The History of Newtongrange Star
1959/60
Back: W. Durie, D. Kidd, G. Malcolm, F. McGillvray, J. Davidson, C. Rodden
Front: A. Slater, J. Slater, J. Martin, J. Hunter, S. Smith
The player in the window is 'Kiddo Paterson'
STORY OF THE SEASON
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    Following the success of 58/9, hopes were high for a repeat performance in 1959/60. It was not to be. Locals rivals Loanhead Mayflower won the Mid / East Division title finishing 4 points ahead of Dalkeith Thistle. Star were in fourth place, six points off top spot. Loanhead went on to lift the overall championship overturning a4-1 defeat at West Calder in the First Leg with a 4-0 home win.

    Inconsistency was Star’s problem in the early part of the season. It wasn’t until October that they settled into a good run, but by then they were trailing with ground to make up. And just when it seemed they might be able to challenge the leaders the form slipped away again – ending the season with two defeats to Loanhead Mayflower and Haddington Athletic. The latter game was the last of the season and Star lost 2-1, with their goal scored by a provisional signing from Edinburgh Norton called Terry Christie – he would play a big part in Star’s history in later years.

    It proved to be a blank season in terms of trophies. West Calder were enjoying their best season ever and came to Victoria Park in the Scottish Junior Cup and won 5-1. In the East of Scotland Cup Star defeated Haddington Athletic but then went out to Dunbar. The Lanark and Lothians Cup was a new competition with the First Round played on a Home and Away basis. Star were drawn against Douglasdale, winning 4-0 in the first leg in Lanarkshire and 7-2 at home. The second round meant a trip to Shotts where Star won 6-4, with Martin scoring a hat trick. Star then lost in Round 3 at Tranent.

    In the St Michael, Brown, RL Rae and Murray Cups Star failed to get beyond the Second Round stage. The St Michael Cup tie was at home to Linlithgow Rose with Star losing 3-2. The match was most notable because the referee (DW Spiers of Uphall) dismissed the Linlithgow Rose linesman, accusing him of bias.

    Several players made a decent impact in the course of the season. Possibly the most notable was Finlay McGillvray, a versatile and athletic performer who was signed up by Third Lanark, and later played for Rangers, St Johnstone and Bradford before eventually returning to Star at the end of his career.

    By the end of the season attendances had dropped of to a worrying extent. Junior football no longer had the captive audience that it once had. More people had the money to be able to travel to Tynecastle, Easter Road and to Glasgow, and other forms of entertainment were becoming more popular. Star were about to enter one of he most difficult periods in their history.

    Source: Newtongrange Star FC match programme [17-Jan-2009]
EDINBURGH & DISTRICT LEAGUE MID/EAST DIVISION
Pld W D L F A Pts
Loanhead Mayflower 24 17 1 6 35
Dalkeith Thistle 24 13 5 6 31
Haddington Athletic 24 11 8 5 30
Newtongrange Star 24 12 5 7 29
Dunbar United 24 11 5 8 27
Musselburgh Athletic 24 11 5 8 27
Arniston Rangers 24 10 6 8 26
Bonnyrigg Rose 24 8 4 12 20
Preston Athletic 24 8 3 13 19
Ormiston Primrose 24 7 5 12 19
Easthouses Lily 24 7 4 13 18
Tranent Juniors 24 7 2 15 16
Penicuik Athletic 24 6 3 15 15
Opponents Venue F A Scorers Team Info
Arniston Rangers H 2 1 ?
A 2 2 Martin 2
Bonnyrigg Rose H 0 1
A 3 2 Martin 3
Dalkeith Thistle H 2 3 Watson, Hunter
A 8 1 ?
Dunbar United H 3 0 ?
A 4 2 ?
Easthouses Lily H 7 1 ?
A 2 0 Martin, Smith
Haddington Athletic H 1 2 Christie
A 3 4 ?
Loanhead Mayflower H 0 1
A 1 2 ?
Musselburgh Athletic H 5 0 ?
A 3 3 ?
Ormiston Primrose H 1 1 ?
A 4 2
Penicuik Athletic H 0 0
A 1 5 ?
Preston Athletic H 2 2 OG, Martin
A 2 0 ?
Tranent Juniors H 3 2 ?
A 3 2 ?
SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H West Calder United 1 5 A. Slater Malcolm, Kidd, McGillvray, Durie, Davidson, Smith, Hunter, J. Slater, A. Slater, Rodden, Young.
LANARK & LOTHIANS CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Douglasdale 3 0 ?
H Douglasdale 7 2 ?
(Aggregate) 10 2
2 A Shotts Bon Accord 6 4 Martin 3, Young, McGillvary, Hunter Malcolm, Durie, Kidd, Rodden, Davidson, Smith, McGillivray, Slater, Martin, Hunter, Young.
3 A Tranent Juniors 1 3 ?
EAST OF SCOTLAND CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Haddington Athletic 2 1 ?
2 H Dunbar United L L
ST MICHAELS CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Linlithgow Rose 2 3 Docherty, McGillivray Malcolm, Kidd, McGillvray, Martin, Davidson, Rodden, Docherty, J. Slater, A. Slater, Hunter, Young.
BROWN CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Arniston Rangers 3 0 ?
2 A Broxburn Athletic 2 4 McGillvray, Slater D. Young, Durie, Kidd, Rodden, Davidson, Smith, McGillvray, Slater, Martin, Hunter, H. Young.
R L RAE CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Whitburn Juniors 1 3 H. Young D. Young, Kidd, McGillvray, Durie, Davidson, Rodden, Bogie, Slater, Martin, Hunter, H. Young.
MURRAY CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Armadale Thistle 1 5 H. Young D. Young, Kidd, McGillvray, Rodgers, Durie, Rodden, Bogie, Allan, Martin, Hunter, H. Young.