BORN WINNERS

With Junior clubs left kicking their heels as the coronavirus shutdown continues, the Paisley Daily Express is working with Renfrewshire’s four sides to relive some of their greatest moments.

We are kicking off with a historic and successful Farmer’s Boys side that won the Western League Championship, the League Cup and the Renfrewshire Cup in what was just the club’s second season.

Neilston’s club secretary Kevin Robertson has delved into the archives to retrace the success of a side – led by manager Tom Young – that blitzed their way to an incredible haul of trophies.

He explained: “It was one of our most successful seasons which is quite remarkable given we had only just formed in June 1945. This was only our second season.

“We won the Western League (North) League Championship with a record of 21 wins, two draws and three defeats, scoring a massive 106 league goals in the process.

“Charlie Campbell that season scored in excess of 70 goals in all competitions.

“That meant we would play off against the Western League (South) champions Lugar Boswell Thistle over two legs for the overall Western League Championship title.

“On June 11, 1947, we beat Lugar 5-1 at Brig O’Lea.

Then, in the away leg on the June 19, we won 2-1 for a 7-2 aggregate win and became the Western League Champions.”

It wasn’t just locally that the Farmer’s Boys dominated.

As well as a few near misses, they also picked up two other shiny pieces of silverware.

Robertson said: “Between the two Lugar Boswell Championship games, we also met Dalry Thistle in Stevenston in the Western League Cup final.

“We managed to win 4-2, which was the only time the Western League Cup went outside of Ayrshire.

“We also won the Renfrewshire Cup on June 28 1947, beating Renfrew 2-0 at Dunterlie Park.

“The club reached the Irvine and District Cup final too that season but lost 4-0 to Irvne Meadow on June 24.

“We also lost 4-2 to Ardeer Recreation in the Vernon Trophy final on June 26.

“It’s fair to say the players must have been pretty knackered by the end of so many games.

“In just 18 days from June 11 to June 28, we played in six final matches, winning four of them.”

The club also went on to produce two future toptier stars in their early days.

In the main picture, the small boy sitting on the left is Ian Young who went on to play for Celtic.

The youngster sitting on the right is his brother Bobby, who went on to feature for Motherwell and St Johnstone.