Plains Football Club was an association football club from the village of Plains, Lanarkshire.
| Full name | Plains F.C. | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1885 | |
| Dissolved | 1891 | |
| Ground | Mossfield Park | |
| Hon. Secretary | Thomas Hamilton[1] | |
| Match Secretary | A. Brown | |
|
| ||
History
editPlains F.C. was the second senior club to come from the village, after Plains Blue Bell, which had become defunct by mid-1884. The club's first match was in March 1885, a 3–2 win at home to Armadale,[2] and its first competitive football came in the Lanarkshire Cup in 1885–86. Plains lost 4–0 at Dykehead in the second round; the match was marred by a broken leg to Dykehead's Williams,[3] although Plains were not so sympathetic, protesting in vain about the darkness and an offside decision - and that Williams (an ironmoulder from Glasgow) was ineligible to play.[4]
The club was struggling for finances in 1887, with a small membership and heavy ground rent,[5] and one solution was to join the Scottish Football Association and hope for lucrative Scottish Cup ties. The club duly joined in August 1887,[6] and did enjoy some luck in the draw in the 1887–88 Scottish Cup. The club's first round opponent, Tollcross, scratched, despite being expected to beat Plains,[7] and the club drew a bye in the second round.
In the third round, however, the club was drawn to visit Vale of Leven Wanderers, having its best-ever season after recruiting players from Vale of Leven.[8] A one-sided contest went the way of the Dumbartonshire side 9–0.[9]
Plains did not renew its Scottish FA subscription for 1888–89,[10] and indeed did not play again until re-joining the Lanarkshire Association for the 1890–91 season.[11] The club's last match of any note was a 6–0 defeat at Royal Albert in the Coatbridge Express club (for those eliminated from the Lanarkshire Cup) in March 1891,[12] and Plains finally gave up the ghost at the end of the season.[13]
Colours
editThe club played in a unique combination of navy, red, and brown.[14]
Ground
editPlains' home ground was called Mossfield Park.[15]
References
edit- ^ "advert". Airdrie Advertiser: 1. 15 August 1885.
- ^ "Plains v Armadale". Lanarkshire Upper Ward Examiner: 6. 28 March 1885. Refers to Plains being a "new organisation", so a distinct entity to Plains Blue Bell.
- ^ "Accident on the football pitch". Rutherglen Reformer: 8. 25 December 1885.
- ^ "Lanarkshire Cup - Second Round". Rutherglen Reformer: 7. 25 December 1885.
- ^ "Plains Football Club". Lanarkshire Upper Ward Examiner: 6. 21 May 1887.
- ^ Scottish FA Minutes 1884–87. Glasgow: Scottish Football Association. 23 August 1887.
- ^ "Notes by Athlete". Coatbridge Express: 4. 7 September 1887.
- ^ "Notes from the West". Courier & Argus: 4. 16 December 1887.
- ^ "Football". Stirling Observer: 9. 20 October 1887.
- ^ Scottish FA Minutes 1887–90. Glasgow: Scottish Football Association. 21 August 1888. p. 55.
- ^ "Lanarkshire Football Association". Lanarkshire Upper Ward Examiner: 6. 31 May 1890.
- ^ "Football notes". Airdrie Advertiser: 6. 4 April 1891.
- ^ "Football notes". Coatbridge Express: 4. 13 May 1891.
- ^ M'Dowall, John (1887). Scottish Football Annual 1887–88. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 59.
- ^ M'Dowall, John (1887). Scottish Football Annual 1887–88. Glasgow: Hay Nisbet. p. 59.