| Full name | Alclutha Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1872 | |
| Dissolved | 1888 | |
| Ground | Barloan Toll, Dumbarton | |
| Hon. Secretary | Alex. Kennedy Jr | |
| President | Archibald Paton,[1] M. McCallum[2] | |
Alclutha Football Club was afootball club based inDumbarton, Scotland. From 1883 the club was calledDunbritton Football Club.[3][4]
The name Alclutha derives from theScots Gaelic name for the town,[5] and means "rock of the Clyde". Dunbritton is an old form of Dumbarton, meaning "Britons' fort".
Dunbartonshire was a hotbed of the game in the early years of organised football in Scotland, with the county's three leading clubs of the era,Dumbarton,Renton andVale of Leven all forming in 1872, emerging out of shinty clubs in local factories who were turned to the association game by the influence ofQueen's Park.[6]
Alclutha was formed in the same year, but did not have the same factory backing. It was therefore always in the shadow of the otherDunbartonshire clubs; indeed, it issued a series of challenges to Dumbarton F.C. in early 1875, none of which was answered, "they evidently thinking of themselves far above us...that it was not worth their while wasting time on us."[7] Although it entered theScottish Cup consistently from1875–76 to1887–88, it only won one of its 12 matches in the competition.
The club's first match in the competition was arguably the club's best performance. Drawn at home to Renton, the lighter Alclutha side dominated the first half, despite kicking into the wind, and only conceded a winner in the 85th minute, after a stray pass from one of the backs allowed the heavier Renton forwards to force the ball home.[8]
The club was competitive in the 1870s, with goalkeeper Fraser being chosen for the Dunbartonshire representative side in 1876, despite both Renton and Vale of Leven having been Scottish Cup finalists.[9] However the club's lack of backing ensured it could never develop into a permanently strong club. As early as 1877 the club noted that its best players were being enticed by other sides,[10] and in 1878, its best-ever player,James McAulay, was poached by Dumbarton in 1878 after he had impressed playing as a back in the 6–0 Cup defeat by Vale of Leven.[11]
After eight consecutive first round defeats in the Cup, the club's change of name to Dunbritton - the name having been used before, for a club which played on public parkland[12] - brought an instant change of luck. In the1883–84 tournament, the club was drawn to playVale of Leven Wanderers atAlexandria, and obtained a draw;[13] even better, the club won the replay 4–0, for its only ever competitive victory.
However, after losing toJamestown in the second round by 7–1, the club barely played. It entered the Scottish Cup for the next three seasons but withdrew every time; theDumbartonshire Cup competition started in 1884–85 and the club entered for the first two seasons, but again withdrew before playing a match.[14]
The club's final match appears to have been a 10–2 Scottish Cup defeat at Dumbarton in 1887,[15] and the club was struck from the Scottish FA register in 1888.[16] The Alclutha name was revived for an exhibition match between former players at Dumbarton'sBoghead Park in 1893.[17]
The club originally wore dark blue shirts with white knickerbockers/shorts[18] and red hose.[19] In 1878 the club changed to all navy blue,[20] and in 1881 re-adopted white knickers, but retained the navy stockings.[21] This remained the club's outfit until its demise.
The club played on a pitch near Barloan Toll in Dumbarton until 1880.[22] After then it moved to Woodyard Park.[23]
