Inverurie Loco Works

Inverurie Loco Works are navigating the Highland League with the steady rhythm of a shift change. The team has made no secret of its solidarity with Ukraine, swapping their traditional red and black colours for blue and yellow for six matches in March 2022. This is a club that knows its identity is tied to the rails. Founded in 1902 by railway workmen from the Great North of Scotland Railway, the side still plays at Harlaw Park, the ground they have occupied since those early days.

The colours remain ‘fire red & coal black’, a reminder of the Locomotive and Carriage and Wagon Workshops that once dominated the town. When Darren Mackie arrived in September 2016, he brought a different kind of experience. The striker, who had spent 14 years at Aberdeen, stepped in as player-coach but left the dugout in June 2017, leaving the team to manage their own affairs.

Their best run in the Scottish Cup remains the 2008–09 campaign. They drew with Motherwell at home before eventually losing 3–0 after five postponements. Off the pitch, the honours are scattered across decades. They won the Highland League Cup twice in 2008 and 2009, and claimed the Aberdeenshire Cup in 2024, but the real consistency lies in the lower divisions where they captured the North Region League title three times before joining the senior ranks in 2001.

The rivalry with Turriff United is explicit in match reports, a local derby that adds an edge to the fixtures. The ground itself holds just 2,500 fans, with 175 seated in the grandstand and the rest standing.