Irvine Academicals F.C.
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| Full name | Irvine Academicals Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Acas | |
| Founded | 1902 | |
| Dissolved | 1905 | |
| Secretary | A. P. MacLachlan | |
|
| ||
Irvine Academicals F.C. was a football club from the town of Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland.
The club was formed in late 1902 to provide a pure amateur side in the town, and had no exclusive link with the Irvine Academy; the club secretary, MacLachlan, had been involved with Glasgow University F.C., and it also had interest from Moffat and Fletcher from Queen's Park.[1]
The club had a bright start, beating the Ayr amateur side Ayr Parkhouse 2–1 in its first match,[2] and proved a popular attraction in the town, a good crowd defying the rain to support the side against a Scottish Amateur XI in February 1903.[3]
The club duly joined the Scottish Football Association in August 1903[4] and entered the Scottish Qualifying Cup competition. The club however lost 6–0 at Kilwinning Eglinton in the first round, a result which "was in no way surprising".[5]
Undaunted, the club also entered the Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Football League, which was undertaking its first season in 1903–04, with six entrants. The Acas drew 2–2 with Paisley Academical in a "pleasant" first match,[6] but lost the other 4 matches it played before withdrawing from the competition.[7]
The Acas therefore found succour in the Scottish Amateur Football League,[8] but withdrew after losing its first two matches.[9]
Despite this first season of almost total blanks, it entered the Qualifying Cup again for 1904–05, but scratched when drawn to visit Beith.[10] Indeed, the club does not seem to have played at all in the season[11] and it was struck from the Scottish FA roll in August 1905.[12]