Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Tayport celebrating 30 years in junior football
TAYPORT are currently celebrating 30 years since joining the junior ranks.
A successful amateur side, they would normally have been expected to join the Fife junior league.
However, because of their geographical situation, they successfully lobbied to be part of the Tayside JFA.
Their i mpact was immediate, winning six trophies i n their f i r st season, i ncluding t he Tayside League Division One title.
Any doubts about how they would cope i n the Premier League were quickly dispelled as they romped to the title as well as winning another four trophies.
But it was the following season that the j unior game became really aware of something special when manager Dave Baikie masterminded their first Scottish Cup Final appearance.
Although it ended in a 1-0 defeat by Glenafton, it only whetted their appetite for more success.
They won a host of trophies including another two league titles over the next two seasons but the big one came in 1996 when they reached their second Scottish Cup Final and this time they trophy headed back to the Fife town after a 2-0 win over Camelon.
They were runners-up again the following season and their local dominance continued over the next two years before they made it a hat-trick of Scottish wins – in 2003 beating Linlithgow 1-0, and in 2005 winning a local derby against Lochee United 2-0 at Tannadice Park.
Although that was to be their last success in the national competition, ’Port’s domination locally continued and their success also helped to inspire other clubs as the East Region dominated the junior game over a 10-year period.
Apart from the Fifers’ six appearances in the final, Lochee United also reached the final stage before losing to the Fifers, while Carnoustie reached two finals, winning once after a penalty shoot-out against Tayport.
Although times have been a bit leaner for Tayport in recent seasons, it shouldn’t diminish what The Canniepairt side have achieved in a remarkable 30 years.
During that time they have won over 60 trophies and not only put the town of Tayport on the map but also raised the profile of the junior game in the Tayside area.