Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare F.C. are a senior football club currently playing in the East of Scotland Football League. There has been an Easthouses Lily football club in Easthouses since the establishment of the Easthouses Colliery earlier in the 20th Century.
Easthouses Lily FC was originally formed in 1950 and competed in the East Region Junior leagues. With the Club languishing in the shadows of illustrious neighbours Newtongrange Star and Bonnyrigg Rose, a dramatic fall in attendances numbers saw the Club encounter difficulties and they were left with no option but to fold.
However, in 1969 a group of local friends (George Peacock, Brian McGuff, James (Cobie) Lamb, James Forrest and Robert Paul) re-formed the current Club. They began life as members of the Scottish Welfare Football Association playing in the Lothian Welfare FA and quickly found success winning numerous pieces of silverware.
Perhaps the Clubs greatest achievement at that time was reaching the semi-final of the prestigious Scottish Welfare Cup in 1978 where they met Singers FC of Clydebank. However, in front of a 2000+ crowd at King’s Park, Dalkeith they lost 2-1 to the classy West coasters who would eventually go on to lift the trophy.
In 1981 the Club joined the ranks of the East Of Scotland Football Association where they played out of the Murray Park, Easthouses. Their first match was a derby against Whitehill Welfare where a very respectable performance saw them draw 1-1 thanks to a Davy McWhinnie goal.
Four days later the first home game drew a large crowd who witnessed an eventful but goalless draw with Civil Service Strollers.
Having made Murray Park something of a fortress, The Lily were forced to find a new home when the owners, Murray Brewers decided to sell the land to a housing developer. The Club transferred its matches to the nearby Newbattle Complex where they remain to this day.
After changing the name to Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare Football Club in 1989, the Club enjoyed a ‘golden’ era. The first of three First Division Championships was won in 1990/91 and this was quickly followed by the Premier Division in 1991/92. The Lily are the only club to have achieved back-to-back First and Premier titles since league reconstruction in 1987.
The Alex Jack Cup was also won in 1990/91 and began something of a love affair with the trophy, capturing it again in 1998/99, 2004/05 and 2006/07 and finishing runner-up in 1991/92, 1999/2000 and 2001/02. The Lily were also runners-up in the League Cup in 2005/06.
Founded in 1969 [1], they play their home matches at Newbattle Complex, Easthouses, Midlothian, Scotland.
Manager David McQueenie & Assistant Manager John Hunter Snr
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