Open Goal Broomhill Football Club
- City: Broomhill, Glasgow
- Founded: 2014
- Ground: Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire (8,086)
- Nicknames: OGB
- Colours: White shirt with sky blue chevroned hoops, white shorts with sky blue trim, white socks
- 2022-23 League: Lowland League
- Club Website: https://broomhillfc.com/
- Club Twitter: @OGBroomhill_FC
Honours
- Best League Finish: 2nd in the Lowland League (2018-19)
- Best Scottish Cup Finish: Fifth Round (2019-20)
- Lowland Football League
- Runners-Up (2018-19)
- SFA South Region Challenge Cup
- Winners (2014-15)
- Runners-Up (2017-18, 2019-20)
- Lowland League Cup
- Winners (2018-19)
- Runners-Up (2016-17)
Open Goal Broomhill Football Club, OG Broomhill, or just Broomhill FC, is a Scottish football team that currently plays in the Scottish Lowland Football League, positioned at the fifth tier on the Scottish football pyramid. The club traditionally represents the district of Broomhill, which is situated in the West End of Glasgow, although they have started to play their ‘home’ games for the 2022-23 season at the Broadwood Stadium, located in the town of Cumbernauld (located roughly equidistance between the northeast outskirts of Glasgow and Falkirk) and groundshares the 3G pitch with fellow Lowland League side Cumbernauld Colts. The club has groundshared in a number of stadiums in its history, having initially played at Lochburn Park (home of Maryhill) and Recreation Park (home of SPFL side Alloa Athletic). However, the long-term plan of the club is to return back to Glasgow and play nearer to its traditional home.
The club has its origins in youth football with Broomhill Sports Club being founded in 2004 as a multi-sports club for the children of the local area. However, by 2014, the club needed an outlet for its many junior football sides and so Broomhill Sports Club Glasgow (BSC Glasgow) was launched that same year as a senior football club to provide an outlet into adult football for its youth team players. The new club successfully applied to join the Lowland Football League for the start of the 2014-15 season, and managed to finish in tenth position in their debut season whilst also picking up their first piece of silverware by winning the SFA South Region Challenge Cup when they beat Civil Service Strollers 2-0 in the final.
BSC Glasgow steadily improved their position within the Lowland League throughout the late 2010s and achieved their best ever season in the 2018-19 season when they finished as runners-up to champions East Kilbride, as well as clinching that season’s Lowland League Cup by beating former Scottish Football League side East Stirlingshire 2-1. The following season, BSC Glasgow created further history when they reached the fifth round of the Scottish Cup by beating Lochee United, East Fife, and East Kilbride to get to the last 16 of the historical national cup competition. Alas, their memorable cup run was finally ended by Premier League side Hibernian in a 1-4 home defeat.
In July 2021, the football club announced its separation from BSC Glasgow and changed its name to Broomhill Football Club, retaining both the membership of the Lowland League and the SFA whilst BSC Glasgow created a new amateur development team in the West of Scotland Football League. In their first season under their new guise, the club suffered a disappointing campaign by finishing in fifteenth position in the league – the lowest finish in their history. However, for the 2022-23 season, the club changed its name once more becoming Open Goal Broomhill FC after announcing a partnership with football media brand Open Goal, which aims to promote the club over its various media platforms.
To talk about the Lowland League club which is aiming for SPFL membership via promotion in the near future, we spoke to the excellent Derek “Mozza” Robertson. Mozza is a superb Twitch streamer who mainly plays Football Manager on his regular streams, but has also live-streamed and commentated on Broomhill games via his channel over the past couple of years and is OG Broomhill’s official club ambassador. To find his Twitch channel and social media accounts, follow the links below:
- Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mozza
- Twitter: @MozzaPlays
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mozzaplaysfm/
- YouTube: HERE
Q. Who would you say is Open Goal Broomhill’s best player, and coach/manager of all time, and the reasonings behind the choices?
The best coach by a mile was Stephen Swift. He led us from the lower half of the Lowland League to perennial challengers, and when he left [in April 2021 to become Stenhousemuir’s manager] we were right on the verge of going for the title. As far as players go…hard to argue against Kirk Broadfoot, but I have a soft spot for wee Stevie Murray [midfielder who played for BSC Glasgow between 2017 and 2019] – an absolute wand of a left foot.
Q. Who could be regarded as a ‘cult hero’ for the club in both the past and present squad?
Martin Grehan [striker who played for BSC Glasgow in two spells between 2017 and 2021] or Jamie McCormack [defender who played for BSC between 2019 and 2021] for me. Both were huge dressing room characters, both loved a laugh and a joke but at the same time could totally take over big games. For this squad? Forward Broque Watson is cut from similar cloth.
Q. Of the current squad, who would you say is the best player at the club currently and why?
[38-year-old defender] Kirk Broadfoot was on the verge of the top flight last year [playing for Inverness Caledonian Thistle] and instantly improves any central defensive partner. He reads the game so well. By the end of the campaign, though, I reckon [21-year-old midfielder] Jamie Semple will get a lot of love.
Q. Who would you say is the most exciting up & coming talent at the club?
Aiden McLaughlin is the one for me. Only played a handful of u20 games for us last season, but now he has made himself undroppable in centre midfield. A constant bundle of energy, who runs box-to-box for 90 minutes. Has a decent shot from long range too.
Q. Who would you regard as Broomhill’s biggest or historical rivals?
We’ve had a few wee ones here and there, East Kilbride probably being our main rivalry. This season (as you’d expect) Cumbernauld Colts would likely be seen as our big grudge match.
Q. How would you describe the current performance or state of the club? How do you think this season has gone so far?
So far performances have been really promising. Results are beginning to build into a good run of form and we’re seeing players getting to know each other’s games. Things are definitely looking up.
[IMAGE: Lowland League Website]
Q. Looking at Broomhill’s history, what would you say has been the best game, result, or performance in your opinion?
Winning 4-3 at East Fife [in the Third Round of the 2019-20 Scottish Cup] will always be my favoured game. Down 1-2 at half-time as a result of a dodgy refereeing decision or two, we pulled together and eventually won the hard way. A brilliant Scottish Cup away day.
The Third Round match between East Fife vs. BSC Glasgow in the 2019-20 Scottish Cup.
Q. Do you have a favourite or iconic shirt from the history of the club?
[IMAGE: Open Goal Direct]
I loved our yellow kit that we wore in our 2019-20 Scottish Cup run. Funnily enough, so did the commentators when we played Hibs on TV! Since the changes/rebranding, I’m a fan of our current home kit but we need to achieve something in it.
The Fifth Round Scottish Cup match between BSC Glasgow and Hibernian where the yellow kit is on show.
Q. What are the best and worst things about being a fan of Broomhill?
Best – easy access to people around the club. Everyone is approachable and happy to chat away. There’s a great general atmosphere about the place, and a sense that we’re genuinely doing something modern & different.
Worst – having to read absolute nonsense on Twitter by people who claim to know everything about us! Goes with the territory of additional media attention, but it still frustrates the life out of me.
Q. Finally, what are your hopes for the future of Open Goal Broomhill?
The big thing for us is giving ourselves a shot at SPFL football. If we can win a Lowland League title and get into an SPFL promotion playoff, naturally I’d hope we could win but the step itself would be huge for the club. Long term? Who knows…
A massive thank you to Mozza for answering our questions on Open Goal Broomhill. Remember you can find his excellent Twitch channel and social media accounts in the links near the top of the blogpage.
If you have any comments, suggestions, reactions, or even your own answers to the above questions, please write them in the comments box below. Likewise, you can either email us at the94thmin@gmail.com, or send a message at @The94thMin on Twitter.
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