East Kilbride win the games, Ajax supply the beers
They’ve received congratulatory emails from a US reality TV star, praise and support from a Hollywood actor, and 27 cases of beer from one of Europe’s most storied football teams.
Players from tiny Glasgow club East Kilbride are the talk of the Scottish game — and beyond — thanks to a 27- match winning run that the club says is “creating history”.
Ajax holds the world record for consecutive victories at 26, achieved in the Dutch top flight during 1971- 72 with a team including Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens. Officially, East Kilbride haven’t broken that record since they play in Scotland’s fifth tier but Ajax didn’t see it that way.
After the final whistle went on East Kilbride’s 27th straight win in the Lowland League, an Ajax- branded van was driven on to the field at the club’s K- Park ground and the crates of beer were revealed behind its sliding side door.
Also inside was a congratulatory video message from Edwin van der Sar, the former Ajax goalkeeper and a current director at the club.
“It was a fantastic gesture,” East Kilbride chairman Mark Horner said. “The fact that Ajax recognises it [ as a record], that’s the main thing for us.”
East Kilbride usually play in front of around 100 spectators at the club’s community- funded ground around 13km southeast of Glasgow. The ‘ Kilby’ team includes plumbers, electricians, teachers and office workers.
Now they have a place in the spotlight, with news outlets in Britain and around the world covering the club’s achievement of winning 14 matches at the end of last season followed by 13 at the start of this season.
East Kilbride goalkeeper Jacob Kean said the club had been sent emails by Sig Hansen, captain of the Northwestern boat that’s the focus of the Deadliest Catch documentary series on the Discovery Channel.
“He’s a big fan of the club,” said Kean, who is a joiner- carpenter for his father’s building firm.
Horner said East Kilbride- born actor John Hannah, who had roles in movies like The Mummy Returns and Sliding Doors is also a supporter and has bought into the dream of a club that was formed only in 2010.
East Kilbride is a so- called ‘ new town’ built in 1947 as part of the overflow from nearby Glasgow.
It now has a population of 80,000 and a football team of which to be proud, the focal point of a community trust established by local businessmen who wanted to put something back into the area where they grew up. Among the backers for the project i s former Rangers and Scotland striker Ally McCoist.
“Where we play used to be a muddy field with two highland cows on it,” said East Kilbride official Ian Aitchison. “Now it’s a field of dreams.”
East Kilbride’s capacity at K- Park is 500 spectators. Plans are afoot for a new facility which can seat 6000 to be built about 2km away.
“The new stadium is another part of the jigsaw,” Horner said. “Our main ambition is to play in League Two [ the fourth tier of Scottish football], as then we’re a senior club.”
That could soon be a reality. East Kilbride are 14 points clear in the Lowland League and are in line to enter a playoff system at the end of the season which could give them the chance to take on the last- placed team in League Two.
The immediate priority i s extending the 27- match winning run, and next up is a game against Stirling University on Thursday.
Where we play used to be a muddy field with two highland cows on it. Now it’s a field of dreams. East Kilbride’s Ian Aitchison