New Ralston Park was a football ground in Paisley,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was the home ground of

Abercorn Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a pop ...

during their third decade in the Scottish Football League.

History

Abercorn moved to the ground in 1909 from the

Old Ralston Park Old Ralston Park was a football ground in Paisley, Scotland. It was the home ground of Abercorn during their second decade in the Scottish Football League. History Abercorn moved to the ground in 1899 from Underwood Park.Paul Smith & Shirley ...

, which was located directly to the east on the other side of the Lady Burn.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p207, A 520-capacity wooden stand was built on the north-western side of the pitch, and the pavilion that had been part of Old Ralston Park (and now in the north-east corner of the new ground) continued to be used. The first league match at New Ralston Park was played on 11 September 1909, with 2,000 spectators watching Abercorn winning 2–1 against Ayr Parkhouse, who had also been their final opponents at Old Ralston Park. The ground's record attendance of 7,000 was set for a

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup ...

game against Nithsdale Wanderers on 30 November 1912, with Abercorn winning 1–0. Abercorn remained at the ground until 1920, although the final SFL game at New Ralston Park was played on 6 March 1915 with Abercorn drawing 1–1 against Leith Athletic; the league was subsequently suspended due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1920 the club's lease on the ground was ended at the behest of Paisley Town Council. This was ostensibly in order to build an ice rink, which did not happen for another four years. It was long accused that Paisley rivals St Mirren had used their connections with the town council to kill off their rivals. Unable to secure another ground within the town, this effectively spelled the end of Abercorn.Bob Crampsey (1990) ''The First 100 Years'', Scottish Football League, p291 The site was later used for a skating rink and is now a car park.

References

{{Football venues in Scotland Defunct football venues in Scotland Abercorn F.C. Scottish Football League venues Sports venues in Paisley, Renfrewshire