The History of Newtongrange Star
1958/59
STORY OF THE SEASON
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    Star were stung by their poor performance in 1957/8 and steps were taken to turn things around for 58/9.

    And what a turnaround it was – Star cruised to the title in the Mid/East Division and then defeated Bo’ness United 9-2 on aggregate in the play off for the overall championship. One particularly impressive result was a 10-3 home win over Tranent, with Hunter (3), Watson (3), Burns (2), Young and Harkes on target. Contemporary reports were effusive in their praise for Watson, who controlled the midfield and demoralised the Tranent defence.

    Star also won the East of Scotland Cup after a great run. Preston Athletic, Linlithgow Rose, Fauldhouse United and Haddington Athletic were swept aside on the way to a Final clash with Mussleburgh Athletic at Easter Road. Star won it 5-3 – Hunter and Young had doubles with Slater scoring the other goal in a match played at Easter Road.

    The only disappointing aspect of the season was an early exit from the Scottish Junior Cup. Following a 1-0 win at Greenhead Park against Alva Albion Rangers, Star were drawn away to Arniston Rangers and lost 1-0. However, the result did allow Star to focus on winning the vital league games ahead.

    The other local Cups saw relatively early exits. Worthy of note were the performances of West Calder United who lifted both the Thornton Shield and Murray Cups, as well as finishing second to Bo’ness in the West Section of the League.

    Source: Newtongrange Star FC match programme [20-Dec-2008]
EDINBURGH & DISTRICT LEAGUE MID/EAST DIVISION
Pld W D L F A Pts
Newtongrange Star 24 16 2 6 74 49 34
Preston Athletic 24 11 5 8 61 60 27
Arniston Rangers 23 12 2 9 60 48 26
Bonnyrigg Rose 23 11 4 8 48 47 26
Dalkeith Thistle 24 10 3 11 43 47 23
Tranent Juniors 20 9 4 7 53 49 22
Dunbar United 22 8 6 8 62 56 22
Penicuik Athletic 22 9 4 9 39 39 22
Easthouses Lily 23 8 6 9 46 53 22
Haddington Athletic 20 9 3 8 43 33 21
Musselburgh Athletic 23 9 3 11 48 52 21
Ormiston Primrose 23 9 3 11 56 60 21
Loanhead Mayflower 23 3 1 19 38 77 7
Opponents Venue F A Scorers Team Info
Arniston Rangers H
A 2 3 A. Slater, J. Slater
Bonnyrigg Rose H 3 1 Harkes, Cunningham, Slater
A 2 1 Cunningham, H. Young
Dalkeith Thistle H
A 3 2 ?
Dunbar United H 5 2 H. Young, A. Slater, Docherty, Hunter, McGillvray
A 1 4 ?
Easthouses Lily H 5 1 ?
A 5 1 Hunter 2, A. Slater 2, J. Slater
Haddington Athletic H 3 1 A. Slater, J. Slater, H. Young
A 1 2 ?
Loanhead Mayflower H
A 5 2 McGreavey 2, Martin, A. Slater
Musselburgh Athletic H 3 1 J. Slater 2, McGillvray
A 1 1 ?
Ormiston Primrose H 0 4
A 5 3 Rodden, McGillvray, H. Young, Cunningham, Slater
Penicuik Athletic H 2 2 Slater 2
A
Preston Athletic H 3 1 A. Slater 2, Cunningham
A 3 1 Slater, Docherty, McGillvray
Tranent Juniors H 10 3 Hunter 3, Watson 3, Burns 2, H. Young, Harkes
A 5 2 Hunter 2, H. Young, Slater, McGillvray
EDINBURGH & DISTRICT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF
Mid/East Division winners v West Division winners
Round Venue Opponents F A Scorers Team Info
1st Leg H Bo'ness United 5 1 Hunter 2, J. Slater, A. Slater, ?
2nd Leg A Bo'ness United 4 1 A. Slater 2, H. Young, Hunter
(Aggregate) 9 2
SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Alva Albion Rangers 1 0 ?
2 Bye
3 A Arniston Rangers 1 2 Slater
THORNTON SHIELD
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 ? Penicuik Athletic 1 2 ?
EAST OF SCOTLAND CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Preston Athletic 4 0 Cunningham, Slater 2, Martin
2 A Linlithgow Rose 4 3 H. Young 2, Docherty, Cunningham
QF A Fauldhouse United 6 4 ?
SF N Haddington Athletic 3 2 A. Slater, J. Slater, H. Young
F N Musselburgh Athletic 5 3 Hunter 2, H. Young 2, A. Slater
ST MICHAELS CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Dunbar United 0 2
BROWN CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Tranent Juniors 1 3 A. Slater
MURRAY CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Alva Albion Rangers 8 2 Cunningham 4, H. Young 2, Slater, Martin
2 H Musselburgh Athletic 0 1
SQUAD
  • D. Young
  • W. Durie
  • F. McGillvray
  • J. Martin
  • J. Davidson
  • C. Rodden
  • J. Slater
  • A. Slater
  • G. Cunningham
  • H. Young
  • G. Drysdale
  • J. Hunter
  • J. Hill
  • G. Burns
  • A. Harkes
  • R. Rogers