Latest news with #EastKilbride
The Courier
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
St Johnstone to kick off 2025/26 season away from home as Premier Sports Cup fixtures revealed
St Johnstone will kick off their 2025/26 campaign with a trip to face SPFL new boys East Kilbride. Saints' primary aim for the new season is to secure promotion back to the Premiership, having fallen out of the top flight for the first time in 16 years. However, before their tilt at the Championship can begin, they will warm up with four Premier Sports Cup group stage games. And the dates and times for each of Saints' 'Group F' clashes have now been confirmed. The Perth side will begin their cup run with with a trip to face SPFL newcomers East Kilbride, who are preparing for their maiden season in League Two, having defeated Bonnyrigg Rose in last season's pyramid play-off. Another away match follows, with Inverness Caley Thistle hosting Simo Valakari's side, before a home double-header against Championship rivals Raith Rovers – from whom Saints have snapped up striker Jamie Gullan – and Elgin City. East Kilbride (A) Sat, July 12, 3pm Inverness CT (A) Sat, July 19, 3pm Raith Rovers (H) Tue, July 22, 7:45pm Elgin City (H) Sat, July 26, 3pm
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
East Kilbride boxer David Jamieson to rebuild after bruising Hydro defeat
The Westwood fighter suffered a third-round KO against Aloys Jnr David Jamieson will rebuild after Aloys Junior stunned a packed Hydro crowd with a devastating third-round KO against the East Kilbride boxer on Saturday. The pair went head-to-head for the WBA Continental cruiserweight title at the Glasgow venue, on the undercard of the Josh Taylor v Ekow Essuman bout. Jamieson was flattened in the third round, and The Real Deal was conscious, but struggling to move. Medics attended, but Jamieson was sat up after what was a crushing blow, and was later given the all-clear in hospital. He said: 'I'll take a bit of time, me and my wife will get away for a bit of sun, relax, and then come back and I'll look at things, see where we go. 'That's the game. We're all big boys – somebody's got to win, somebody has to lose, so I've been on both sides of the coin. You just need to dust yourself off and get on with it. 'It's now just a case of seeing what's next. It's a tough one at this stage. 'It's probably just a case of going away to reset, then come back. We would need to be rebuilding on the small hall shows again, and build yourself back up into title contention .' Jamieson says Aloys Jnr was the strongest fighter he has come up against, but the Hydro experience was still a good one, and has been grateful for an outpouring of support since. The experienced boxer said: 'He's an exceptional fighter. We knew he was a good lad, but serious power. Mikael Lawal was a big puncher, but Aloys was definitely the biggest. 'I've been doing this a long time and I could go into it, but there were a couple of shots behind the head. I protested to the referee, who wasn't really hearing it – but I never really recovered from those. 'Even since the fight, the outpouring of support has been mad, it has been great, everybody has been amazing. 'Walking out in front of a packed Hydro was a special occasion, the fans were very vocal and right behind me – if you could have bottled that it would be amazing.' Junior landed 24 punches and 25 jabs in a dominant display against Jamieson, and will now look beyond Commonwealth after retaining the belt. The fight began at a good pace, with Junior looking to line up the right hook that has made his name in boxing. He left his mark on Jamieson in the first round, landing a body shot and one to the head, dropping the home boxer to a knee. Jamieson beat the count comfortably and complained of a shot to the back of the head, but the referee wasn't interested. The Scot came back into the fight in the second round, forcing Junior onto the defensive, but a slamming body shot again dropped Jamieson to his knees. Jamieson was already struggling, before Junior hit him with a thunderous right hook to end the fight. Jamieson has been thoroughly backed by Kynoch Boxing Scotland, who said: 'David Jamieson ran into a serious talent in the form of Alloys Youmbi at the OVO Hydro. 'David had a nightmare start – being caught with two shots to the back of the head, and taking an eight-count. 'He didn't get going again after this, but showed the heart of a warrior, as always. 'Aloys put in an excellent performance – we wish him and his team all the best, going forward. He looks destined to go on to world level. 'David went to the hospital after the fight and was given the all-clear. 'David is a gentleman and held in high regard by everyone in boxing. 'He displayed once again that he will not back down from a challenge, and will always give it 100 per cent. We're proud to represent him.'
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
East Kilbride Rugby coach wants 'culture change' at club as he eyes promotion charge
Franklin Clark is keen to change behaviour that he says has cost the team East Kilbride Rugby Club boss Franklin Clark says changing the culture at the club can have them challenging for the West League 1 title next season. Clark says their summer rebuilding programme will be crucial to that, but he first has to convince existing players to stay on, while blending that with an emerging crop of youngsters. The Torrance House gaffer reckons he needs 'two or three' experienced players in key positions to give him a squad that's capable of striving for National League rugby. But things will first have to change. Clark said: 'We're looking to win the title or get promoted next season. 'We're looking to recruit fairly strongly, and we're looking to improve the culture within the club. 'The culture within the playing squad has not been quite what I wanted this season, and we've spoken about it with the other coaches and the players. 'We're keen to change some of the behaviours that have had a negative effect on us at particularly critical times. 'We've been fairly clear about that, and I think if we manage to do that successfully, we should be challenging up at the top end of the league. 'The summer is very important, because we need to make sure not only do we recruit new players, but we retain players as well. 'That's always an issue, some players get a bit frustrated if they've been playing in West 1 for a few seasons and think 'I want to play higher up with East Kilbride, but if they're not getting promoted, I need to go somewhere else to play a higher level of rugby'. 'No matter what club I've been at, it has always been an issue, trying to convince people, unless you're getting promoted. 'That's one of the challenges of being a coach, and that's my job.' Clark's side finished fifth in West Region One this season, just behind local rivals Strathaven on points difference, while also reaching the final of the National Shield, where they lost to Lenzie. To build on that, Clark knows some strength in depth will be required but has revealed he will be without one key man for next season's promotion push for the National Leagues. Clark added: 'I think we need two or three, maybe, players in key positions, and retain the ones that we've got. 'There is at least one guy who has already intimated that he wants to retire – Mark Ellison – so we need to replace him. 'Mark is hoping to stay on at the club in some sort of coaching capacity, which I've asked him to do as well, so that's quite good. 'With young guys coming in, hopefully we can blend them in with some experienced East Kilbride guys and some experienced guys we can recruit from elsewhere. '
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Premier Sports Cup group stage draw in FULL as first competitive clashes of 2025/26 season mapped out
Seven Premiership clubs are entering the competition at this early stage UP FOR THE CUP UP FOR THE CUP Premier Sports Cup group stage draw in FULL as first competitive clashes of 2025/26 season mapped out THE curtain has only literally come down on the Scottish football season. But the early part of NEXT season has already been mapped out by the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw. 3 Celtic are the holders of the Premier Sports Cup Credit: Getty 3 Derek McInnes' first competitive Hearts games will take place in the competition Credit: PA 3 East Kilbride and Mick Kennedy will get an early season taste of SPFL opposition Credit: Michael Schofield, News Group Newspapers Ltd As has now become the norm, the coveted competition kicks-off in mid-July. That means an early start to the campaign for several of the Scottish Premiership's big hitters. The five top flight clubs playing in Europe won't enter until the next round, but for the other seven they'll get underway right from the off. Derek McInnes' career as Hearts boss will get underway in the Premier Sports Cup, with his first competitive game in charge taking place in this competition. St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Motherwell are also among the clubs entering here. SPFL newcomers East Kilbride will test themselves against some higher level opposition, while Highland League champions will face TWO top flight clubs in their group. Here's the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw in full. What teams have been drawn to face each other in the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw? Group A: Falkirk, Queen's Park, Cove Rangers, The Spartans, Brechin City Group B: Ross County, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South, Edinburgh City, Stranraer Group C: Dundee, Airdrieonians, Alloa Athletic, Montrose, Bonnyrigg Rose Group D: St Mirren, Ayr United, Arbroath, Annan Athletic, Forfar Athletic Group E: Hearts, Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton Academical, Dumbarton, Stirling Albion Group F: St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Inverness CT, Elgin City, East Kilbride Group G: Motherwell, Greenock Morton, Stenhousemuir, Peterhead, Clyde Group H: Kilmarnock, Livingston, Kelty Hearts, East Fife, Brora Rangers How does the Premier Sports Cup group stage work? 40 teams are taking part in the group stage The clubs have been drawn into eight groups of five teams from seeded pots one to five All SPFL clubs take part in the group stage apart from the five Premiership clubs competing in European competition (Celtic, Rangers, Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen) Bonnyrigg Rose, who were relegated out of the SPFL last season via the play-offs, are taking part as well as the top two teams from the Highland League, Brora Rangers and Brechin City Each team will play their group opponents once, with two games at home and two games away All eight group winners will progress to the second round The three best-runners up will also advance to the second round with all other clubs eliminated from the competition As always, three points are awarded for a win and a point for a draw - but matches ending in a draw will see the teams take part in a penalty shoot-out with a bonus point awarded to the winners When does the Premier Sports Cup group stage take place? The first matchday will take place across the weekend of July 12/13 This will be followed by matches on the midweek of July 15/16, weekend of July 19/20 and the midweek of July 22/23 The final round of matches will he be held on the weekend of July 26/27 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
East Kilbride's potential is 'massive' says goals hero as he eyes League Two progress
Cami Elliott hopes to be sticking around as Kilby start life in the SPFL next season East Kilbride hero Cami Elliott reckons the club's potential is 'massive' now they have finally reached the SPFL. The Lowland League champions defeated Bonnyrigg Rose 3-1 on aggregate in the League Two play-off final last week to earn promotion to the professional ranks for the first time in their history. It opens the door for the club to keep climbing the leagues and they will be setting their sights on winning promotion from League Two next season. Elliott bagged a brace in the first leg against Bonnyrigg and is hoping he will be sticking around for the journey in the SPFL in what is his second spell at K-Park. He said: 'It feels brilliant to get the club up. I was here for a year-and-a-half the first time and we never managed to get up and it was so frustrating. 'We invested so much into last time and it is such a relief to get up this time and know we will be playing in the leagues [SPFL] next season. 'So this moment is for everybody in East Kilbride. 'And I really feel this club can go so massive, so quickly now. 'East Kilbride is such a big town so hopefully we can keep being successful and the fan base can keep growing as well. 'I haven't spoken to the club about next season. Before the play-offs a lot of us weren't sure about our futures – even Mick [Kennedy] and Si [Ferry, the management team]. 'But I think what we have achieved is massive and hopefully I'll be here to go again next season. 'I am glad to do this for everyone at the club and in the town.' Elliott's double and Jordan McGregor's strike helped EK earn a 3-1 first leg win at K-Park and Kilby's top scorer this season with an impressive 41 goals said they always believed the home tie would be the pivotal game. The 25-year-old said: 'We always knew it would be about doing a good job in the home game because we knew how hard the second leg would be on their pitch. 'We set up well and that is the first clean sheet we've kept in a while so it was good. 'Everybody dug in to get us the result we needed. Bonnyrigg never really looked like scoring so it was a good game plan from us to get over the line.' East Kilbride will learn their League Two fixtures for next season when the 2025/26 schedule is released on June 20.
