Ayr Eglinton F.C. Explained

Clubname:Ayr Eglinton
Fullname:Ayr Eglinton Football Club
Founded:1875
Dissolved:1876
Ground:Eglinton Park
Mgrtitle:Secretary
Manager:John Watt
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Ayr Eglinton Football Club was a short-lived association football club from Ayr, Scotland. The club was one of the ancestral clubs to the current Scottish League club Ayr United.

History

The club was formed in 1875. Its first reported association match was in the 1875–76 Scottish Cup against Kilmarnock. The club turned up without its full complement of players, and was beaten 8–0.[1] The club finished its first season with 5 wins, 8 draws, and 6 defeats.[2]

The club was drawn at St Andrew's of Kilmarnock[3] in the first round of the 1876–77 Scottish Cup, on the latter's new Grange Park ground,[4] and Eglinton earned a replay with a 1–1 draw. Only 2 of the players from the 1875 tie played in the 1876 tie, and four of the new players came from the Highet family, including a father and son.[5] The side included at least 5 players who had played for Ayr Academy F.C. in friendlies the previous season,[6] 4 of whom had played in the academy side which beat Eglinton 2–0 in November 1875.[7]

The replay was played on 7 October at the neutral Robbsland Park (the ground of Ayr Thistle F.C.) and lasted only an hour, St Andrew's winning 1–0.[8]

The following weekend, in a meeting at the Ayr Assembly Rooms that weekend, it was "unanimously agreed" to merge the academy and Eglinton clubs, to form a new club, Ayr Academicals.[9]

Colours

The club wore scarlet and black hoops, with blue shorts.[10]

Ground

The club played at Eglinton Park, from which the club took its name. The club used the Athole Hotel in Alloway Street to provide changing facilities.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Football . Glasgow Herald . 11 October 1875 . 5.
  2. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1876 . 116.
  3. Scottish Football Association . North British Daily Mail . 13 September 1876 . 7.
  4. Grand Football Match . Kilmarnock Standard . 30 September 1876 . 2.
  5. Football - Cup ties . Kilmarnock Standard . 7 October 1876 . 3.
  6. Football . Irvine Herald . 13 November 1875 . 2.
  7. Football . Irvine Herald . 20 November 1875 . 4.
  8. Web site: Mathers . Stewart . Season 1876-77 . Beautiful Dribbling Game . 14 February 2023.
  9. Ayr Academicals . North British Daily Mail . 16 October 1876 . 3.
  10. Web site: Club Directory . Scottish Football Historical Results Archive . 27 October 2022.
  11. Book: Alcock . Charles . Football Annual . 1876 . 116.