The History of Newtongrange Star
1953/54
STORY OF THE SEASON
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    Could Star win the Mid / East Division of the Edinburgh and District League for the fourth year in a row? Hopes were high they could achieve this feat but in the end they had to settle for second place. With a couple of weeks of the season left Star seemed to be home and dry, but Arniston Rangers came with a late run to pip them in the last game. The Gorebridge side went on to beat Bo'ness United in the Play Off for the overall Championship.

    Star scored an amazing 105 goals in their 30 league games, conceding just 50.

    The season had started with a Friendly match against Larkhall Thistle which gave a portent of what was to come. Star won 7-1 against the Lanarkshire team, with Bobby Kinghorn scoring a hat trick.

    The Scottish Junior Cup was a major disappointment. Star were drawn at home to Loanhead Mayflower and lost 2-1; it was the third year in a row that Loanhead had ended Star's hopes in the national cup competition. The Semi Final stage was achieved in the East of Scotland Cup after wins over Haddington and Bathgate, but Star lost to Fauldhouse by 2-1. The Semi Final was played on neutral territory at Dalkeith. The Haddington tie, which Star won 7-3, was played at Haddington's old Brewery Park ground, just off the High Street in the East Lothian town. Slater scored four that day.

    The other Cups saw mixed fortunes. First Round defeat from Whitburn in the Thornton Shield (1-2 at Victoria Park); Second Round defeat away to Bathgate in both the St Michael Cup and the Brown Cup; Quarter Final defeat at Bo'ness in the RL Rae Cup. In the more local Murray Cup Star finally lifted some silverware, defeating Easthouses in the Semi Final and Dalkeith Thistle (2-1) in the Final. Slater and Kinghorn, inevitably, were the scorers.

    Source: Newtongrange Star FC match programme [4-Oct-2008]
EDINBURGH & DISTRICT LEAGUE MID/EAST DIVISION
Pld W D L F A Pts
Arniston Rangers 30 22 2 6 86 50 46
Newtongrange Star 30 20 4 6 105 49 44
Dunbar United 30 21 1 8 97 72 43
Easthouses Lily 29 16 5 8 82 63 37
Musselburgh Athletic 29 14 5 10 80 77 33
Loanhead Mayflower 28 15 3 10 61 46 33
Edinburgh City 28 14 5 9 57 51 33
Tranent Juniors 28 15 2 11 72 58 32
Dalkeith Thistle 30 12 2 16 85 74 26
Rosewell Rosedale 29 11 2 16 79 89 24
Ormiston Primrose 27 9 5 13 50 67 23
Penicuik Athletic 30 9 4 17 59 63 22
Bonnyrigg Rose 29 8 4 17 62 81 20
Haddington Athletic 29 8 2 19 57 93 18
Thorntree United 29 7 3 19 58 99 17
Preston Athletic 29 3 7 19 57 96 13
Opponents Venue F A Scorers Team Info
Arniston Rangers H 1 0 Slater
A 4 2 Preston 3, Kinghorn
Bonnyrigg Rose H 4 2 Slater 2, Williamson 2
A 3 0 Kinghorn 2, Fitzpatrick
Dalkeith Thistle H 3 3 Laing, Kinghorn, OG
A 4 0 Paton 2, Martin, Slater
Dunbar United H 0 1
A 1 2 Kinghorn
Easthouses Lily H 3 2 Fitzpatrick 2, Kinghorn
A 3 1 Preston, Slater, Fitzpatrick
Edinburgh City H 2 2 Martin, Kinghorn
A 0 1
Haddington Athletic H 9 2 Slater 4, Fitzpatrick, Tighe, Preston, Paton, Morris
A 3 1 Fitzpatrick, Kinghorn, Halliday
Loanhead Mayflower H 3 0 Martin, Tighe, Kinghorn
A 3 0 Kinghorn
Musselburgh Athletic H 5 0 Paton 2, Maxwell, Slater, Fitzpatrick
A 1 3 Kinghorn
Ormiston Primrose H 8 0 Tighe 2, Kinghorn 3, Slater, Morris, Ferguson
A 2 2 Maxwell 2
Penicuik Athletic H 7 1 Kinghorn 6, Paton
A 4 1 ?
Preston Athletic H 4 2 Paton, Kinghorn, Tighe
A 6 3 Martin 2, Kinghorn 2, Slater, Tighe
Rosewell Rosedale H 1 3 Tighe
A 5 3 Kinghorn 2, Fitzpatrick, Slater, Paton
Thorntree United H 1 1 ?
A 9 3 Fitzpatrick 3, Morris 2, Paton 2, Slater, Kinghorn
Tranent Juniors H 6 3 Slater 3, Kinghorn, Lannan, Paton
A 2 0 Fitzpatrick, Kinghorn
SCOTTISH JUNIOR CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Loanhead Mayflower 1 2 ?
THORNTON SHIELD
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Whitburn Juniors 1 2 Slater Steadman, Rankin, Ferguson, Tighe, McKenzie, Maxwell, Paton, Slater, Kinghorn, Preston, Fitzpatrick.
EAST OF SCOTLAND CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 Bye
2 A Haddington Athletic 7 3 Slater 4, Paton 2, Preston
QF H Bathgate Thistle 6 2 Slater 3, Paterson 2, OG Steadman, Rankin, Ferguson, Tighe, Maxwell, Laing, Paton, Fitzpatrick, Slater, Paterson, Kinghorn.
SF N Fauldhouse United 1 2 Slater
ST MICHAELS CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H Arniston Rangers 1 1 Preston
A Arniston Rangers 3 1 Fitzpatrick, Slater, Preston
2 A Bathgate Thistle 2 3 Fitzpatrick, Tighe Steadman, Rankin, Laing, Tighe, McIntyre, Maxwell, Morris, Slater, Kinghorn, Preston, Fitzpatrick.
BROWN CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 A Thorntree United 6 1 Kinghorn 4, Morris, Preston
2 A Bathgate Thistle 2 5 Fitzpatrick 2 Steadman, Rankin, Ferguson, Tighe, McKenzie, Maxwell, Paton, Slater, Kinghorn, Preston, Fitzpatrick.
R L RAE CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
1 H West Calder United 5 1 Slater 2, Laing 2, Paton Steadman, Martin, Ferguson, Tighe, Maxwell, Laing, Paton, Fitzpatrick, Slater, Morris, Kinghorn.
2 H Polkemmet Juniors 3 1 Kinghorn 2, Slater
QF A Bo'ness United 1 3 Tighe Steadman, Kelly, Rankin, Tighe, Ferguson, Maxwell, Paton, Paterson, Kinghorn, Slater, Laing.
MURRAY CUP
Round Venue Opponents F A PenF PenA Scorers Team Info
SF H Easthouses Lily 6 2 Martin 3, Kinghorn 2, Slater
F N Dalkeith Thistle 2 1 Slater, Kinghorn