NITHSDALE WANDERERS

Football On This Day (apologies for not publishing yesterday????) 17th January 1931 Goals were certainly in abundance on this day in 1931 in the First Round matches of the Scottish FA Cup. The 32 First Round ties didn’t create a 0-0 draw but did see a total of 198 goals being scored – an average of over 6 goals a match. 

Top scorers were Partick Thistle who were 16-0 winners over Royal Albert, while Ayr United beat Clackmannan 11-2. Over in Dundee 27 goals were scored in two ties -  Dundee United beat Nithsdale Wanderers 14-0 while a goal-kick away at Dens Park Dundee FC defeated Fraserburgh 10-1. Certainly a record-breaking day! 

Nithsdale Wanderers Football Club is a Scottish football club, playing at Lorimer Park, based in Sanguhar in Dumfries and Galloway. The name "Sanquhar" comes from the Scottish Gaelic language Seann Cathair, meaning "old fort". A 15th-century castle ruin overlooks the town, but the name predates even this ancient fort. With its location along the River Nith, Sanquhar has been a major crossroads for centuries. Artifacts have been found there from Neolithic times. The remains of several prehistoric British forts are in the area, as well as traces of a Roman outpost.

In the 1780s, the legendary Scottish poet Robert Burns was a frequent visitor to Sanquhar, when he was renovating a farm in 1788; he often passed through on the way back to his wife, Jean, in Ayrshire. Sanquhar is noted for its tiny post office, established in 1712 and considered the oldest working post office in the world. In November 2019, it was put up for sale at £275,000, including a three-bedroom cottage, a courtyard and some outbuildings. A spokesman said: "Post Office will be working with the local community to try to find a new postmaster to take on the branch and ensure it remains part of the Post Office network and Sanquhar's unique place in postal history is retained."

Nithsdale Wanderers' home ground is Lorimer Park and they currently play in the South of Scotland F.L. It was also the name of a previous club from the town, who were in the Scottish Football League from 1923 to 1927.

Nithsdale Wanderers club was originally formed in 1897 and enjoyed a measure of local success in their early years. The 1920s would see them achieve their highest level of national prominence. The decade began with them moving to a new ground at Cralwick Home In the 1923-4, they were one of the clubs invited to join the Scottish League's new Third Division. This competition would exist only for three seasons and would have terrible economic consequences for many of its clubs; Nithsdale Wanderers were fortunate to thrive, albeit briefly, on their newfound status.

In 1924-5 Wanderers won the Third Division championship, clinching the title with an 8–0 victory over Montrose in the final match of the season. Although they finished comfortably mid-table in their début season in the Second Division, the 1926-7 season saw them finish bottom and they had to seek re-election to the league (by this time Division Three was no more). They were unsuccessful and the brief league career of Nithsdale Wanderers was at an end. They continued to compete in local senior competitions, including the Southern Counties League and the South of Scotland League, and occasionally qualified for the Scottish Cup (suffering a 14–0 defeat against Dundee Utd in the 1930-1 competition).

In 1951, the club dropped down to the junior grades, but continued to struggle, finally going out of existence in 1964. BUT HOLD ON......

After a gap of 37 years, the name of Nithsdale Wanderers was revived when the new club successfully applied for membership of the South of Scotland Football League in 2001. Their biggest impact on the competition to date was finishing in second place in the 2006-7 season. As they are only associate members of the SFA, they are only eligible to compete in the Scottish Cup in the event of them winning the league. The team's home colours are blue and white. 

The modern club in the South of Scotland League was runners-up in 2006-7. The club won the Haig Gordon Memorial Trophy in 2008-9 and won the Wigtownshire & District FA Tweedie Cup 2016-17 and most recently, won the Southern Counties FA Alba Cup in 2021. So there is life in the old dog still.