Summary of the season when Dalbeattie Star won an unprecedented seven, yes seven trophies.THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS
A REVIEW OF 2011/12
AUGUST – Season 2011/12 kicked off as it ended with a rush of games. Eight matches were played in the opening month with Star drawing the first and winning the next seven. It all started with an agonising 2-2 home league draw against Crichton as the team were denied victory with a 94th minute goal. The honour of the first goal of the season went to the man who would also score the last goal of the season, and 65 others in between – no prizes for guessing who it was. The Star soon got over this initial disappointment with good wins over Stranraer (5-1) and Mid Annandale (6-0), before winning their first cup tie of the campaign with a 6-1 win away to Fleet Star in the League Cup. Next up was a midweek thriller against Saints as the Star came from behind to win 3-2 which was followed by a far from convincing 2-1 win at Newton Stewart. Threave Rovers travelled to Islecroft for one of the matches of the season with a 100% league record and a two point advantage over the Star, but even this early on it was a match the home side could not afford to lose. Within 25 minutes the Star was 3-0 up with two goals from Scott Milligan and one from John MacBeth who was on loan from Annan, but Threave pulled one back before half time. When Milligan restored Star’s three goal advantage minutes after the re-start it looked like a question of how many, but two goals from Threave in 8 minutes meant a nervous last 20 minutes for the home side but they hung on for a great win. The month ended with an emphatic 8-1 win away to Fleet Star with Milligan netting four.
SEPTEMBER – Star only played two matches in September, both were cup ties and both ended in defeats at Islecroft. Saints gained revenge for their earlier league defeat with a 2-0 success in the SFA Regional Cup but worse was to follow a fortnight later as the Star was thumped 6-1 by Inverurie Loco Works in the Scottish Cup. Less said the better.
OCTOBER – Confidence was low as Star travelled to Dumfries to face Heston Rovers in the league, a side that would end the season in third place. However the players reacted as they did all season to any defeats with a magnificent performance and a 7-2 win. This match was the start of a winning run that would last until the end of March which would total 17 matches and define the whole season. Saints then visited Islecroft for the third time already this season but were beaten 2-0 in the Haig Gordon Cup before the month ended with a routine 3-1 home win over Wigtown and Bladnoch to send the Star back to the top of the league.
NOVEMBER – As the wet winter began to kick in, surprisingly Star did not have a single postponement in November. What would be a successful Potts Cup campaign kicked off with an excellent 4-0 win at Newton, which was followed by a 6-1 home win over Creetown in the league with Alex Maxwell bagging three. Wigtown were then beaten 3-0 in the Cree Lodge Cup with Grant Parker netting a brace in only his 4th appearance of the season, and then came one of the pivotal matches of the season. The trip to Abbey vale in the league was the only match to survive in the South that day and with winds of up to 30mph and driving rain throughout, this had all the hallmarks of an upset. After a goalless first half big Stuart MacPherson was the hero of the hour with two towering headers to clinch a deserved 3 points.
DECEMBER – The only match played in December was a Tweedie Cup tie at home to Nithsdale and this marked the return to Dalbeattie of Lewis Sloan, but it was his good pal Grant Parker who stole the limelight as he scored five in a 7-1 mauling.
JANUARY – It was maybe a new year but it was the same old results – Star wins. First footers to Islecroft was Abbey Vale but they were sent packing as Gary Kerr scored twice in a 5-1 win and Star moved four points clear at the top. Two first half goals at Stair Park were enough to take the Star through in the Potts Cup and the month ended with a thumping 8-2 success over Mid Annandale in the Haig Gordon Cup with you know who netting four.
FEBRUARY – Only one Star match survived in February and that was a narrow 2-1 home win over Heston in the league, but it was still a crucial three points to add to the total.
MARCH – The month kicked off with a fairly routine 4-0 home win over Fleet in the battle of the Stars, and a first half penalty was enough to beat Wigtown away and send the Star in to their first final of the season, this time in the Potts Cup. A scrappy 1-0 home win over Crichton took the Star through in the Tweedie Cup as the team struggled for form but kept on winning. Star then travelled to Palmerston in the Haig Gordon Cup and put on a terrific show to run out 4-0 winners with Sloan and Milligan the stars of the show. Days later the team showed all their battling qualities as the held on for a vital 4-3 win at Crichton with Milligan netting all the goals and the Star having to play the last 15 minutes with just 10 men. The winning run eventually came to an end at 17 matches as Saints scored just 6 minutes from time at St Marys to knock the Star off the top of the league.
APRIL – Monday night football started in April but very nearly ended Star’s league title aspirations. What looked like a fairly straight forward home match against Mids was anything but and with just 16 minutes left the Star trailed 1-0. However three goals in that final spell got them back on track though two days later they were knocked out of the Cree lodge Cup 1-0 by Threave in a match they should have won. The Challenge Cup campaign almost ended soon after but two goals in the last 5 minutes saw them through 2-1 at home to Annan. The players hit top form in spectacular fashion the following Monday as they travelled to Nithsdale in the league and rattled in nine second half goals to record what would be the biggest win of the season. A place in the final of the League Cup was then booked with a 3-1 home win over the ever improving Heston and the two sides met again two days later, and though the Star line up was much changed it was the same old result as the Star won well by 4-0 with all the goals coming in the first half. They could even afford the luxury of missing two penalties. The first silverware of the season was then lifted in the shape of the Potts Cup with goals in each half ensuring a 2-0 win at home to Threave and the march to the league title was gaining momentum as Stranraer were soundly beaten 6-0 at Stair Park just a week after the Blues had drawn in Castle Douglas. On a sunny night at Creetown the league title took a massive swing towards Dalbeattie as the Star won 5-0 and Threave lost 2-1 at Heston. Next up was a Challenge Cup semi final in Kirkcudbright which was won 3-1 and three days later the same two sides met again at Islecroft in the League Cup final. At half time the scoreline was 1-1 but an inspirational half time team talk turned things around as the Star ran out 4-1 winners. However everyone was brought back down to earth with an almighty bump as Newton won 2-1 at Islecroft in the semi final of the Tweedie Cup – thank goodness it wasn’t in the league.
MAY – As we moved in to the last month of the season the team recovered well from their Tweedie Cup blip as Milligan scored another four in a 7-0 rout of Nithsdale in the league and a potential banana skin away to Wigtown was avoided with a deserved 4-2 success. Star then travelled to Meadow Park knowing a draw would be enough to secure a first South league title in 23 years but they fell behind inside 4 minutes. However a goal 26 seconds in to the second half was enough to get the result everyone wanted and start a weekend of celebrations. The final league match of the season was up next against Newton Stewart and it looked like there were a few players still suffering, but they eventually came good and ended a fantastic league season with a 5-0 win and an unbeaten record. All that remained were two cup finals and first up was the Challenge Cup against Queen of the South at Annan. The newly crowned champions were determined to end an outstanding year on a high and they demolished a young Queens side 8-1. The perfect end to an almost perfect year would surely be a cup final win over Threave and that is exactly how it panned out as the Star ran in three second half goals to add the Haig Gordon Cup to the other four in the trophy cabinet.

Stranraer and Nithsdale both deducted 10 points for failing to fulfill fixtures.

View archived tables

View archived stats