Beith Juniors (Scotland)

Beith Juniors FC is a Scottish football club who were formed in 1938 and hails from the small town of Beith, which is located in North Ayrshire's Garnock Valley, which is around twenty miles south west of Glasgow.

The current club are the successor to Beith FC, who were formed in 1875. The original club won many regional honours as well as the Scottish Qualifying Cup in 1927-28. 'The Cabinet Makers', as the club was nicknamed, became members of the Scottish League Third Division for the 1923-24 season.

They lasted there for three seasons before dropping down into the Scottish Football Alliance. In 1938, the club opted to change to the Junior ranks. 'The Mighty' or 'The Cabes', as the new club was initially nicknamed, started out life in the Western League, while continuing to play at Bellsdale Park. 

Over the years, The Mighty have collected many regional honours, including the Ayrshire League in 1964-65 and 1968-69 to go alongside lifting the Ayrshire Cup nine times up to 2004 and the West of Scotland Cup in 1965-66, 1966-67 and 2008-09.

The former Chelsea and Scotland full-back and West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke started out his career at Beith Juniors before being spotted by St Mirren. Other prominent players who have graced the Bellsdale Park turf include Ken Armstrong, Martin Canning and Stephen Watson.

Dennis Gray was appointed manager in 1990, overseeing success before being replaced by Dick Brock in 1995, who was succeeded by Frank Lynch for the start of the 1996-97 campaign. In 1998, Neil Muggins had a season in charge of the side before the appointment of new manager Sandy McLean.

Brian Stevenson was the next man in the boss's seat for the 2002-13 season, before Gray returned for a second spell in charge. The Cabes finished as runners-up in the West of Scotland Super League Division One in 2006-07 before John Millar stepped up from the assistant's role to take charge of the team.

His side was crowned the Premier Division champions in 2009-10. This led to Beith being entered into the Scottish Cup for the following season. Linlithgow Rose and then Glasgow University were defeated, leading to an away tie to Airdrie United in round three.

In the clash at New Broomfield, Beith led 2-0 with just ten minutes remaining. However, they were reduced to ten men, which led to the league club drawing level in injury time. Airdrie went on to win the replay 4-3 at Bellsdale Park.

Stevie Easton was given the manager's job in the summer of 2011, departing after a poor start to the 2012-13 campaign. Lynch tried to steady the ship in a third spell at the helm before Millar returned in April 2013.

He couldn't save the side from relegation at the end of the season. The side bounced back at the first attempt and consolidated their position. Beith lifted the Junior Cup in 2015-16, beating Pollok in the final on penalties after a 1-1 draw, with Darren Christie scoring for the Cabes.

The team finished third in the league in 2016-17, before being crowned champions in 2017-18. The club became a member of the West Region Premiership for its final two seasons. Like all other member clubs, Beith joined the SFA, West of Scotland League, where they were placed in the Premier Division. 

Millar departed in January 2020 to be replaced by Bryan Young. In May 2022, Colin Strain was appointed as manager, who led the team to the West of Scotland League title in 2022-23. However, because Beith didn't have their FA license, they could not compete for a place in the fifth-tier Lowland League.

The club retained their league title but was once again unable to challenge for promotion through the playoffs. Strain resigned in March 2025 to be replaced by Mick Dunlop.

Beith Juniors FC will compete in the West of Scotland League Premier Division in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Monday 30th September 2013

It was originally my intention to visit Beith Juniors the previous day during my trip to Glasgow and its surrounding districts as I was to watch the team play in the final of the Ayrshire Sectional League Cup that afternoon at Troon. 

Unfortunately, I got mixed up by the bus timetable while calling in at the clubs' bitter rivals, Kilbirnie Ladeside, thus missing the bus and delaying my plans. Instead, I got up early on the Bank Holiday Monday and walked into the centre of Glasgow from my hotel on the city's Springfield Quay and made up for missing out. 

The excellent express bus service, which was covered by my Daytripper ticket for £11.20, which turned out to be a bargain for the miles I covered. The bus was soon whizzing down to the Garnock Valley and into the picturesque town of Beith. I must have been captivated as I alighted and left my woollen Scarborough Athletic hat on board.

I had got off at the correct stop and was soon walking down the large grass bank towards Bellsdale Park. Even though the arena was closed, I managed to gain access to all the areas I required to take some decent photos.

The pitch had a huge slope from one end to the other, which I imagined to be a huge home advantage. The actual ground was small, compact and neat, and in the true traditions of Junior football, it lacked floodlights and unnecessary seating areas. The far side had two covers, with the main side just one and the clubhouse. 

It appeared that the players changed at the recently built structure in the corner of the ground, which also served as an artificial pitch at the bottom of the slope. Both ends were slightly curved away from the goal and had a small area of hard standing backed by grass. After taking my images, I wandered back up the hill to have a wander about as I still had twenty minutes or so to kill before my next bus. 

The town seemed to have plenty of tradition. A group of older gents chatted away by the green. Two pensioners, a man and a woman, discussed the previous day's cup final defeat against Cumnock. The lady said that she'd heard that there'd been a big crowd and that the team had been unlucky.

I had to giggle at the local butcher being called Stalker. Surely a dark name for someone who chops up meat for a living? A pub window advertised a weekly magazine called The Juniors. I called in at the newsagents opposite, who gladly sold me a copy that had arrived just an hour earlier. It turned out to be a fine publication and one I'd recommend to anyone visiting up north to broaden their knowledge of the grassroots game.

Eventually, my bus arrived and I was on my way to Dalry. There was something I really liked about Beith. Unlikely though it is, because I've so many places to visit, I wouldn't mind another go and a game at Bellsdale Park.