Polmont Community A.F.C.

Polmont Community
Full name Polmont Community Amateur Football Club
Nickname(s) Mont, Viola
Founded 15 June 2011 as Polmont F.C.
Ground Meadowbank Park, Polmont
Ground Capacity 500
Owner Polmont Football Club Limited
Coach David Spark
League Stirling & District AFA Premier Division
2015–16 Stirling & District AFA Division One, 2nd (promoted)
Website Club home page

Polmont Community Amateur Football Club is an association football club from the town of Polmont in Scotland.

Polmont currently compete in the second tier of the Stirling & District AFA. The club finished in 12th position, second bottom, in their first competitive season, before winning the SDAFA Division Three the following season.[1] The team play their matches at Meadowbank Park, with their colours being violet and white. The club were formerly sponsored by the major Scottish landfill company Avondale Environmental.[2]

History

Formation

Polmont Football Club were officially launched by local residents and co-founders Stuart Forrest and Christopher Galloway on 15 June 2011 in time for the 2011–12 season. They conducted feasibility studies with regards to joining numerous amateur leagues including the Caledonian Amateur Football League, before finally affiliating with the Scottish Amateur Football Association and were elected to the bottom tier, Division Three – level 4 – of the Stirling & District Amateur Football Association.

Immediately following the club's foundation, the board installed Asturian Diego Gonzalez as head coach and he was soon followed by an experienced Crawford Lauder as his assistant coach and the ultimately successful quartet set about piecing together and refining a squad at short notice to compete in their domestic league.

The club itself was created to provide a local football team to the Polmont area, being one of the largest settlements in the region without a current club at senior or amateur level. Polmont were originally designated by Falkirk Council to play their home matches at Quarry Brae in neighbouring Brightons, however after quasi-political wrangle which escalated to the level of councillors and club directors the Council finally relented and permitted the club to base their operations at Meadowbank Park in the St Margaret's area of Polmont.


Performance

Polmont played their first match in an exhibition game played in Reddingmuirhead against fellow Stirling & District side Condorrat, which ended in a 1–5 defeat. However, they won their first competitive fixture on 16 August at Meadowbank against another Stirling & District club, Hillfoots, in their division's pre-season League Cup competition. The team generally struggled in their maiden campaign, narrowly avoiding finishing bottom of their division and flattering to deceive in all regional and national cup competitions. Prior to the following season, PFC were seen as possible dark horses for promotion but simply steamrolled the opposition, winning the division without losing a single match and powering their way to the title, but disappointed in the Scottish Amateur Cup at Round 2 after defeat at Balgonie Scotia following a replay.

The club again slipped out of the Scottish Cup in the second round in 2013–14, losing out to Edinburgh Southern AFC. They did, however, achieve back-to-back promotions by finishing in second position to reach the Stirling & District AFA Division One as well as reaching their division's League Cup final, missing out on both titles to rivals Redbrae Athletic.

Present & future

Polmont made tentative enquiries into a long-term ambition of joining the East of Scotland Football League as a step onto the Scottish pyramid system, however lack of a suitable ground to meet the relevant criteria put these plans on hold for the foreseeable future. Following three competitively progressive seasons, Galloway & Forrest both tendered their resignations due to external commitments and their departures were formally announced at the climax of the 2013–14 campaign allowing the day-to-day running to new management. One of the first acts of the new regime was to change the club's operating name with the SAFA to Polmont Community in line with efforts to become an SFA recognised community club.

The club won their maiden cup competition in the form of their division's league cup on 22 May 2015 with a penalty shoot-out victory over league rivals Sunnyside Thistle following a 2–2 draw at Ochilview Park.

Club crest and colours

Crest

From the club's inception until 2014, Polmont used the same crest which depicted Polmont Old Parish Church in the centre, along with the year of the club's foundation. The logo notably also included the variant of the club's name in Scottish Gaelic. Variations of the crest have regularly been produced in the original violet and gold colours, with others appearing in monochrome.

When the running of the club changed in 2014, the crest was rebranded in line with Polmont's efforts to become an SFA recognised community club.

Colours

Polmont play in violet kits, which was selected as a unique and memorable colour. The team's iconic inaugural kit contained white sleeves, similar to that of Arsenal & Hibernian

Ground

The club currently play their home fixtures at Meadowbank Park (also known as St Margaret's). Polmont originally investigated the possibility of using Grangemouth Stadium[3] as their venue, until this was taken by fellow new-comers Falkirk Juniors F.C..[4] The ground holds approximately 500, is all-standing and contains no covered area for spectators, although for the majority of league games crowds rarely exceed single figures.

Panorama of Meadowbank Park, home of PFC since the club's inception

Players

Polmont versus Balgonie Scotia in the Scottish Amateur Cup at Meadowbank Park

First-team squad

As of 08:30, 1 February 2014 (UTC)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Scotland GK Stephen McKinnon
Scotland DF Richard Sims
Scotland DF Ross McAteer
Scotland DF Steven Keiss
Scotland DF Gary Murphy
Scotland DF Brian Cramb
Scotland DF Jack Stickler
Scotland MF Blair Lockhart
Scotland MF Martin Rutherford
Scotland MF Michael Fish
No. Position Player
Scotland MF Jamie Hanlon
Scotland MF Martin Reid
Scotland MF Kevin McDonald
Scotland MF Ross McFadden
Scotland MF Mark Gillespie
Scotland MF John Clark
Scotland MF Bryan Mckay
Scotland MF Michael Sutherland
Scotland FW Jamie Stanic
Scotland FW Allan Budge
Scotland FW Stuart Reid

Club officials

Board of directors & technical staff

Role Name
Chairman Spain Diego Gonzalez
Secretary Scotland David Spark
Treasurer Scotland Bryan McCarthy
Manager Scotland David Spark

Honours

Amateur

League

Cups

Club records

Individual awards

Season Player of the Year Players' Player of the Year Golden Boot
2011–12 Scotland Owen Reid Scotland Owen Reid Scotland Owen Reid
2012–13 Scotland John Scullion & John Rae Scotland John Scullion Scotland Jamie Stanic
2013–14 Scotland Jamie Stanic Scotland Jamie Stanic Scotland Jamie Stanic

Kit history

2011-2014 home
2014-15 home
2015- home

Coaches

  • Listed according to when they became coaches of Polmont:
  • 2011–2015 Spain Diego Gonzalez
  • 2015– Scotland David Spark

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2011–2014 Macron Avondale Environmental[2]
2014– Nike
2015– J.S. Haulage

References

  1. ↑ "Stirling & District Afa - League News". Leaguewebsite.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
  2. 1 2 "Avondale communities - Avondale Environmental - Pioneering responsible waste management and renewable energy generation". Avondalelandfill.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
  3. ↑ "Meadowbank Park". Polmont FC. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
  4. ↑ "Falkirk Juniors apply to join league". Falkirk Herald. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
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