cup: 1894–95, 1918–19,1937–38, 1945–46, 1952–53 to 1959–60 (8 times) and 1961–62 * Pompey Cup: 1956–57,1957–58 * Glasgow Junior Cup: 1930–31 * Victory Cup 1923–24

References

External links

Unofficial site

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* {{coord, 55.97643, -4.064609, region:GB, display=title Association football clubs established in 1913 Football clubs in Scotland Scottish Junior Football Association clubs Football in North Lanarkshire 1913 establishments in Scotland Kilsyth West of Scotland Football League teams