East Kilbride Thistle 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

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Nicknamed ''The Jags'', they were formed in 1968 and play at the Showpark, situated in the Village area of the town. Currently playing in the . They wear all black; their change strips are all red, or white tops with red or black shorts.

History

Original club

There was a club with the same name that existed in the 1920s. The team won the Second Division of the

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 ...

and the Lanarkshire Consolation Cup in 1922–23. The original club disbanded so that

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

could move to the town in to the early 1960s. After the move fell through, the junior team was reformed. After Thistle disbanded, Strathclyde Juniors who were homeless applied to

SJFA The Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) is an affiliated national association of the Scottish Football Association and is the governing body for the junior grade of football (soccer), football in Scotland. The term "junior" refers to the ...

for permission to use ground for season 1965–66.

Modern club

The first trophy to be won was the

West of Scotland Junior Cup The West of Scotland Junior Challenge Cup was an annual Scottish football competition played in a one-leg knockout format (played at 'home' team grounds as drawn, until the final at a neutral venue), organised by the West Region of the Scottish ...

in 1974. Cambuslang Rangers were beaten 3–1 in the final. The team reached the final again two years later, but lost to Arthurlie in a replay. The biggest success was the

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 compete ...

win in May 1983, with victory over Bo'ness United at

Ibrox Stadium Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . O ...

. The final result was 2–0 to Thistle, with goals from skipper Joe Reilly and Kenny Gordon. Thistle's previous manager was former

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

and

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

striker John Brogan, who took charge along with Martin Clark on a co-manager basis in November 1999. Clark left to coach Celtic's youth players in 2002, but Brogan remained in sole charge and won the Sectional League Cup at

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...

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 s ...

in 2002 with a 2–0 win over

Bellshill Athletic Bellshill Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the town of Bellshill, North Lanarkshire. It plays in the . History The history of the club can be traced back as far as 1897 when Bellshill Athletic were founded as a Ju ...

, thanks to goals from Martin McVey and Stephen Brogan. Brogan later returned the club to

Firhill 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 ...

for another Sectional League Cup Final in 2005 but were unfortunate to lose to

Neilston Neilston ( sco, Neilstoun, gd, Baile Nèill, ) is a village and parish in East Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the Levern Valley, southwest of Barrhead, south of Paisley, and south-southwest of Renfrew, at t ...

4–3 on penalties, after a 0–0 draw. However it wasn't all bad news when the club won promotion to Super League Division One, from Central District League Division One, with a 3–0 win over

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

in the last game of the season on 1 May 2006. John Brogan left the club in June 2008, and was replaced by former players Colin Mitchell and Ian Penman, as manager and assistant manager respectively. In 2008 Thistle also launched their own youth development structure, which sees coaching an teams from under 4s up to under 21s for both boys and girls. In November 2010, Mitchell and Penman were replaced as team management by

Jimmy Kerr James Mitchell Kerr (12 May 1910 – 3 January 1998) was a Scottish international rugby and cricket player.Bath 2007, p105 Career Kerr was capped for between 1935 and 1937. He also played for Heriot's RFC.Bath 1997, p89 See also * List o ...

and Tony Gallagher. In 2012 following relegation back to the Central District First Division, most of the playing staff, along with the management team left the club. After a season of turmoil on and off the pitch which resulted in relegation to the Central District Second Division, Thistle regrouped and started looking forwards to the future, the appointment of Alan Wardlaw as manager in late 2013 led to a change in fortunes for the club and they managed to win a few games, including a home league win for the first time in over 2 years. The team are managed from the end of the 2014–15 season by Billy Campbell. Aaron Connolly was appointed caretaker manager following the departure of Garry O'Hanlon.

Players & Current Squad

On 16 April 1972, Christie and Meechan played for Scotland Juniors against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in a 2–2 draw at

Saracen Park Saracen Park or Ashfield Stadium, also known as Peugeot Ashfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Glasgow, Scotland. It is currently shared by Ashfield F.C. for football and the Glasgow Tigers for speedway. It has also previousl ...

(home of Ashfield), whilst playing for East Kilbride Willie Pettigrew was another player

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

at Junior level with Scotland. He would later go on to gain full international honours with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

later in his career. Current Squad Season 2022-23 Matt Gray Liam McLaughlin Adam Edgar Ryan Anderson Dean Fitzpatrick Kieran Bell Iain Stewart Ryan Anderson Ally McDonald Mark Steele Ryan McDade Ross Kennedy Luke Jackson David Gray Campbell Tough James Scott Simon Millar Jack McQuade Dino Mollinari Zak Moynes

Honours

** Winners: 1982–83 ** Semi-finals: 1972–73 ** Quarter-finals: 1971–72, 1977–78, 1980-81

League

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 ...

The

was one of the three major reformed regional league systems after the merger of

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

and Central Region Junior Leagues between 2002 and 2019. * Central District First Division ** Runners-up: 2005–06 * Central District Second Division ** Promotion: 2016–17

Central RegionThe Central district region was one of the six major reformed regional league systems after the merger of the Central and Lanarkshire Junior Leagues between 1968 and 2002. * Central League Division A ** Winners: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1981–82 ** Runners-up: 1972–73, 1973–74, 1980–81 * Central League Division BLater known as Central League First Division. ** Winners: 1992–93 ** Runners-up: 1977–78 ** Promotion: 1971–72 * Central League Division CLater known as Central League Second Division. ** Runners-up: 1998–99, 2000–01 ** Promotion: 1969–70

Cup

* West of Scotland Cup ** Winners: 1973–74
** Runners-up: 1975–76 * Evening Times Trophy (Central League): ** Winners: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1981–82 ** Runners-up: 1979–80 * Evening Times Cup Winners Cup ** Winners: 1982–83 * Central Sectional League Cup ** Winners: 1974–75, 1982–83, 2002–03 * Central Drybrough Cup ** Runners-up: 1972–73 * Red Hackle Trophy ** Winners: 1974–75 * Whitebread Trophy ** Winners: 1974–75 * Erskine Hospital Cup ** Runner-ups: 1971–72 * Langs Trophy ** Runners-up: 1978–79

Other

* Tommy McGrane Cup ** Winners: 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017

Notes

References

{{SJFA West Region Football clubs in Scotland Scottish Junior Football Association clubs Football in South Lanarkshire Association football clubs established in 1968 East Kilbride 1968 establishments in Scotland West of Scotland Football League teams