The Lanarkshire derby is a football rivalry based in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

, Scotland, with matches contested between any two from Motherwell, Airdrieonians,

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

and

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...

(based in

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...

Motherwell vs Airdrie

*First meeting: 11 August 1894, 1894–95 Scottish Division Two *Next meeting: ''To be determined'' Traditionally known as the 'north-south' derby. The most recent meeting between the two teams was when they met in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1974–75 Scottish Cup, when Motherwell were going through a golden spell under then-manager Willie McLean. Airdrie caused an upset by winning and going through to the cup final. This match was always a regularity when the now-defunct

Lanarkshire Cup The Lanarkshire Cup was an annual competition open to football teams in the Lanarkshire area. The competition is now defunct. List of winners 1879–80 - Stonelaw 1880–81 - Thistle 1881–82 - Hamilton Academical 1882–83 - West Benhar 1883� ...

was evident in Scottish football, and in some instances, this match would be the final. As of the close of the competition in 1996, Airdrie had 33 cup wins compared to Motherwell's 32 in the 127 years of the competition being in place, emphasising at the time how big the two clubs were in Lanarkshire. Since the original Airdrieonians were dissolved in 2002 and reborn as ''Airdrie United'' (now again referred to as Airdrieonians), the clubs have only met once in a competitive match, the Scottish Cup Third Round tie on 7 January 2007 at

New Broomfield The Excelsior Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season it has also been used by Celtic for the h ...

, with Motherwell winning 1–0 and Richie Foran the scorer. The crowd that day were 5,924, a current record-attendance for a match at New Broomfield involving the new Airdrieonians.

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...

Alan Gow Alan Gow (born 9 October 1982) is a Scottish former footballer. As a player he played as either a striker or an attacking midfielder. Gow started his senior career with his hometown club Clydebank, and continued with Airdrie United after th ...

Lee Hollis Lee James Hollis (born 27 March 1986 in Lanark, Scotland) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper, and is known to have most recently play for Scottish Amateur side Benburb now goalie coach of lowland league side Cumbernauld Colts. ...

and

Kenny Black Kenneth George Black (born 29 November 1963) is a Scottish football manager and former player who spent most of his career with Heart of Midlothian and Airdrieonians. Playing career A left-sided defender or midfielder, Black began his playin ...

are examples of players that have played for both clubs. Coyle and Black are also part of only a handful of players to have played for both the original Airdrieonians as well as the new Airdrieonians. The two teams were drawn into the same group in the

2020–21 Scottish League Cup The 2020–21 Scottish League Cup (also known as the Betfred Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 75th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition. The format for the 2020–21 competition was the same as the previo ...

, ensuring their first meeting in 14 years. Despite being two divisions below their rivals, Airdrieonians would walk away with the 3 points in an excellent 2–0 win.

Results table

''As of: 21 July 2021.''

Motherwell vs Hamilton

*First meeting: 22 September 1888,

1888–89 Scottish Cup The 1888–89 Scottish Cup was the 16th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. 3rd Lanark RV beat Glasgow rivals Celtic (making their Cup début) 2–1 in a replayed final. The original match was won 3–0 by 3rd L ...

*Next meeting: To be confirmed. This match is sometimes referred to as the South Lanarkshire derby, due to both Motherwell and Hamilton both being the two most-southern clubs of the four although since the 1996 reorganisation of Scotland's Regional Councils, only Hamilton is in the South Lanarkshire Council area. This fixture was the most regular of the Lanarkshire derbies since Hamilton's promotion to the Scottish Premier League (SPL) in 2008, and relegation in 2011. In the 2013–14 season, Hamilton won promotion via the play-offs to the newly established

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

, so the derby would be re-instated for the next season. This is a modern derby which has definitely intensified and became more heated over the recent years as coins and flares have been thrown between rival supporters and policing being in large numbers and reports of police brutality have been often made with police using truncheons on some trouble making fans. Seats were ripped out seats and fireworks were thrown at police, in the Motherwell away section during Hamilton's 4–0 over Motherwell in the 2014–15 season. Fan fights in local pubs and restaurants before and after cause police on horseback to patrol the Motherwell and Hamilton area and surround a one-mile perimeter round each host ground during and for 90 minutes after the match. Before Hamilton's promotion in 2014, the clubs competed in the Lanarkshire Cup, often the final, and on one occasion 10 fans were taken to hospital after bottles were thrown and fights broke out in the turnstiles as policing was so light before Hamilton resurgence to the SPFL in 2014. Since the 2008–09 season, Motherwell have enjoyed eleven wins to Hamilton's eight, with six draws (25 league fixtures). Miodrag Krivokapic,

Richard Offiong Richard Offiong (born 17 December 1983) is an English Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), striker. Career Newcastle United Offiong started his career with Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United as ...

, Stuart Elliott and

Simon Mensing Simon Ross Mensing (born 27 June 1982) is a German-born English professional footballer who plays as a centre back. During his career Mensing has played for 10 different clubs, including spells with Wimbledon in England; Stenhousemuir, Clyde, ...

are examples of players that have played for both clubs, with Mensing being transferred directly from Motherwell to Hamilton.

Results table

''As of: 21 April 2021.''

Hamilton vs Airdrie

*First meeting: 8 September 1883,

1883–84 Scottish Cup The 1883–84 Scottish Cup was the 11th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Queen's Park won the competition for the seventh time after Vale of Leven could not field a team on the date fixed for the final due to ...

*Next meeting: To be confirmed. This fixture is also referred as the North-South Lanarkshire derby. Up until 2007, this match had been a regularity, as both clubs competed in the same division. The divisions that both clubs played in were below the SPL, so this match is not as high-profile than the occasions when one of the teams is playing Motherwell. Hamilton were relegated from the SPL and Airdrie's promotion meant that the fixture was re-instated for the 2012–13 First Division season. Ricky Waddell is an example of a player who played for both clubs.

Results table

''As of: 11 January 2020.''

Albion Rovers vs Airdrie

*First meeting: 1 January 1920, 1919–20 Scottish Division One *Next meeting: To be confirmed. Traditionally this fixture is known as the

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

derby due to the locality between

and Airdrie (they are neighbouring towns barely two miles apart). This fixture is also sometimes referred to as the Monklands derby after the local Council area that covered both Towns between 1973 and 1994. Due to both clubs usually being in different divisions, this derby has never been a regularity (and even more so since the demise of the Lanarkshire Cup). The teams competed in July 2010 at

Cliftonhill Cliftonhill Stadium, commonly known as Cliftonhill and currently 'The Reigart Stadium' for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League te ...

stadium, with Airdrie winning 1–0 (the first competitive fixture between the two clubs since the formation of the new Airdrieonians, then referred to as Airdrie United) in front of around 1,000 fans. Both teams competed in the Second Division in 2011–12, with Airdrie winning three times, but Albion Rovers winning the other game 7–2. The two teams drew each other in the Third Round of the 2019–20 Scottish Cup, where Airdrie won 1–4 in Coatbridge.

Paddy Connolly Patrick Connolly (born 25 June 1970 in Glasgow) is a Scottish football player and coach. In a twenty-year playing career, he made over 100 appearances for both Dundee United and St Johnstone; he also played for Airdrieonians, Greenock Morton, ...

is an example of a player who has played for both clubs.

Results table

''Updated 23 November 2019.''

Albion Rovers vs Motherwell

*First meeting: 18 October 1919, 1919–20 Scottish Division One *Next meeting: To be confirmed. Possibly the least celebrated of the Lanarkshire derbies, Rovers have only beaten Motherwell once in their existence. This was on 30 November 2013 where Albion beat Mothewell 1–0 at

New Douglas Park New Douglas Park, currently known as the ZLX Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which serves as the home of Scottish Championship side Hamilton Academical and Scottish League One si ...

(The home stadium of Hamilton) in the 2013–14 Scottish Cup 4th round.

Results table

''As of: end of 2017–18 season.''

Albion Rovers vs Hamilton

*First meeting: 9 January 1904,

1903–04 Scottish Division Two The 1903–04 Scottish Division Two was won by Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Sco ...

*Next meeting: To be confirmed. Again, due to

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

being only seven miles apart, this match is also considered a derby. This match was played as recently as 2 September 2003, when both teams played each other in the league cup at

. Hamilton won the match 3–2. Hamilton also groundshared with Rovers for a brief period while they were homeless from 1994 to 2001. Since then, there has been no competitive fixture between the two. The two teams were drawn together in the

group stages, marking the first match between the two since 2003. Unfortunately, Rovers were unable to fulfil the tie due to complications stemming from 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 ...

, and Hamilton were awarded a 3–0 win.

Results table

''Updated 24 July 2021.''

Totals for four teams

''As of: 24 July 2021.''

Notes

Clyde

Clyde F.C. Clyde Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club who play in Scottish League One. Formed in 1877 at the River Clyde in Glasgow, the club host their home matches at New Douglas Park, having played at Broadwood Stadium from 1994 ...

are sometimes considered to be a Lanarkshire club. Based in

Bridgeton, Glasgow Bridgeton ( sco, Brigtoun, gd, Baile na Drochaid) is a district to the east of Glasgow city centre. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is bounded by Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north ...

at their formation, in the late 19th century they moved to

Shawfield Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oa ...

just inside the boundaries of

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

which was a burgh in Lanarkshire until 1975 before it was absorbed by Glasgow under the

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

region. However, Clyde played in the

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rul ...

and their main rivals were

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

and Partick Thistle within the city rather than the town teams in Lanarkshire. Clyde left

Shawfield Stadium Shawfield Stadium is a closed greyhound racing, football and speedway venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow. Originally a football ground, Shawfie ...

in 1986, playing as tenants for five seasons at Partick's

Firhill Stadium Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as simp ...

followed by three at

Douglas Park Douglas Park was a football stadium in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, the home ground of Hamilton Academical from 1888 to 1994. The stadium holds the record for Hamilton Academical's largest ever attendance, 28,690 people against Hearts in 1 ...

, home of Hamilton Academical (who themselves became homeless thereafter, also sharing with Thistle) before settling at the new

Broadwood Stadium Broadwood Stadium is a multi-use community stadium and sports complex in the Westfield area of Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. The stadium is currently the home of Cumbernauld Colts and Open Goal Broomhill of the Scottish Lowland Football Lea ...

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

in 1994 – the town (about 5 miles north of Coatbridge and Airdrie) was assigned to the

council area two years later. After several ''Bully Wee'' backroom figures including main investor Ronnie MacDonald, coach

Allan Maitland Allan Maitland is a Scottish football manager and administrator. He became the chairman of Hamilton Academical in December 2018. Career Maryhill Maitland was assistant to Ronnie MacDonald at Maryhill Juniors. Together they won three cons ...

and Billy Reid, as well as several players, made the switch from Clyde to ''Accies'' in the early 2000s, leading to considerable bad feeling among the fans. For their part, one of Partick Thistle's biggest rivals are Airdrieonians.

Achievements by Lanarkshire clubs

''Up to and including season 2019–20.''

References

External links

Soccerbase:
Head-to-head Motherwell vs AirdrieHead-to-head Motherwell vs HamiltonHead-to-head Hamilton vs AirdrieHead-to-head Albion Rovers vs AirdrieHead-to-head Albion Rovers vs MotherwellHead-to-head Albion Rovers vs Hamilton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanarkshire Derby Scotland football derbies Football in North Lanarkshire Football in South Lanarkshire Motherwell F.C. Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) Airdrieonians F.C. Hamilton Academical F.C. Albion Rovers F.C. Clyde F.C. Recurring sporting events established in 1883