| Full name | Dunipace Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1879 | |
| Dissolved | 1902 | |
| Ground | Broomhill Farm | |
| Hon. President | Provost Hunter | |
| President | John C. Wright[1] | |
Dunipace Football Club was anassociation football club based in the town ofDenny, inStirlingshire.
The club was founded in 1879[2] out of theTemperance movement; in 1888–89 the club registered its name asDunipace Temperance Association.[3]
It was not a particularly active club, not playing more than 10 matches in a season until 1884–85.[4] It was also not a successful one. Dunipace entered theScottish Cup every season from1881–82 to1902–03 (except for1887–88), but never reached the third round.
The club's best performance came in the1883–84 Scottish Cup, beatingCampsie 2–1 in the first round, and holding the much biggerEast Stirlingshire side (which had 90 members compared to Dunipace's 40)[5] to a 2–2 draw, only losing 2–1 in the home replay.[6]
Dunipace however was a founder member of the Stirlingshire Football Association in December 1883, and played in the firstStirlingshire Cup in 1883–84. Dunipace looked as if it would bring off a shock by taking a 2–0 half-time lead in the first round atKing's Park, but the club had had the benefit of "a perfect gale of wind and sleet", and only 6 of the Dunipace players "faced the elements",[7] so the match was abandoned. TheStirling side won the rescheduled tie 13–0, with Dunipace having kept the score down to 2 in the first half.[8]
Dunipace's best run in the county competition was reaching the semi-final in 1888–89, surviving a "rather unexpected" defeat by one-season wonder Strathcarron Athletic in the first round[9] after Strathcarron was disqualified, and beatingAlva 7–6 in the second round after Alva protested Dunipace's original victory.[10] The run ended with a 5–2 defeat at holders East Stirlingshire, despite Dunipace playing "superior to what was expected" and turning around level at 1–1, who went on to retain the trophy.[11] The same season, the club played in the invitational Stirling Charity Cup, and lost in the semi-final toDunblane atBannockburn.[12]
After theScottish Football Association introduced a qualifying section and then theScottish Qualifying Cup, the club did not reach the first round proper again. Its last fixture in the competition was a 10–1 defeat at home toLochgelly United in 1902;[13] it had not won a tie since beatingGairdoch 4–2 in 1895.[14] The club had already given up on the local competitions, losing 2–1 toCamelon in the first round of the 1901–02 Stirlingshire Cup and not playing in the consolation tournament.
The club's colours were red and white hoops, with white knickers,[15] until 1897, when it changed to maroon and blue.[16]
The club originally played at Broomhill Farm.[17] In 1888–89 it moved to Bankend,[18] and from 1891 to 1892 played at George's Park, near Dunipace Public School.[19]
