Bryan Felvus Available for Transfer

Forth have made striker Bryan Felvus available for transfer. Further details from secretary Jim Kelly.

Forth Wanderers 3 Newmains United 0


The Wanderers won 3-0 against Newmains at Kingshill Park this afternoon thanks to goals from Jamie McKenzie and a Martin Harty double. Newmains cause wasn't helped when their keeper was red carded when giving away the penalty which led to the Wanderers opener. Forth could have scored more in the second half but Newmains substitute goalkeeper was in fine form.

The visitors had the first chance of the match, flashing a header wide with only two minutes on the clock and the early exchanges suggested that they would be a much tougher proposition than the team Forth faced on Monday night. The Wanderers first real opportunity came after 15 minutes when Tony Traynor ran through and played in Martin Harty but the striker dragged his shot wide. Jamie McKenzie was next to show for Forth evading his man in the box but again he fired wide.

Forth were awarded  a penalty on 23 minutes when a Howson cross was headed into the path of Martin Harty by Gordon Murphy and the striker took a touch, rounded the keeper and was felled by the stopper who received a red card for his trouble. After a delay of a couple of minutes, Jamie McKenzie stepped up and dispatched the ball into the net with the minimum of fuss.




Newmains had a chance to level when Martin Daly controlled the ball well and ran clear of the Forth defence but his chipped shot just cleared the crossbar. On 35 minutes the Wanderers almost increased their lead when a great ball from McKenzie found David Grant in the box but his header came back of the keepers left hand post and was cleared. Undeterred, Forth doubled their lead soon after when Gibb found McKenzie who then threaded a perfectly weighted ball to Martin Harty who beat the keeper with ease. The Wanderers had further chances through Marc Howson,Chris McGroarty and Gordon Murphy but at the interval the score remained 2-0.

The visitors began the second half brightly and had a couple of chances in the opening minutes but one failed to hit the target and the other was comfortably saved by Hutchison in the Forth goal. As Newmains pushed up they were leaving gaps at the back and first Murphy then McKenzie went close for the Wanderers. The visiting keeper then saved well when Harty was through on goal and made another excellent block from Traynor as Forth attempted to kill the game off. The keeper made further good saves from Harty and McKenzie before saving well from Howson. It was all Forth at this stage but they were unable to turn the relentless pressure into goals. However on 83 minutes the Newmains resistance was finally broken. Good interplay between the two trialist substitutes resulted in a cross come shot being turned over the line by Harty to make it three and complete the scoring.

A comfortable win for the Wanderers in the end, helped in no small part, by Newmains going down to 10 men early in the match and although Forth really should have scored a few more, it was still 3 points and a clean sheet.


A final word concerning the Forth 'ultras' whose banner,songs and support throughout the game was much appreciated. I believe they plan to be regular attendees and I'm looking forward to seeing how they develop.
Small acorns and all that ...

More photos can be found here.

Forth team :
Hutchison,Howson,McQuade,Grant,Gibb(Trialist),Stevenson,Traynor(Trialist),
McGroarty(Mathers),Harty,McKenzie,Murphy

Royal Albert 2 Forth Wanderers 2

The Wanderers drew 2-2 with Royal Albert at Gasworks Park tonight, after fighting back from two goals down. The Forth goals were scored by Gordon Murphy and Jamie McKenzie.


A proverbial game of two halves at Gasworks Park with the Albert having the better of the first half and creating the better chances and Forth dominating the second against a ten man rearguard action.

The initial minutes saw the ball swing from end to end as both sides went in search of an early opener but it was the home side who took the lead on 5 minutes with a sweet 20 yard strike from James Nelson. The ball was played into the Wanderers box and Jamie McKenzie appeared to be impeded as he cleared but the ball fell to Nelson who wasted no time in dispatching past the despairing Weir in the Forth goal.

The Wanderers retaliated with a McGroarty shot which flew narrowly past the post with the home keeper Craig Smith scrambling to his right. A quick McKenzie free kick then found Harty but Smith blocked his shot and Storrie was unable to divert the rebound on target.

Royal Albert doubled their lead with barely 12 minutes on the clock, when Weir misjudged a tame Nelson shot, the ball going through the distraught keepers legs and into the net. Jamie McKenzie was beginning to pull the strings for the Wanderers and a great ball from him saw Murphy flash a shot wide with Smith beaten. Marc Storrie then had a shot saved before a Murphy cross just eluded McGroarty in the Albert box.

The home side were giving as good as they got though and nearly increased their lead when a deflected shot was headed off the line for a corner by McKenzie. The corner caused further problems for the Forth defence before being cleared as did a subsequent long throw. The Albert created another chance when a corner was dummied to leave a strike at goal, but the subsequent shot was miscued in the box when a cleaner connection would surely have resulted in a goal. The home side came close again when a deflected shot went just narrowly wide.   
Forth were never out of it though and after Storrie had volleyed over he played a fine pass to Gordon Murphy on the left hand edge of the box and his pile driver gave Smith no chance, to reduce the deficit on 41 minutes. Things went from bad to worse for Royal Albert when Craig Cooper was red-carded for what the referee signalled as a stamp although it looked little more than handbags to the fans in the enclosure.


The Wanderers began the second half in determined mood as they set about levelling the contest. Tony Traynor had a shot deflected for a corner before home keeper Smith excelled himself with tremendous close range stops from Traynor and Gordon Murphy. Albert scorer Nelson was on a hat-trick and his free kick from wide on the left flashed across the goal and wide to the relief of the Forth defence. This was a brief respite for Albert who were being increasingly pinned back by waves of Wanderers attacks.

Jamie McKenzie went close but his shot was touched away for a corner by keeper Smith. The Forth manager was not to be denied however and he duly notched the equaliser in the 70th minute. Marc Storrie produced an excellent deep cross from the left which took out the home defence and McKenzie nodded home from 5 yards.

Forth now had the bit between their teeth and Harty came close after Smith spilled a vicious McGroarty shot before Storrie shot wide and Murphy narrowly over. As we entered the last ten minutes a great run from substitute Craig Crawford saw him round the keeper but he shot wide from a narrowing angle. Storrie then thought he had won it for Forth with a fierce drive but Smith again got down quickly to his left to make an excellent save. Despite further chances for Harty and McKenzie the elusive winner would not come and the honours ended even.

Albert player/coach Jamie Nesbitt was kind enough to provide a home perspective on the match saying "I thought we played some very good football up until the sending off. We just couldn't find the third goal. Forth battled well and used the extra man to their advantage in the second half. Our keeper was outstanding when called upon with a double save, so I suppose a point apiece was a fair result."

More photos can be found here.

Forth team : Weir,Howson,McQuade(Grant),McKenzie,Gibb,Stevenson(Crawford),Traynor,
McGroarty,Storrie,Harty,Murphy

Bye in Junior Cup 1st Round

The Wanderers received a bye in this afternoon's Scottish Junior Cup 1st round draw.

Newmains United 1 Forth Wanderers 4

Forth won 4-1 at Victoria Park tonight against Newmains United, the goals coming from a trialist, Tony Traynor and a Jamie McKenzie brace.


Forth welcomed back manager Jamie McKenzie for this match which only the Wanderers appeared to realise was a 6:30 kick off. Newmains seemed to think it was 6:45 and after some discussion the game finally got underway at 6:42.

Forth began the game purposefully and found themselves two goals up within 13 minutes. The opener arrived in the second minute when a short McGroarty corner found Howson in space and his pinpoint cross was headed neatly home by the trialist number 10. Two minutes later McKenzie fired a free kick over as the Wanderers continued their early domination. The lead was doubled on 13 minutes when some neat interplay on the right saw Storrie make for the bye line and his cut back was coolly finished by Tony Traynor.

Forth were passing the ball about well at this point and on 26 minutes a good Harty run found Storrie who hit his shot across the keeper,but the stopper did well to palm away at full stretch. Harty was again involved playing a neat 1-2 with Howson but the danger was cleared.Jamie McKenzie was next to threaten latching on to a McGroarty corner but his shot was easily saved by the home keeper.

Up to this point, Newmains hadn't been seen as an attacking threat but this changed when their number 10 fired over after a smart turn and shot.Glenn Weir in the Forth goal was then called into action, punching clear an inviting cross through a crowd of bodies as the home side began to gain in confidence. Forth were never under any real pressure however and saw the game out to half time with their two goal advantage intact. 

Forth made it three early in the second half after the referee adjudged a foul had been committed on the far side of the area. Jamie McKenzie made no mistake from the spot. Minutes later Newmains had a penalty of their own after their striker was brought down although they subsequently put the ball in the net after the whistle was blown. They were made to rue the lack of advantage played when Weir got down well to his left and saved the penalty taken by the hosts number 5. However, the home side did get back into the game with a well taken goal from their number 6 who gave Weir no chance from around 22 yards. This seemed to instill confidence in the home side, but a straight red card on 69 minutes for their number 3 put paid to any hopes of a fightback.

Forth had several further chances as the match wore on but managed only one further goal, although Storrie was unlucky on a couple of occasions. The goal came when Storrie latched on to a through ball and fired it across goal where McKenzie had the simplest of tasks to tap in from a yard.

A good victory for the Wanderers considering the 'dead-rubber' status of the match, hopefully a similar result can be achieved when the teams resume hostilities at Kingshill Park on Saturday.   

Further photos can be found here.

Forth team : Weir,Howson,McQuade,McKenzie,Mathers,Stevenson,Traynor(Lauchlan),
McGroarty(Grant), Storrie,Trialist(Felvus),Harty

Forth Wanderers 1 Livingston United 4

An experimental Forth side lost 4-1 to Livingston United at Airdrie Leisure Centre this afternoon. United scored two goals in each half, the Wanderers responded at the death through a Jamie McKenzie shot from fully 45 yards.

Friendly Opponents Changed

Forth will now face Livingston United at Airdrie Leisure Centre this Saturday(18th) with a 13:00 kick off.

Forth Wanderers 2 Wishaw Juniors 3

Forth lost 3-2 to Wishaw tonight at a rainy Kingshill Park. The Wanderers goals were scored by the trialist number 10 and Marc Storrie.

The Forth cause wasn't helped when Martin Harty saw red after 9 minutes for what was deemed to be a last man foul. To rub salt in the Wanderers wounds Wishaw scored from the resulting free kick after Hutchison had saved the initial effort. Barry Canning was also sent off late on to cap a disappointing night for the Forth.

Forth were without central defensive partnership Jamie McKenzie and Scott Gibb as well as the unavailable Gordon Murphy and the injured Bryan Felvus.

The first chance of the match fell to Wishaw after 2 minutes when Faulds beat the Forth offside trap and his cross from the right was just missed by onrushing strike partner Main. Chris McGroarty was first to threaten for Forth but his 20 yard strike flew over the bar. Then, on 9 minutes, a pivotal incident in the game. A long ball over the top of the Forth defence was chased by the visitors Main and Martin Harty and after a tangle at the edge of the box a free kick was awarded to Wishaw and Harty given his marching orders. A sense of deja vu descended on the Forth support as Shotts scored two from virtually the same position on Monday night and, sure enough, although Hutchison blocked the initial shot Jamie Main was on hand to sweep home the rebound.

The Wanderers could have gone further behind on 19 minutes when a long ball forced keeper Hutchison into a headed clearance just outside his box which fell to the lively Faulds, whose accurate lob hit both posts before being smothered by a relieved Hutchison. The ten men of Forth were beginning to pass the ball around well and were coming much more into the game and it was no surprise when they equalised. A good run from Tony Traynor ended him passing to the trialist number 10 inside the box and he swivelled and shot into the right hand corner of the net giving the keeper no chance. A McGroarty cross forced a defender to head over his own bar and Storrie put a chance by the post as the Wanderers sought to gain the advantage. The Wishaw keeper comfortably held a header from the Forth goalscorer before just beating Tony Traynor to an excellent cross from the right. At the other end home keeper Hutchison stood up well to make an excellent save as Wishaw threatened. The final chance of the half fell to Wishaw's Faulds but he fired over.


Wishaw regained the advantage two minutes after the break after some hesitant defending allowed Jason Lafferty to nip in and slip the ball past Hutchison from around 10 yards. Storrie had a shot deflected for a corner after 56 minutes and five minutes later the trialist number 10 dragged his shot wide from a promising position. The latter almost scored his second of the game but the visiting keeper did well to rush from his line and effect the block. Wishaw were still threatening on the break and Hutchison did well to clear the ball off the foot of the threatening Faulds. McGroarty then forced the visiting keeper into a fine save from a well taken free kick before he again made space for himself and shot narrowly over.

Time was running out for the Wanderers and with four minutes to go things got worse when Barry Canning was sent off for his second bookable offence. Wishaw then sealed the win when Eddie McCardle drifted in to meet a cross from the right and head neatly into the net to make it 3-1. Almost immediately Storrie pulled a goal back for the Wanderers despite the suspicion of offside and there was one final chance for Forth but the trialist substitute dragged the ball wide.

Overall, a disappointing result, but on a positive note several trialists had a decent run out ahead of the league season starting and the squad as a whole is beginning to take shape.

More photos can be found here.

Forth team : Hutchison,Howson,McQuade(Trialist(Trialist)),Harty,Grant,Canning,Traynor, McGroarty,Storrie,Trialist,Trialist(Stevenson)

Signing News

Forth Wanderers are pleased to announce the signings of Scott Gibb and Steven McQuade who were both previously with Shettleston Juniors, Marc Howson from Harmony Row and Marc Storrie from Knightswood. Along with goalkeeper JC Hutchison, who has already made an impressive start to his Wanderers career, this brings the number of new arrivals to five, with a couple more hopefully to come.
Welcome to the Wanderers boys !

Further good news is that Alan Stevenson and Tony Traynor have also agreed one year extensions to stay at Kingshill Park.

Forth Wanderers 1 Shotts Bon Accord 3

Forth went down by three goals to one against Shotts at Kingshill Park tonight, but a gutsy performance against the Junior Cup holders, who are three divisions above the Wanderers, augurs well for the forthcoming season. Forth held a one goal lead at the interval through a trialist striker, who netted in his second consecutive game, but a second half onslaught from the visitors proved just too much for a determined Wanderers rearguard well marshalled by manager Jamie McKenzie.


The Wanderers welcomed back captain David Grant, who was deployed in a midfield role, and Tony Traynor but were missing Gordon Murphy and Bryan Felvus from the team which started on Saturday.

Chris McGroarty had an early drive blocked for Forth before Tony Jaconelli had the ball in the next for the visitors only to be given offside. On 12 minutes the Wanderers took the lead when a long ball from Hutchison deceived the Shotts defence and the trialist striker stole in behind them and neatly lobbed the advancing keeper. Tony Traynor was next to have a go but his shot ended well wide. Hutchison then saved comfortably from a Goodall free kick as Shotts began to press and striker Allan McKenzie was unlucky to see his shot slip narrowly wide.  Hutchison then saved well at the feet of Allan McKenzie before turning away a rasping drive from Paul Finnigan for a corner. The Forth keeper then saved from Shotts substitute Gary Millar just before the interval as the Wanderers held on to their slender one goal advantage.



Forth began the second half brightly and Barry Canning made a good run before eventually being crowded out and then Shotts substitute Paul Burns passed back to his keeper who had to pick it up under pressure from Chris McGroarty. The resulting free kick was fired wide by Jamie McKenzie.

Shotts then began to dominate, forcing the Wanderers back deep into their own half, but resolute defending and inspired goalkeeping from Hutchison kept them at bay. Gary Millar was prominent for Shotts and was causing the home defence problems. The visitors then had a goal disallowed for offside after a superb shot smashed against the bar, Hutchison parried the rebound and the ball was forced home.

Shotts then won a series of free kicks on the edge of the Forth box and it was from these that they made the breakthrough. The first was well saved by Hutchison but the next,although initially well saved, came back out to Allan McKenzie who made no mistake from close range. Worse was to follow two minutes later when another free kick on the edge of the box was rifled home by Scott giving Hutchison no chance. Forth tried to get back into it but the visitors sealed the win when an Allan McKenzie cross was well controlled and expertly dispatched by Tony Jaconelli in the closing minutes.

Overall, on the evidence of the last two matches there is much to be optimistic about down Kingshill Park way, but on the night Shotts were deserved winners although the Wanderers can hold their heads high.

Forth team : Hutchison,Trialist,Trialist,McKenzie,Trialist,Canning,Harty(Trialist),McGroarty, Trialist,Traynor(Trialist),Grant
Shotts team : Murdoch,Finnigan,Goodall,Jaconelli,Ferguson,Kelly,Hanlon,McCafferty, McKenzie,Scott,Sideserf

Carluke Rovers 1 Forth Wanderers 3

The Wanderers ran out deserved victors by three goals to one against Carluke Rovers at the John Cumming Stadium yesterday. The Forth scorers were Jamie McKenzie from the penalty spot, a trialist striker and Bryan Felvus.
The first chance of the match fell to Forth when the home keeper got down well to a 20 yard shot from Chris McGroarty and pushed it away for a corner. Gordon Murphy then connected with a Jamie McKenzie free kick but headed wide of the post. Wanderers keeper Hutchison then had to look lively to turn a well hit shot around for a corner.

Forth took the lead on the half hour when a tremendous shot from Gordon Murphy was blocked by the Rovers keeper McLachlan only to fall to the trialist striker who was bundled to the ground before he could net. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Jamie McKenzie made no mistake with the penalty.

Jackson then unleashed a vicious shot which Forth keeper Hutchison did well to turn away for a corner as the home side tried to get back on level terms. The same player then shot narrowly over before ex Forth striker Kenny Wright equalised on 44 minutes although there was a suspicion of handball as he ran through.

Forth began the second period brightly and Gordon Murphy volleyed wide on 48 minutes before Hutchison in the Forth goal was called upon to touch over a shot from Weir on 52 minutes. The Wanderers regained the lead when a fantastic Murphy cross field ball found the trialist striker running clear and he buried his shot with aplomb. Carluke then had a penalty shout denied before Weir shot narrowly wide. The Wanderers were next to threaten when a McGroarty shot was blocked before Carluke's Arnott headed over from a corner. Weir was next to threaten for the home side when he latched onto a cross at the back post but drove the ball into the side netting.

Forth continued to press, not content to sit on their lead, and a smart one two between the trialist striker and McGroarty led to the latter's shot being saved by McLachlan but the ball fell to Bryan Felvus who smashed an unstoppable shot into the net from 22 yards to make it 3-1. The Wanderers comfortably played out the remaining 20 minutes to record a well deserved victory.

More photos can be found here.

Forth team : Hutchison,Trialist,Trialist,McKenzie,Trialist,Canning,Harty (Trialist),McGroarty,Trialist(Mathers),Felvus(Trialist),Murphy

EGM - Sunday 12th August

An EGM is being held this Sunday(12th) at Kingshill Park beginning at midday. All welcome.

Newmains v Forth Game Off

Tonight's match between Newmains and Forth has been called off.

Forth Wanderers 1 Independent Amateurs 1

Forth drew 1-1 with Airdrie based Independent Amateurs at Kingshill Park this evening.

The visitors took the lead in the first half with a neat finish after a ball through the middle split the Forth defence and a perfectly executed chip beat home keeper Hutchison.

The Wanderers equalised through Bryan Felvus, keeping up his goal a game record for the season, and had chances to increase their lead through Felvus, Traynor and Harty. The visitors nearly won it near the end when an audacious shot smacked the top of the bar with keeper Hutchison off his line but in the end the honours were shared.


Forth team : Hutchison,Trialist,Harty,Mathers,Grant,McKenzie(Trialist),Traynor,Canning,Felvus,
McGroarty,Murphy

Friendly on Thursday 2nd August

The Wanderers will take on Independent Amateurs in a friendly at Kingshill Park on Thursday night, kick off 19:00.

Assistant Manager Departs

Assistant manager Paul McKinlay has left the club to take up the position of manager at Harthill Royal.

Thanks to Paul for his efforts over the last year and best wishes for his new role.