Best Junior team who never won the Scottish Cup

[Skipper]

According to some of my Bonnyrigg pals , the Bonnyrigg Rose team of 1972 were very good and unlucky to lose in the final that year ??

Linlithgow also had a cracking side at that time getting to the final in 74, but the Cambuslang team from that era were a cut above.

[fan of the juniors]

^^^Sorry Muggo, I've got to correct you here...I know you were only young at the time, but you've fallen into the trap of believing a wee bit of urban myth.

Chub & Hughie left Ladeside to go (with our blessings) to Partick Thistle. They were not "let go to our biggest rivals" by the committee. They signed for Auchinleck Talbot from Partick Thistle...not from Ladeside.

Also,...and someone can correct me if I'm wrong...Gordon was always an amateur at Ladeside and could go wherever he wanted at the end of the season. I'm pretty sure Mr. Knox would've tapped him up because he was an astute manager at the time and would understandably have been looking at all the best players for his own team but that is beside the point. Gordon drove a Porsche in 1986 (courtesy of Helga's parents)...do you really think he would have gone "for a few extra quid" if Sconie hadn't been breaking up that team anyway ? Gordon saw Calum Campbell & Morton Milne arriving and thought he'd have better chances elsewhere. As it turned out...he did.

 

Sorry should have stated that Pirie & Lyden were all for coming back to us but got a better deal at Talbot . Mills was pissed off anyways at not starting the cup final but bow to your superior knowledge of his amateur status

[larkyforever]

12 hours ago, Raffs said:

Are the Kello Rovers of the mid 1970s the best Junior team who never won the cup.  A team full of star players who swept all before them.  Who could ever forget Hitchell, Brown, Black, White, Shenning to name but a few.  I think it would take a lot to beat the Super K as the best.

There are 2 ways to read this question;

Junior clubs who have never won the Junior Cup, ever

Junior Clubs who have won the Junior Cup, but had excellent teams who failed in the competition at other times.

I remember Kello Rovers beating us in a Cup final or semi-final ( memory fails me ) 2-0 at Shettleston in the 70s. I expected us to win, but without doubt Kello were the best team I saw that year, I was shocked.

( Going by the surnames it looks like they had the cast of Reservoir Dogs playing for them )

Lesmahagow Juniors would be an example of the 1st type with several good teams,lots of other clubs supporters would remember teams which failed despite being excellent and favourites ( and possibly winners at other times, maybe even with inferior teams ). Larkhall in 1968 looked invincible.

Such is the magic of the Cup

 

[cmontheloknow]

Rab Sneddon's Pollok side of mid 00s won almost everything else and won 17 league games in a row to win the title in 2006-07. Only 3 games lost from open play in all competition. The options going forward were frightening.

In goals, Kris Robertson. Joe Carruth at right back, Gary Wilson at left back, Stevie Aitchison playing at sweeper alongside Derek Heaton. Stevie Miller holding in midfield, David McGeown giving some threat from midfield going forward, Zander Ryan on the right, Chris Cruickshank on the left and any two of DIngwall, Waddell, Downs or Turnbull upfront.

[garrellburn]

The Kilsyth team of 1953-54 were the best junior side I have ever seen, bar none. They were very unlucky to go out in the first round to Armadale playing with ten men, no subs in these days. They proved it by winning the cup the next season although with a much changed side and getting their revenge over the 'Dale by beating them in the semi-final. Remember that successfull junior teams in those far off days were usually decimated with players going senior, although like Talbot today, you could attract the best players from other junior teams. We did that by bringing in Jimmy Seivewright from Baillieston, a junior international and he was the rock around which we built another great side of whom three had yet to reach 20 years of age.

 

[shuggie123]

Whitburn team of the late 80's / early 90's. Unfortunately couldn't get the better of Talbot.

[larkyforever]

15 minutes ago, garrellburn said:

The Kilsyth team of 1953-54 were the best junior side I have ever seen, bar none. They were very unlucky to go out in the first round to Armadale playing with ten men, no subs in these days. They proved it by winning the cup the next season although with a much changed side and getting their revenge over the 'Dale by beating them in the semi-final. Remember that successfull junior teams in those far off days were usually decimated with players going senior, although like Talbot today, you could attract the best players from other junior teams. We did that by bringing in Jimmy Seivewright from Baillieston, a junior international and he was the rock around which we built another great side of whom three had yet to reach 20 years of age.

 

Would I be right in saying you would be around 8 at the time?

Id be amazed if you werent the most experienced and longest-serving Junior man on this forum for your beloved Kilsyth

I noticed a young Kilsyth supporter and you having a slight disagreement about Kilsyth on the Kilsyth thread which was like a Gumshoe arguing with the FBI

 

[garrellburn]

2 hours ago, larkyforever said:

Would I be right in saying you would be around 8 at the time?

Id be amazed if you werent the most experienced and longest-serving Junior man on this forum for your beloved Kilsyth

I noticed a young Kilsyth supporter and you having a slight disagreement about Kilsyth on the Kilsyth thread which was like a Gumshoe arguing with the FBI

 

Certainly was arouind at that time, just about to start secondary school. All the boys in my class went to all the home games and a fair few to the away games as well. I'm sure there are a few others of my generation who come on here, I count myself very lucky to have seen teams like that in junior football. there did seem to be a never ending stream of young talented players coming up through the juniors at that time. It was not at all unusual for us to take thirty  bus loads of supporters to league matches and double that to big cup games. Us boys usually travelled unaccompanied, they would let three or four onto each bus and we were instructed to keep our heads down going through Glasgow as private hire buses were not supposed to carry standing passengers.

I am always disagreeing with other Kilsyth supporters, funnily enough I get on very well with other clubs fans.

[Bul2]

At Cumnock we had a couple of really good teams in the 70's and we thought we would lift the cup during that time, but, although we had s cracking side , we came up against , in my opinion, the greatest Junior team ever in the legendary Cambuslang Rangers team of that time. That was probably the best team we had who didn't win the cup

[Dreghorn]

The Beith side of the mid to late sixties is certainly one of them as is the Whitburn team in the early nineties.  Penicuik had a fine side in the late seventies.

[KarlMarx]

11 hours ago, Quantum Leap said:

 

Yes you are correct my man.
In the time frame the Beith poster is alluding too Talbot won it twice, Glenafton once, putting Beith out and Largs who beat Glenafton.

 

Didn't Talbot win that game 4-0 not 4-1?

The penalty against Glens wasn't even debatable it was never a fecking penalty.

Not only did Brown dive it was outside the bloody box but hey ho the holy grail has finally been lifted.

[Father Ted]

Lesmahagow team late 80s and early 90s, under Billy Whitefield.

Lost in 90 final v Hill of Beath 1-0. Never played to their full potential that day. Couple of semi appearances around that time.

90 Semi v Whitburn at Brockville was easily the best game of football I've ever witnessed. 3-2 to Gow in extra time. Down to ten men due to injury. Big Owen Waters crashes in a forty yarder to take us to final.

[ayrshire_nomad]

Ardeer thistle when the lost too Talbot I believe round about 2001

[Oscar Wilder]

Glenafton 1963 team.

[rednblack]

Rob Roy team from 1898 . Total injustice those boys never won the junior cup.

[manintheknow]

In my lifetime the two great league sides who never lifted it were Pollok 2006 and Beith 2009. Both were complete teams as their league performances showed. I was at the kilbirnie final v Talbot and from memory a replay at Killie and while it was a good Blastie's side I don't think it was up there with their 75-78 squad.

[lonewolfie]

4 hours ago, ayrshire_nomad said:

Ardeer thistle when the lost too Talbot I believe round about 2001

I think you'd find that they were way way behind the Ardeer side of around 59-60 who were easily Scotland's best side but lost a Scottish semi replay when they should have really lifted the Cup that year. No subs allowed in those days and that hampered them at Firhill first game.

[maicoman]

On 7/29/2017 at 09:17, shuggie123 said:

Whitburn team of the late 80's / early 90's. Unfortunately couldn't get the better of Talbot.

watched them beat Glenafton in the semis at Love St  They were excellent that night

[Shaggy O'Hara]

The Nitten team that got beat 1-0 fi Talbot in 1991 must be up their. Won every trophy the played for bar the Scottish 

[HTG]

The Linlithgow team in 2013. Any team that goes 51 games and 14 months unbeaten has to have a bit about it and the performances during that cup run against Ardrossan, Arthurlie and Bo'ness in particular were outstanding. No complaints about the result in the final on the day and of course losing to Talbot who were also in the processof winning their league unbeaten was a reflection that they were also an excellent side.