Penicuik Athletic F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (June 2007)

Full name

Penicuik Athletic Football Club

Nickname(s)

Cuikie

Founded

1888

Ground

Penicuik Park, Penicuik
(Capacity 1500)

Chairman

John Fraser

Manager

Willie McGinley

League

SJFA East Region Premier League

2006-07

SJFA East Region Premier League, 9th





Home colours





Away colours

Penicuik Athletic Football Club are a Scottish junior football club. They were formed in 1888 and are based in Penicuik. Penicuik Park is ten miles south west of Edinburgh on the A702. The club is currently playing in the Premier League of the Scottish Junior Football Association's East Region at their home ground, Penicuik Park. They signed ex-Gretna striker Martin Cameron for the start of season 2006/07. Penicuik Athletic attract a big crowd on matchday, usually a Saturday.

Penicuik turned Junior in 1951 with the supporter's club buying Eastfield Park from the National Coal Board and built a new pavilion. The chairman at the time, Mr David Masson and Jimmy Ketchen, were two prominent figures in the club. Their manager was Dick Walker and coach Harry Verth.

Penicuik won their first silverware in 1949-50 season (before turning Junior) winning the Border Cup.

Penicuik Athletic's biggest achievement is undoubtedly reaching the Scottish Junior Cup Final in 1970 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Penicuik's opponents on Saturday May 16th 1970 was Blantyre Victoria who they drew with 1-1, only to be defeated in the replay the following Tuesday night 1-0.

Penicuik beat seven Junior clubs based in the West of Scotland to arrive at the final. Here is how it was done in 1970:

Round 1 v Tannochside Rec. (a) 3-1
Round 2 v Wishaw Juniors (h) 4-1
Round 3 v Renfrew Juniors (h) 4-1
Round 4 v Cumnock (h) 3-1
Round 5 v Carluke Rovers (h) 0-0, Carluke Rovers(a) 0-0, Carluke (Shotts) 2-1
Round 6 v Vale of Leven (a) 3-1
Semi-Final v Ashfield (Falkirk) 1-0

The team on Cup Final day: McDermott, Thorburn, McCabe, Hume, McGarry, Hogg, Robertson, Wallace, Stenhouse, Buchan, Murphy, Sub - Reeves.

After a long spell playing in the Junior leagues, Penicuik Athletic disbanded in the late '80s with a supermarket being built on the site of Eastfield Park. However they reformed in 2002 playing at their new home Penicuik Park in the centre of the town. While playing in the Lothian League Division 2, in 2004 they won the Supplementary Cup against Whitburn at Blackburn Utd's Murrayfield Park. The manager that night was Willie McGinley.

The team that night: Bald, McDermott, Ure, Porteous, Blair, Montgomery, Dick, Hancok, Lindsay (Banks 73), Auld (Gibb 73), Forbes (Hope 73), Subs not used - Rennie, McLeod

In 2007 Penicuik fought their way out of Division 1 into the newly formed Premier League set up for the 2006-07 season where they remain today.

[edit] Notable former players

Kevin Twaddle, who played for Hearts and Motherwell, amongst other Scottish clubs, played for Athletic during the 2005-06 season.
Eddie Thomson,who played for Hearts and Aberdeen, and also managed Australia in the 1990s.