Lugar Boswell Thistle F.C.

Lugar Boswell Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club, based in the village of Lugar, near Cumnock, Ayrshire. Members of the Scottish Junior Football Association, they currently play in the West of Scotland League Conference B. Their home ground since 1882 is Rosebank Park, and they wear maroon and light blue strips.

Lugar Boswell Thistle
Full nameLugar Boswell Thistle Football Club
Nickname(s)The Jaggy Bunnets
Founded1878 (as Lugar Boswell)
GroundRosebank Park,
Lugar
Capacity2,000
ManagerStuart Davidson
LeagueWest of Scotland League Conference B
2019–20SJFA West League Two, 14th of 15

History

Formed in 1878 as Lugar Boswell, the club were originally a Senior side playing such currently distinguished names as Rangers [1] and Heart of Midlothian. The club made nine consecutive Scottish Cup appearances in the 1880s and reached the fifth round of the competition in 1882–83, losing to eventual finalists Vale of Leven.[2] In March 1883, they recorded a 10–2 victory over Hearts which remains the Edinburgh club's record defeat.[3][4] The following season, forward Sam Thomson was capped twice for Scotland.[5] As success faded, the club then flitted between various Senior, Junior and even Juvenile leagues up to the Second World War. On reforming after hostilities, the club added the suffix Thistle and settled in Ayrshire Junior football.

The Jaggy Bunnets as they are nicknamed enjoyed a successful period in the 1950s. The club reached the semi-final of the Scottish Junior Cup in 1952, losing to Kilbirnie Ladeside after a replay with one tie attracting a then record attendance of over 30,000 to Rugby Park, Kilmarnock.[6] In 1956, the club made it all the way to the final, with Thistle losing 4–1 to Petershill at Hampden Park in front of a crowd of 64,702.[7] The current population of Lugar is 221.[8]

With the club in danger of folding in 2015, Lugar entered a partnership with the Ayr United Football Academy where the SPFL club provided coaching staff and gave Ayr's pro-youth players game time in an adult footballing environment.[9] In March 2016, Lugar announced that this arrangement would not continue beyond the end of the 2015–16 season and the club appointed Derek McMurdo as their new manager in the summer of 2016.[10][11]

Home game at Rosebank in 2003, Lugar seemingly in their away strip

Notable former players

Honours

Scottish Junior Cup
  • Runners-up: 1955–56

Other Honours
  • Western League champions: 1953–54, 1955–56
  • Ayrshire Second Division winners: 1995–96, 1999–2000
  • Ayrshire (Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald) Cup winners: 1927–28, 1928–29
  • Ayrshire District (Irvine Times) Cup winners: 1929–30, 1948–49
  • Ayrshire District League winners: 2002–03

References
  1. Rangers History - Lugar Boswell
  2. "Lugar Boswell". londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  3. "Sat 31 Mar 1883". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  4. "Scotland — Cup Results 1873/74-1877/78 and 1889/90-1995/96". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  5. "Samuel Thomson Scotland Football Record". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  6. Vallance, Matt (6 March 2015). "Tom McQueen". The Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. McGlone, David; McLure, Bill (1987). The Juniors - 100 Years. A Centenary History of Scottish Junior Football. Mainstream. p. 101. ISBN 1-85158-060-3.
  8. The community of Lugar Archived 26 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Coalfield Communities Federation
  9. Wilson, Mike (26 March 2015). "Historic Junior side Lugar Boswell Thistle could go out of business after this season". Ayrshire Post. Daily Record. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  10. "Ayr United Football Academy Partnership with Lugar Boswell". aufa.org.uk. Ayr United Football Academy. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  11. Marzella, Chris (4 August 2016). "New Lugar boss, Derek McMurdo, says his side are well equipped for a title tilt". Cumnock Chronicle. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  12. Do You Remember? Andy Kerr Archived 12 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine killiefc.com profile
  13. McGlone, David; McLure, Bill (1987). The Juniors - 100 Years. A Centenary History of Scottish Junior Football. Mainstream. p. 302. ISBN 1-85158-060-3.
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