Stevenston United Football Club was a football club from the town of Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland. The club only lasted for a decade, but once reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.
History
The town of Stevenston had not had a senior football club since the demise of Stevenston Thistle F.C. in 1903. Before the start of the 1913–14 season, a number of enthusiasts in the town decided that, given the success of Ardeer Thistle F.C. in the Junior ranks, the town could once more host a senior side, and formed a new club - Stevenston United - and recruited a number of players with Scottish League experience. The new club joined the Scottish Reserve League for the season; the league featured 10 reserve teams, plus the first teams of Renton, Galston, and Dumbarton Harp. The club also entered the Scottish Cup and the Ayrshire Cup.
1913–14 Scottish Cup run
The club's first Scottish Cup tie (the first round of the Qualifying Cup) was at home to Scottish League side Ayr United, and Stevenston pulled off a major shock by winning 1–0, in front of 4,000 at Warner Park; a win that was "quite deserved", the visitors never getting to grips with the smaller ground. A win over Galston and a bye meant the club was guaranteed a place in the first round of the Cup proper, although the club then lost to Albion Rovers in the fourth round of the Qualifying Cup.
In the competition itself, the club won 4–0 at Kirkcaldy United, the "clever and speedy" Ayrshire side's passing game more suited to the heavy conditions than the home side's attempts to dribble through the middle; two goals came from Alex McCurdie, loaned by Kilmarnock F.C. for the competition.
The club's next tie, against Peebles Rovers F.C., was overshadowed by an explosion at the Nobel Explosives Company's works in the town on 20 February, the day before the tie was to take place, in which 8 people were killed. Seven members of the United team were employed at the factory; none was injured, but the club asked the Scottish Football Association for a postponement. The SFA "reluctantly" said that it was too late to do so, and the match had to proceed. The tie therefore went ahead, with a flag at half-mast and players wearing black armbands, and United won through 3–2, having largely dominated the match but failing to take a number of chances.
The win put United into the quarter-finals, and the club was drawn to play Third Lanark at Cathkin Park. The players prepared by undertaking extra work, so that they would be "hard as nails" for the match. The club was not considered to have much of a chance - "they are fated to be snuffed out without receiving the pecuniary reward they so richly deserve...unless the heavens should fall, or some scarcely less untoward catastrophe take place, Third Lanark will surely qualify for the semi-final". However United came away with a 0–0 draw and was considered unlucky not to win.
Third Lanark offered United £300 to switch the replay to Cathkin Park, and later offered to admit all Stevenston spectators for free should it be switched. United refused, but the tie was postponed after Third Lanark's goalkeeper Jimmy Brownlie was called up to play for Scotland against Ireland the next Saturday. When the replay finally took place, United took the lead on the hour, Farrell glancing home a corner, and Hamilton struck a post; but the shock was averted when Thirds equalized with almost the last kick of the game.
The club finally went out in a second replay, at Cathkin Park, with the only goal of the game coming at the start of the second period of extra-time. The consolation for the club was that the gate share had earned the club over £400.
Before World War 1
The club's first season in the Reserve League was fairly successful, finishing 3rd in the final table, but a late defeat to St Mirren's reserve side cost the club the title. This may have been playing on the club's mind in the Ayrshire Cup final against Galston, as the club lost 3–2, having played well below its normal standard.
The club could not repeat its national cup heroics in 1914–15; despite reaching the quarter-finals, the club did not earn an exemption from the Qualifying Tournament, and the club lost in the third qualifying round to Dykehead. However, the start of World War 1 meant the main competition did not take place.
The Ayrshire Cup nevertheless did play to a finish, and United beat Kilmarnock in the final, after a replay at Galston's Riverside Park. The club again finished 3rd in the Reserve League. However, the lack of a national Cup run had a deleterious effect on the club's finances; the club lost £100 7s 1d over the season, with income by a mammoth £911 to £364 10s 6d.