Far Away In Time (Ekco Sports FC)

The story of Ekco Sports starts with the story of Eric Kirkham Cole, a genial engineer born in Rochford in 1901. He began manufacturing radios in the early 1920’s in a garden shed at his house in Beedell Avenue, but was taken by a newspaper article by William Verrells that espoused the potential benefits of mains powered rather than battery powered radios. Cole set about developing a battery eliminator radio and showed his invention to Verrells. He was so impressed the pair went into business in 1926 as E.K. Cole Ltd, initially based in Leigh-on-Sea. Within four years the firm moved to a much bigger site built on a former cabbage field at Priory Crescent in Southend.

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The Ekco factory and Office in Priory Crescent

The company boomed and while they diversified into many areas such as domestic appliances, car radios, heaters, Geiger counters, tape recorders, televisions, radar, aircraft and tank radios, they were most famous for the production of domestic radios housed in striking bakerlite cases. Initially Ekco imported the bakelite casings from AEG in Germany but prohibitive import duties saw Cole set up his own moulding plant next to his factory. He employed some well-known designers like the modernist designer Wells Coates (perhaps best remembered for the Isokon Buildings in Belsize Park) and it was Coates that designed the casing for Ekco’s iconic product, the AD-65 radio. Cole also similarly engaged the Russian born designer Serge Chermayeff who is best known for co-designing the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.

The iconic Ekco AD-65

At its peak, Ekco employed 8,000 people and E.K. Cole even did a lot of secret government work on the Enigma code breaking machine during World War II. The company merged with Pye in 1960 and the plant diversified to electrical lighting before closing in the 1970’s, with the factory being sold to the credit card company Access. Cole himself met an unfortunate end, drowning in the Bahamas in 1966.

Cole was undoubtedly a caring employer, a real leader on providing apprenticeships, workplace pensions and paid holidays. He also provided excellent social and welfare facilities for his workers. Football and cricket (from 1935) for the men and netball for the factory’s numerous female employees. The works football team first started with friendlies in 1929 before entering competitive football for the 1930/31 season, fielding two teams in the Southend Borough Combination. The first team won Division Two in 1931/32 seeing off the challenge of runners up, Leigh Wesley. The team played in amber and green colours, the livery of works vans and of the flag flown above the factory. Initially games were played at Bournes Green Park and then at Rochford Corner before a sports field and pavilion was established at the factory site.

During the war Ekco’s sports teams had to adopt the name “Nomads” for security reasons, as the firm was involved in the production of components to aid the war effort. The footballers won the prestigious Southend Charity Cup under the Nomads moniker in 1944/45. Many of the companies’ workers either enlisted or were evacuated to Ekco’s other sites in safer areas. The two Ekco cricket teams, the Monarchs and Trojans, struggled to field sides and drafted in the help of professional footballers from Southend United, like Stan Montgomery (who had played first class cricket for Glamorgan), Frank Dudley, Jack French and Frank Walton.

In January 1946, Ekco travelled to Layer Road to take on the first team of Colchester United, then of the Southern League, in a friendly. A crowd of 2,000 watched the works team achieve a very creditable 3-3 draw. It was clear Ekco were ready for a higher level of football and they joined the London League for the 1946/47 season.

To coincide with their elevated status the club erected a stand at the ground. Many years later the stand was re-erected at the Victory Sports Ground in Eastern Avenue. Sadly, it didn’t last very long and with the area being an open public park it was soon badly vandalised and demolished for safety reasons. Unfortunately, to date, searches for a photo of the Ekco stand have proved elusive.

The London League had become an interesting competition with reserve teams of the likes of Chelmsford City, Guildford City and Bedford Town, as well as first teams of established clubs like Tilbury, Eton Manor, Woodford Town and Epsom. Other works teams such as Crittall Athletic and London Telecoms also rubbed shoulders with the likes of Leavesden Mental Hospital, Woolwich Polytechnic and Royal Naval Depot. Playing in a higher level meant entering the FA Cup for the first time. Ekco reached the second qualifying round in 1947/48, succumbing to Grays Athletic.

An Ekco programme from their London League days

Ekco spent three seasons in the London League before a bottom place finish in 1948/49 saw them elect to return to the Southend Borough Combination. Ekco won the title in their first season back in the competition relegating defending champions Gaslight (Southend) into the runners up spot. Ekco remained in the Borough Combination for many years, winning further titles in 1956/57 and 1965/66, and competed long after the company closed down. In 1981/82, and now called Ekco Social & Sports, the club moved up to the Essex Olympian League. A further name change occurred in 1996 to Ekco First Data, reflecting the change of site ownership to Access. The club left the now Essex Intermediate League at the end of the 1999/2000 season.

The club rejoined the Southend Borough Combination and merged with Thames Park. Ekco/Thames Park won the Premier Division in 2004/5 two points clear of Old Southendian, retaining the title the following season. The Ekco name disappeared from local adult football at the end of the 2008/09 season and Thames Park carried on under their own name. In the same year Ekco’s two cricket sides merged with Southend-on-Sea Cricket Club. The Ekco name does continue at youth level with the long established Ekco Whitecaps club. Whitecaps have also been fielding an adult team in the Borough Combination from 2015. While the team may have gone the sports ground and social club remain as actively used facilities to this day.

The whole site of the former factory was demolished to make way for a housing development and for a new site for Fair Haven’s hospice. In 2020, the long and fascinating history of Ekco and Eric Kirkham Cole has been marked with a superb statue, by sculptor Anne Schwegmann-Fielding, of Cole made out of 182 ceramic mosaic tiles of photos of the factory and its workers, standing atop of that iconic radio.

With grateful thanks to Vince Taylor of Groundtastic Magazine

The Stanks

The Stanks is the named given to a small grass area at the foot of the Elizabethan rampart walls of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumbria. The name of The Stanks derives from an ancient Scottish word meaning a ditch or a swampy place. The patch of rough grass is just about large enough for a football pitch to be marked out and it’s been the site of ad hoc football matches, mainly charity fundraisers, for over 100 years.

Prior to being infilled and grassed over the area of the pitch at The Stanks was originally the defensive moat between Brass Bastion and Windmill Mount Bastion, but in the 18th and 19th century had been turned over for another use entirely. The area tended to be in permanent shade so it was ideal to freeze it over and the local fishermen would dig out the ice they required to keep their hauls of salmon as fresh as possible on their journey south to London.

The current Berwick Charities Cup is played annually between May and July and has been contested continuously since 1948. It was nearly abandoned in 2017 when initially only nine clubs entered. But after publicity drive there was enough interest for the competition to take place. Even a crowd funding page was set up to help local charities cater for the anticipated shortfall in funding provided by this tournament. The competition raises annual sums of between £5,000 and £8,000. The competition also ran into problems in 2004, when there was a shortage of referees following two regular whistlers pulling out due the abuse they had endured having given their services free of charge. One match was even abandoned that year when two players from Greenlaw Geriatrics were sent off, and then furious spectators surrounded the referee.

The Stanks was no stranger to fundraising football matches beneath its historic walls. From 1922 there was and annual tournament for the Berwick Infirmary Cup. Cinematic footage exists of the final between Eyemouth Rangers and Belford which took place on June 29th 1929. This article features stills from that incredible footage where several thousand people gather to watch the match. The man with the trophy is quite possibly Councillor W.J. Dixon, who provided the sizeable cup for the competition.

The Infirmary Cup competition caused controversy in the late 1930’s when the North Sunderland club was suspended for several years by the Football Association. The suspension was issued for persistent misconduct by continuing to field players who had played “illegal football” on The Stanks at Berwick!

Earlier still the Berwick Advertiser reported on a match staged at The Stanks on Thursday June 17th 1915 to raise funds for the nurses at the Queen’s Hospital. The game saw Berwick Rovers take on a side from the 2/10th Royal Scots Guard. The Guards team included players from the likes of Queensferry St. Andrews, Bathgate Primrose, Wemyss Athletic, Armadale Rangers, Vale of Grange and Linlithgow Rose. A huge attendance was described as being “without doubt a larger crowd has never gathered at the Stanks” and a princely sum of donations totalled eight pounds and ten shillings. The Guards won the game by a single goal to nil.

The walls of The Stanks have a huge historical significance being a rare intact survivor of the Elizabethan period. The fortifications were built in an Italianate style, designed to withstand sea and land launched artillery and also accommodate its own artillery fire power. Largely attributed to renowned military engineer, Sir Richard Lee, the fortifications were described as “the most expensive undertaking of the Elizabethan period” costing a quite extraordinary £128,648. Unsurprisingly this rare example of Tudor military building is a scheduled monument and also enjoys Grade I listed status. The wall that runs behind the goal is the wall of the Brass Bastion and has been known to cause many a head injury for onrushing players misjudging the short run off from the goal line.

The players change in a small communal building the other side of an arch within the rampart walls. Above the door to the changing room is the date 1755. It has always been thought that the changing room pavilion at Lesser Hampden, which dates from the early 1800’s, was the oldest building in use for football in the world. Although it’s debatable that “football changing room” is its primary use, this little stone room in Berwick is significantly older.There is also a far more recent historical link to The Stanks and that is to Britain’s favourite artist, L.S.Lowry. He first visited Berwick in 1936 on the advice of his doctor to take “the sea air” to recuperate from the stress of caring for his bedridden mother, who was totally dependent on him, and the death of his father. He became a huge admirer of the town and visited it often by train, frequently staying at the Castle Hotel. It is a well known fact that Lowry was a big football fan, his most well known football work, “Going To The Match” was based on Burnden Park, and was purchased by the Professional Footballers Association, at auction in 1999, for £1.9 million. Among his many scenes of Berwick, is a small undated pencil drawing known as “Football Match” showing a crowd watching a game of football at The Stanks. There is the one of the goals some players and a crowd gathered on either side of the pitch. The ramparts have more spectators and there is a church spire. Maybe Lowry did the sketch from memory as the Church of the Holy Trinity was built it in the 1650’s and never had a spire or tower. While L.S.Lowry still does not have a published catalogue raisonné, a definitive list of genuine works issued by the likes of the Wildenstein Institute, the unsigned work has been indisputably attributed to him.You can travel the globe in search of stunning football locations or photogenic grounds, but perhaps the most photogenic of them all was right under our noses all this time.

Gallery

The original version of this article appeared in issue 98 of Groundtastic Magazine

When West Auckland Ruled The World

The story behind West Auckland Town’s claim to be two time World Champions is a really fascinating one and tells of a time when English teams playing matches outside of the United Kingdom, were rare indeed.

The story starts with Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, a self made millionaire from his grocery stores and tea merchants. He was a keen sportsman himself, being a regular competitor for the Americas Cup. He was awarded the honour of a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order and had honours bestowed upon him throughout Europe and America. The City of Nîs in Serbia made him an honorary citizen for his work in the catastrophic typhus epidemic of 1915. Earlier he had been honoured by the Italian government and ever humble he asked what he could do in return. The reply from King Victor Emmanuel III was a request to organise an international football tournament to be contested in Turin in 1909.

Sir Thomas Lipton

The FA’s of England, Germany and Switzerland were contacted and asked to provide a suitable club to take part. The English FA flatly refused permission for any Football League team to compete so it would be an amateur team that was sent over as they did not need the acquiescence of the Football Association. Quite why the honour fell to West Auckland is shrouded in mystery. Local myth suggests Woolwich Arsenal were Lipton’s ideal choice but the letter went astray and was sent to another WAFC instead! More likely is the theory that a trusted employee of Lipton had links to the Northern League and one of their sides was to be selected to represent England.

West Auckland were a team of coal miners and were struggling in their league in 1909. Even though the players’ pit wages would be stopped during the tournament they readily made the trip to Turin.

In the semi final West Auckland defeated Stuttgarter Sportfreunde 2-0 to set up the “World Cup Final” with the representatives from Switzerland, FC Winterthur. The Swiss had overcome a Torino XI (mixed from Torino and then amateur side Juventus) by two goals to one. The men from County Durham beat Winterthur 2-0 in the final with goals from Bob Jones and Jock Jones. The team including memorable names like Charlie “Dirty” Hogg, “Tot” Gubbins and “Ticer” Thomas.

Two years later West Auckland returned to Italy to defend their trophy. FC Zurich were Switzerland’s representatives this time and West Auckland won their semi-final 2-0. In the other semi final Juventus beat Torino.

In the final they drubbed Juventus 6-1 with goals from Bob “Drol” Moore 2, Fred Dunn 2, Andy “Chips” Appleby and Joe Rewcastle. Interesting only two of the team from 1909, Bob Jones and Charlie Hogg, played in both tournaments as the others simply could not afford to lose their wages for a second time.

It was this second competition and the cost of travelling over that actually put West Auckland in severe financial trouble upon their return the north east. A condition set out by Thomas Lipton stated any club winning the trophy twice consecutively could keep it. Heavily indebted, the club actually folded in 1912 and in order to clear their debts, the club reluctantly put the trophy up for sale. It was duly sold for £40 to Mrs Lanchester, the landlady of the Wheatsheaf Hotel which was the club’s headquarters at the time. The club reformed in 1914 and competed in local leagues. It was 1934 before they returned to the Northern League on a permanent basis.

In 1960, Mrs Lanchester was still alive and agreed to sell the trophy back to the club for £100. The trophy was displayed in the Eden Arms owned by Syd Douthwaite, West Auckland’s secretary. However, after the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen in Westminster in March 1966, the trophy was locked away for safekeeping for several years before coming back out of storage for display in the Working Mens Club on Front Street.

In January 1994 the trophy was stolen and despite the offer of a sizeable reward it was never recovered. A replica was funded by public donations and was recreated by Jack Spencer of Sheffield. It remains on display in the Working Mens Club but in a specially constructed security casing. Ironically the original trophy nearly never made it back to England in the first place. The 1909 team managed to leave the trophy on the platform of the Gard du Nord station in Paris and returned home empty handed. Fortunately the club was reunited with their trophy a couple of days later.

In August 2009 the current West Auckland Town team returned to Turin to take part in a rematch of the final against Juventus. The Northern Leaguers were pitted against the under 20 side of the Italian giants and were promptly hammered 7-1. Sadly the club reported that Juventus were less than hospitable towards them, providing them with bowls of crisps as a post match meal and presenting them with a blank plaque and two books on flowers at half-time of the match.

In October 2013, after several delays, a statue commemorating the centenary of this remarkable story was unveiled on the village green, a lofty goal kick away from West Auckland’s Darlington Road ground. The two bronze figures of a footballer and a coal miner sit on top of a stone plinth using stone from the Dunhouse quarry. The two figures share the same face and the height of the kicking foot is said to be the exact height of the mine shaft at the West Auckland Colliery where the players worked in horrendous conditions. The statue cost £167,374 and is the work of sculptor Nigel Boonham. The magnificent statue was jointly unveiled by Sir John Hall, actor Tim Healy who starred in a TV drama “A Captain’s Tale” about the West Auckland story, long before his success in “Auf Wiedersehen, Pet”, and ex-England international David Ticer Thomas. It was his grandfather, who bore the same name, who captained the first Auckland team in Italy.

The story of this amazing period in Northern League football is recounted in a display in the covered terrace at the Darlington Road ground. It is truly refreshing that a club is so reverential to its history, three cheers for West Auckland Town.

Thunderstruck (Iceland)

Following Iceland’s dramatic performance at Euro 2016 and subsequent flop at Russia 2018, I was interested to know if the spectacular success of a remote island of 338,000 inhabitants had resulted in an upsurge of interest in domestic football.

Hallgrímskirkja

Like many smaller UEFA nations the cream of Icelandic talent has always been quickly whisked away to more high profile clubs and leagues around Europe. Indeed the squad recently called up for the new UEFA Nations League matches included only one home based player, the veteran defender Birkir Sævarsson,who has spent most of his career in Norway and Sweden, before returning this season to play for champions elect Knattspyrnufélagið Valur.

Much has been documented about the sheer quality of coaching available to young players in Iceland. The success of the national team will have come as no little surprise to informed observers, especially under the astute guidance of Heimir Hallgrímsson after he stepped out of the shadow of a joint head coach role with the more heralded Swede Lars Lagerbäck in 2016. It is interesting to note that when Hallgrímsson joined Lagerbäck at the helm of the national team, Iceland were ranked 141 in the world. When he returned to his dental practice a few months ago they had been ranked as high as 18th.

Looking back in history it is interesting to note the influence of British coaching in the Icelandic game with Scot’s Murdo McDougall, John Devine, Alex Weir and Duncan McDowell, plus English coaches Freddie Steele and Tony Knapp all having stints in charge of the national team in the first 40 years after World War II.

The roots of the success were sown at the turn of the current century when the KSA, the Icelandic FA, began a huge investment programme on indoor training facilities. These were staffed by paid UEFA licensed coaches who took the roles as a supplement to their “normal” professions, no longer would clubs and academies be reliant on enthusiastic but unqualified volunteers. It was transformational with a huge influx of kids, male and female, undergoing proper coaching. You walk around Reykjavik now and you can barely turn a corner without seeing the faces of “golden generation” heroes like Gylfi Sigurðsson, Aron Gunnarsson and Alfreð Finnbogason being used to promote all sorts of products.

My first taste of Iceland football came on the Friday evening. There was only one mens game in the whole country and that was an under 19 match on the island of Vestmannaeyjar and while it was taking place on the bucket list ground of Hásteinsvöllur after a day of travelling and sightseeing the need to catch a ferry wasn’t appealing. There was, however, a full schedule in the second tier (1. Dield Konur) of women’s football. So the choice was UMF Afturelding/Fram against visitors from the east of the island, Sindri, in the attractive surroundings of the N1-Völlurinn Varma in Mosfellsbær, about a 20 minute drive north east of Reykjavík.

The visitors were bottom of the table and had several American players in their team and it was one of them, Katelyn Nebesnick, who broke the deadlock when, against the run of play, her speculative long range shot somehow found its way into the net. The hosts, with two Ghanian players in their side, then got a grip of the match and rattled in five unanswered goals. As an infrequent watcher of women’s football, it proved to be a decent standard and considerable skill was on view.

Friday September 14th 2018 – 1.Dield Konur

Afturelding/Fram 5 (Ómarsdóttir 38, Grétsrsdóttir 45, Birgisdóttir 54, Egyr 56, Ásþórsdóttir 72)

Sindri 1 (Nebesnick 20)

Att:53 Admission ISK 1,000 (£7)

With the Icelandic Cup Final due to be played at the national stadium on Saturday evening, it made perfect sense to tick off the Valbjarnarvöllur the small stadium adjacent to the national stadium and home to second tier outfit Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur since 1999. The club had its origins in the impoverished western sector of Reykjavík in 1949 where most residents lived in Nissan huts. In 1969 they moved to the east side of Reykjavik before celebrating their 50th anniversary in their new surroundings of Laugardal.

Today’s second tier match sees Thór Akureyri make the five hour, 250 mile journey from the north of the island. A modest crowd gathers for what proved to be a highly entertaining game which was won by the visitors when their young Spanish import, Álvaro Calleja, completed a very impressive hat-trick before home centre forward, Viktor Jónsson, complete his own hat-trick in stoppage time. Þróttur are a well run and friendly club and the ground is certainly well worth a visit.

Saturday September 15th 2018 – Inkasso Dieldin

Þróttur Reykjavík 3 (Jónsson 8,39,90)

Þór Akureyri 4 (Calleja 27,84,87, Sigurbergsson 29)

Att:104 Admission ISK 1,400 (£10)

As entertaining as the Þróttur game was the Cup Final between Stjarnan and Breiðablik was a huge disappointment. Tickets went on sale promptly at 4pm and it appeared that both clubs had been given lots of free tickets for their junior players and to make an event of it a milk company provided free chocolate cake and milk. Sadly another company also provided free foldable cardboard clackers for both sets of supporters. Even though football programmes have no real tradition in Iceland, it was still a surprise nothing was published for the final.

It has to be said even with only the main stand open, the atmosphere was excellent with in particular the Stjarnan fans using English football tunes with their own lyrics. They even did several renditions of that cultural Icelandic phenomenon, the Viking Thunderclap, BANG! CLAP! HUH! It was all pretty decent apart from the 120 minutes of watching an astonishingly abject imitation of a football match being played out on the pitch. Yes the rain in the second half was biblical in quantity but does that really stop you from passing to someone in the same coloured shirt or producing anything remotely resembling an accurate cross? A goalless draw was inevitable and Stjarnan won the ABBA format penalty shoot out 4-1 when Breiðablik contrived to miss their second and third kicks therefore denying themselves an opportunity to even take a fourth kick.

The National Stadium, Laugardalsvöllur, took eight years to open, starting in 1949 and taking until 1957 before Iceland took on Norway in the first game at the stadium. The huge west stand was expanded between 1965 and 1970 and was joined in 1997 by the smaller east stand. Temporary stands were used to accommodate the 20,204 people present for a friendly against Italy in 2004. The stadium only acquired floodlights as recently as 1992 and, in truth, the venue could really do with modernisation.

Saturday September 15th 2018 – KSI Cup Final

Stjarnan 0 Breiðablik UBK 0

After Extra Time. Stjarnan win 4-1 on penalties

Att:3,814 Entry 2,000 Kr (£15)

 

It goes without saying that Iceland is a wonderful (if a tad expensive) place to visit. Vast tundra plains and volcanic extrusions give a sense of other worldliness. Fissures in the crust of the earth belch plumes of thermally heated water with a seemingly malodorous intent at the geysers of Haukadalur. Surely the waterfalls of Gullfoss should be as well known as those of Niagra, Iguazu and Victoria? The fury and force of water tumbling unrelentingly into chasms below is truly mind blowing. The serenity and deep green and blue colours of the vast crater of Kerið has a beauty beyond any adequate description. It is no surprise that tourism in Iceland has grown exponentially in recent years, its safe, liberal, accessible and simply glorious.

Gullfoss

Strokkur

Haukadalur

Kerið

Harpa

Sun Voyager

 

Budafok are you? (Budafoki Labdarúgó Club)

Budafoki Labdarúgó Club’s history dates back to 1912 when they were formed as Világosság Football Csapat, the first of twelve different identities. The latest moniker has stuck since 2007. Prior to World War II this modest village in the 22nd District of Budapest was represented by two clubs, the other being Gamma FC who would eventually be consumed into the BKV Előre club in 1950.

Budafok play in the Nemzeti Bajnokság III, a division they have won on three occasions in 1972-73, 1985-86, 1988-89. The club has also enjoyed some success at the second tier, winning the title in 1944-45 and 1950-51. The club’s sole season in the top flight came in 1945-46 when they finished next to bottom winning only five of their 26 matches. Arguably the clubs’ best known players over the years have been József Zakariás, who was part of the squad for the legendary Hungarian national team fondly remembered as the “Golden Team”. More recently Márton Esterházy started his career with Budafok before winning 29 caps for the national team. He scored for Hungary against Canada in the 1986 World Cup tournament.

Confusingly Budafok’s modest stadium actually has several names BMTE Sporttelep, Budafok Stadion and Promontor utcai Stadion, and it forms part of a bigger sports venue which also accommodates athletics and tennis. The stadium has clearly undergone recent renovation with new plastic seats, electronic scoreboard and an elevated dignitary’s stand opposite the open seating. It’s a modest but tidy venue and it seems scarcely believable that 7,000 people crammed into it for a Magyar Kupa match against Ferencváros in February 1984. The venue now has 1,200 seats with standing available around the athletics track which would mean looking through a fence for the duration of the match.

A lack of floodlights means a 12pm kick off for this Magyar Kupa tie against mighty FC Videoton who sit in second place in NB I just a point behind leaders Vasas FC. On a cold day, the hilltop location of the stadium clearly unsettles the illustrious visitors and they are very slow out of the blocks. The hosts play well and skipper Tamás Grúz gives them the lead at half time. Thoughts of a cup upset dwindle as Videoton exert huge pressure on the home goal in the second half. Clearly the half time team talk and a triple substitution have galvanised the visitors. Therefore it is no surprise when Videoton draw level when Ádám Bódi cleverly disguises his shot enough to beat the home goalkeeper with ease. It was evident that Videoton did not fancy extra time as the temperature dropped and they upped the pressure further really throwing players forward. As the game drew to a close Videoton cracked a shot against the post before the unthinkable happened and a quick break saw Sándor Kovács lash home an unlikely and wildly celebrated winner. Who doesn’t love a cup upset?

Wednesday November 30th 2016 – Magyar Kupa 8th Rd

Budafok LC 2 (Grúz 29, Kovács 84)
FC Videoton Fehérvár 1 (Bódi 66)

Att: 336 (at BMTE Sporttelep)

Admission free, teamsheet free

Gallery

The Perennial Struggle (East Stirlingshire)

The East Stirlingshire Football Club have an official formation date of 1881 although it roots go back a year earlier to a club called Britannia in the nearby town of Bainsford. The new club took over Randyford Park in Grangemouth Road from neighbours Falkirk who had decamped to a ground called Blinkbonny.

However, Randyford proved problematic and within months East Stirlingshire moved to Merchiston Park. The club remained at this ground until it was purchased to extend the adjacent Burnbank Iron Foundry. Shire then opened their new town centre ground, Firs Park, in August 1921. Although modest in dimensions the ground managed to accommodate 11,500 spectators for a 1968 Scottish Cup tie against Hibernian.

Life at Firs Park was never dull, in 1964 the incumbent board relocated the club to New Kilbowie Park and an ill-fated merger with Clydebank. After twelve months of litigation the Shire returned to Falkirk. During their absence the cover from the standing enclosure and the floodlights had gone to Kilbowie and local vandals had also held sway in the unoccupied ground. New lights and a replacement cover were erected before football returned to Firs Park. The small barrelled roof main stand became something of an icon of Scottish stadium architecture. Since the 1964 debacle the club has periodically considered further relocation, with Grangemouth Athletics Stadium being considered on more than one occasion.

The club played its last game at Firs Park in 2008 when the momentous decision was taken that the old ground would be prohibitively expensive to upgrade to the new ground grading criteria imposed by the Scottish League. The club signed an initial five year deal to play at Stenhousemuir’s ancient Ochilview Park while the club actively looked for a new site in the Falkirk area. In May 2014 East Stirlingshire signed a deal with LK Galaxy Sports to develop a new ground with the preferred site being the former BP Club ground in Grange Road, Grangemouth. Strangely this would mean both of Falkirk’s senior teams will have moved out of their own town to the same town.

Ochilview is one of Scotland’s oldest grounds having opened in 1890. It has been substantially modernised since 1994 when Stenhousemuir failed in their attempts to sell the ageing ground to a supermarket chain. A new main stand replaced the south stand terrace in 1995 and four years later the old “Dolls House” stand was refused a safety licence and was subsequently demolished. This side is now used for car parking and community 3G pitches and has left the stadium with a modest capacity of 3,750 and a distinctly open feel to it. The Tryst Road terrace was covered in 2004 with volunteer labour from supporters. The club has also installed a FIFA approved artificial playing surface in recent years.

Many casual fans follow East Stirlingshire seemingly annual battle to avoid the wooden spoon in Scotland’s fourth tier. The Shire have finish tenth and last of the Scottish League’s lowest tier for seven out of of the last twelve seasons, although last season they finished a heady eighth with Elgin City and Queen’s Park finishing below them. The club won the Scottish League Division C (the old fourth tier) in 1947/48. They have not won anything since.

This season has once again been a struggle for the Shire the league table shows them a point above bottom placed Elgin so today’s Scottish Cup game against Championship side Dunfermline Athletic must have been eyed with no little trepidation.

To the Shire’s credit they keep their guests from the Championship quiet for more that half and hour with some resolute defending. Dunfermline look the better side with Faissal El Bakhtaoui looking the pick of the visitors eleven. It’s no surprise that the young French/Moroccan playmaker opens the scoring with a deft finish just before half time. He doubles the visitors total just after the hour with another impressive strike.

The men from East End Park effectively seal the victory when Shaun Byrne picked up a loose ball in his own half and outpaced the home defence to score with some aplomb. East Stirlingshire’s biggest goal threat comes from the burly Ivorian striker Guy Tahin who bizarrely is only currently permitted to play in cup ties and friendlies. However, Tahin is well shackled today by Gregor Buchanan. Shire continue to press forward and suddenly reduce the arrears with a powerful strike from distance by David Greenhill, his shot finding the net via the inside of the post.

Visibly irked by conceding a goal Dunfermline take charge again and the pressure pays off when Connor Greene makes an injudicious challenge in the area and Ross Millen nets the spot kick with a cheeky “Panenka” style chip down the middle of the goal.

Although well beaten today you have to admire the indefatigable spirit of East Stirlingshire. Homeless and regular wooden spoonists they dig in week after week and you have to salute them for that.

Sunday November 2nd 2014 – Scottish Cup Third Round

East Stirlingshire (0) 1 (Greenhill 79)
Dunfermline Athletic (1) 4 (El Bakhtaoui 37,62, Byrne 76, Millen pen 84)

Attendance: 991 (at Ochilview, Stenhousemuir F.C.)

Shire:

1. Richie Barnard (c), 2. Connor Greene, 3. Lloyd Kinnaird, 4. Michael Bolochoweckyj, 5. Chris Townsley, 6. Graeme MacGregor, 7. Andy Kay, 8. Neil McCabe, 9. Guy Tahin, 10. David McKenna, 11. David Greenhill.

Subs: 12. Billy Vidler, 14. Steven Brisbane (for 6,62 mins), 15. Martyn Shields, 16. Ross Gilmour, 17. Sean Quinn, 18. Paul Brennan (for 9,71 mins), 19. Alan Deans.

Dunfermline:

1. Ryan Scully, 2. Ross Millen, 3. Alex Whittle, 4. Stuart Urquhart, 5. Gregor Buchanan, 6. Andy Geggan (c), 7. Faissal El Bakhtaoui, 8. Lewis Spence, 9. Michael Moffat, 10. Ross Forbes, 11. Shaun Byrne.

Subs: 12. Ryan Thomson (for 10,77 mins), 14. Andy Stirling, 15. Allan Smith, 16. Chiogozie Ugwu (for 9,72 mins), 17. Ryan Williamson, 18. James Thomas for 7,72 mins), 20. Ryan Goodfellow.

Yellow Cards: Bolochoweckyj , MacGregor, Townsley, Greene (all Shire)

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