Vale of Leithen Football Club are a football club based in the town of Innerleithen, Scotland. They play in the East of Scotland League First Division, and their home games take place at Victoria Park.

Vale of Leithen
Full nameVale of Leithen Football Club
Nickname(s)The Vale
Founded1891
GroundVictoria Park, Innerleithen
Capacity1,500
ChairmanStuart Robertson
ManagerIan Flynn
LeagueEast of Scotland League First Division
2022–23East of Scotland League Premier Division, 16th of 16 (relegated)
WebsiteClub website

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 navy blue socks; the away strip is all-white, with black trim.

Vale of Leithen should not be confused with the slightly differently named West of Scotland team Vale of Leven.

History edit

The club is one of the oldest in the Scottish Borders, having formed in 1891, they became full members of the Scottish Football Association in 1897. The club played at Caddon Park and initially played their first two games as Leithen Vale but subsequently changed their name to Vale of Leithen Football Club. In 1922, they moved to their current home, Victoria Park.

The club were founding members of the Lowland Football League in 2013–14, having previously played in the East of Scotland Football League. 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.

Club Officials edit

Position Name
Honorary President Keith Brown
Honorary Vice President Stanley Clifford
Chairman Stuart Robinson
Vice Chairman / Treasurer Michael Hogarth
General Manager Bobby Craigie
Committee Member Michael Burns
Committee Member Brian Ellis
Committee Member Alan Forrest
Club Chaplin Rob Wilson

Coaching Staff edit

Position Name
Manager Ian Flynn
Coach Greg Lloyd
Coach Barry Burns
Coach Adam Hill

Current squad edit

As of 15 December 2023[1]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   SCO Chris Malcolm
DF   SCO Lewis Bell
DF   SCO Jason Dryden
DF   SCO Nathan Masson
DF   SCO Ross McIntyre
DF   SCO Harris Neillings
DF   POL Michal Tys
DF   SCO Callum Williamson
MF   SCO Craig Brydon
MF   SCO Dean Burgess
MF   SCO Daniel McKinlay
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   SCO Sunny McGarth
MF   SCO Callum Mitchell
MF   SCO Gary Mitchell
MF   SCO Ross Nicholson
MF   SCO Cammy Smith
FW   SCO Louis Baigan
FW   SCO James Flynn
FW   SCO Kyle Mitchell
FW   BUL Slav Stoyanov
FW   SCO Daniel Taylor

Season-by-Season Record edit

Season Division Position Played Wins Draws Losses GD Points Scottish Cup
2013/14 Lowland League 6th 22 11 3 8 −2 36 First Round, losing to Brora Rangers
2014/15 Lowland League 9th 26 9 6 11 −14 33 Preliminary Round, losing to Gala Fairydean Rovers
2015/16 Lowland League 13th 28 7 5 16 −29 26 Preliminary Round One, losing to Wigtown & Bladnoch
2016/17 Lowland League 13th 30 11 4 15 −14 37 First Round, losing to East Kilbride
2017/18 Lowland League 15th 30 8 5 17 −32 29 First Round, losing to Spartans
2018/19 Lowland League 13th 28 8 5 15 −31 29 First Round, losing to Gretna 2008
2019/20 Lowland League 16th† 23 2 2 19 −71 8 First Round, losing to Fort William
2020/21 Lowland League 17th† 12 0 0 12 −53 0 Preliminary Round Two, losing to Banks O' Dee
2021/22 Lowland League 18th 34 1 2 31 −156 5 First Round, losing to Brechin City
2022/23 East of Scotland League Premier Division 16th 30 2 0 28 −115 0 Preliminary Round, losing to Dunbar United
2023/24 East of Scotland League First Division

† Season's curtailed due to coronavirus pandemic.

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[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Squad – Vale of Leithen FC".
  2. ^ "King Cup Previous Winners". Retrieved 2 June 2019.

External links edit

55°37′12″N 3°03′52″W / 55.61996°N 3.064402°W / 55.61996; -3.064402