Wanderers are sweet on success
A lookback at big season for Wishaw outfit
Wi s h aw Wy c o m b e Wanderers are celebrating another fantastic season across the club’s 18 different sides.
We caught up with club president Alex Richardson to look back at some of the club’s highlights over the last year.
The under 13s girls team won their first-ever league title.
The under 19s team reached the semi-finals of both the Regional Cup and Scottish Cup, were pipped to the league title on the last game of the season and rounded the season off by lifting the Lanarkshire FDA Cup.
The amateur sides grew from strength to strength. The Saturday amateur team followed on from their treble- winning success in their inaugural season last year in the Lanarkshire League by being invited to play in the prestigious Caledonian League.
They continued their fine progression by winning Division 1A and gained promotion to the Premier Division for next season.
Every year, managing the finances of the club is one of the committee’s key objectives. Last year the club spent in the region of £65,000 running the teams while keeping fees to a minimum.
This was done with the help of the annual Sportsman’s Dinner, a Christmas raffle, an annual soccer skills event as well as the financial support from all the club’s sponsors.
The ninth annual Sportsman’s Dinner was arguably the best to date with around 275 people in attendance. Chairman for the evening was John McKelvie, with guest speakers Jimmy Nicholl and Tam Cowan.
Funds raised are hoped to top around £8000, with around £1000 being donated to local charity Chris’s House.
The annual awards presentation was held at St Aidan’s High. Each boy, girl and young adult within the club received a campaign medal.
At the amatuer presentation, Jordan Dunn was named Player of the Year, Kyle Richardson picked up Players’ Player of the Year and Jamie Moir lifted the top goalscorer award.
Other season highlights for the club included former Wishaw Wycombe player Stephen O’Donnell becoming the club’s first to gain a cap for the Scottish national team.
Stephen also stepped in with Celtic star Kieran Tierney to help with fundraising for training equipment.
The club wishes to thank sponsors Deans Pharmacy, Pink Turban, The Caledonian Bar, Ross’s Bar, The Cross Keys, Polished Perfection, Unison Lanarkshire Health, 3GL Transport, AC Electrics, L&L Contracts Ltd, Hidden Depths, Asda Foundation, King’s Kitchens and Bathrooms, Utilita, Davidsons Animal Feeds, NL Leisure LTD, Logodirect and Macron, Official Kit Suppliers.
Next year marks the club’s 25th anniversary and an event is being planned to mark the milestone.