Vale of Leithen F.C.
 | ||
| Full name | Vale of Leithen Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Vale | |
| Founded | 1891 | |
| Ground | Victoria Park, Innerleithen | |
| Capacity | 1,500 | |
| Chairman | Stuart Robertson | |
| Manager | Ian Flynn | |
| League | East of Scotland League Second Division | |
| 2023–24 | East of Scotland League First Division, 15th of 15 (relegated) | |
| Website | http://valeofleithen.co.uk/ | |
|
| ||
Vale of Leithen Football Club are a football club based in the town of Innerleithen, thirty miles south of Edinburgh in Scotland.
They play in the East of Scotland League Second Division, and their home games take place at Victoria Park.
The team's motto is "Keep Faith", and features on their club crest, along with the town's patron saint, St. Ronan.
The home strip features a blue shirt, navy blue shorts and socks with white trim; the away strip is a yellow shirt, with blue trim.
Vale of Leithen should not be confused with the slightly differently named West of Scotland team Vale of Leven.
History
[edit]The club are one of the oldest in the Scottish Borders, having been formed in May 1891, they became full members of the Scottish Football Association in 1897.
The team began playing at Caddon Park under the name of Leithen Vale but after two games subsequently changed to Vale of Leithen Football Club.
The club played their first match in October 1891 against, Gala Harp and recorded a 2-1 victory.
The club’s first honour came in 1898-99 when winning the Border Cup, a competition the team would win on twelve occasions with the last being in the 1953-54 season.
In February 1920, Vale of Leithen took part in the, Scottish FA Cup proper for the first time, travelling to, Hampden Park to play Queen’s Park FC a game that ended in a 3-0 defeat.
In 1922, they moved to their current home, Victoria Park, which has a ground capacity of around 1,500 standing spectators with one covered stand.
The highest recorded attendance being 3,700 in January 1962 for a Second Round Scottish FA Cup tie against Heart of Midlothian FC.
The 1924-25 season saw Vale of Leithen win the, East of Scotland League for the first time, finishing two points ahead of runners-up, Civil Service Strollers, losing only one game in the process.
In August 1974, the ground’s pavilion and changing rooms were completely destroyed by fire causing the loss of the clubs playing equipment and all their historical records over many seasons.
In October 1976 Vale of Leithen beat, Eyemouth United FC 16-0 at Victoria Park in an East of Scotland League fixture, the biggest recorded victory in the club’s history.
Vale of Leithen won the East of Scotland League for the second time under the management of Finlay Watson 1977-78, finishing two points ahead of, Spartans FC.
The 1978-79 season has to date been the club’s most successful with Vale of Leithen declared champions of the East of Scotland Football League ahead of Selkirk FC on goal difference, both sides finished the campaign with forty-two points, winning the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup beating Civil Service Strollers 2-1 in a final played at Tynecastle Park and contesting the final of the Scottish Qualifying Cup but losing 3-2 on aggregate to Gala Fairydean.
Former, Hibernian FC player, Mervyn Jones, assisted by John Smith, saw the club win the East of Scotland League for a fourth time in the 1986-87 season finishing four points ahead of, Kelso United, scoring 114 goals in the process.
The team have reached the Third Round of the Scottish FA Cup on five occasions with the most recent during the 2012-13 season when losing to Cowdenbeath FC at Central Park.
The club were founding members of the Lowland Football League in the 2013–14 season.
Their best finishing position was 6th place in their first campaign, spending nine seasons in the league before being relegated back to the East of Scotland League at the end of the 2021–22 season, and suffering consecutive relegations in the subsequent two seasons.
In March 2023 the club announced the appointment of Ian Flynn as first team manager.
Club Officials
[edit]| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Honorary President | Keith Brown |
| Honorary Vice President | Stanley Clifford |
| Chairman | Stuart Robertson |
| Vice Chairman | Michael Hogarth |
| Treasurer- Disability Advisor | Jim Rainey |
| General Manager | Bobby Craigie |
| Facilities Manager | Brian Ellis |
| Secretary - Club Chaplin | Rob Wilson |
| Committee Member | Allan Forrest |
| Committee Member | John Masson |
| Committee Member | Neil Hutchinson |
| Committee Member | Lesley Culbert |
| Media - Club Website | Jamie McQueen |
Coaching Staff
[edit]- As of 20 October 2024
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| First Team Manager | Ian Flynn |
| Coach | Adam Hill |
| Player - Coach | Gary Mitchell |
Current Squad
[edit]- As of 02 February 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Season-by-Season
[edit]
† Season's curtailed due to coronavirus pandemic.
†† Vale of Leithen FC were given four three-point deductions.
††† Vale of Leithen FC were deducted three points.
Honours
[edit]- East of Scotland Football League
- Winners (4): 1924–25, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1986–87
- East of Scotland Qualifying Cup
- Winners (6) : 1919–20, 1920–21, 1924–25, 1948–49, 1978–79, 1981–82
- Scottish Qualifying Cup (South)
- Winners (5): 1957–58, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1990–91, 1992–93
- East of Scotland (City Cup)
- Winners (1): 1991–92
- King Cup
- Winners (7) : 1921–22, 1936–37, 1955–56, 1959–60, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1991–92[1]
References
[edit]- ^ "King Cup Previous Winners". Retrieved 2 June 2019.