Inside Verdict — Mark Ewing: From Seven Players to a Pathway Into Adult Football

By the time we left, there was a story we wanted to understand.

A young side had just pushed an established Vale AFC team all the way in a competitive 2–1 defeat. There was energy in the team, some talented young players and, even after falling two goals behind, a determination to stay in the game.

Mark has spent years involved in football at Milngavie, but the amateur side he now helps manage started with little more than seven players and an idea.

From youth football to the adult game

Mark’s involvement at Milngavie stretches back well beyond the current amateur team.

“I was an 11-a-side youth coach at Milngavie AFC for about 10 years, working with a few different year groups over that time.”

Like so many youth teams, however, the side containing Mark’s son eventually reached an age where keeping the group together became increasingly difficult.

“My son’s year-group team, as often happens, folded as they hit the middle teens.”

Then came Covid.

When football returned, his son and a group of friends — by then either working or attending university — wanted competitive football back in their lives.

There had previously been an amateur team at Milngavie, but it had disappeared several years earlier.

That presented an opportunity.

“With the support of the MFC secretary we started a new team with a small core in spring 2021, with the aim of creating a pathway into adult football for the club.”

They started with around seven players.

By August, Mark and those around him had assembled enough of a squad to begin life in the GDSFC.

They’re now at the beginning of their sixth season.

Growing alongside the GDSFC

Milngavie’s development hasn’t happened in isolation.

Mark believes the league around them has been developing too.

“Over the years our football has improved but GDSFC has grown massively and I think each year the standard of football played in the league has got higher.”

Milngavie haven’t achieved their progress through a conventional series of promotions. Mark readily acknowledges they’ve come close without actually winning promotion at the end of a season.

But the structure around them has changed as the GDSFC has expanded, while Milngavie have continued developing within it.

For Mark, the important measure isn’t simply where their name appears in a league structure.

It’s what has happened to the players who started the journey.

When Milngavie first entered adult football, most of the squad were only 18 or 19.

It wasn’t an easy introduction.

“It was a hard learning curve playing against teams that were usually physically stronger and more experienced than us.”

But there was a benefit.

“It really helped our lads develop as players.”

Five years later, something rather nice has happened.

Many of those youngsters stayed.

“That original core are still with us but are now our older, more experienced players!”

And behind them, Milngavie have continued trying to provide opportunities for younger players coming out of the club’s youth setup.

“We have been able to act as a bit of a pathway for a few MFC players coming through from youth teams and have always had a group of young players in the squad.”

That youth isn’t something Mark merely accommodates.

It’s part of how Milngavie want to play.

“They are important to our style of play, bringing pace, energy and enthusiasm.”

What Frank saw at Boclair

That enthusiasm was evident on Sunday.

Before the game, Mark had warned Footy Focus that Milngavie would be missing several regular players.

He also spoke about something his young side still needed to learn — a football match lasts 90 minutes.

Against Vale, Frank got to see both sides of that development.

Vale established a 2–0 advantage and had opportunities to make the afternoon more comfortable.

But Milngavie didn’t disappear.

They pulled one back from the penalty spot, fought their way back into the contest and created opportunities to equalise.

Had one of those chances gone in, it wouldn’t have felt like they had stolen a point.

For Mark, that response was particularly significant.

Building resilience

Mark is refreshingly open about an area where he believes Milngavie still need to improve.

“We lack resilience in games sometimes and this is something that, as coaches, we’re trying to build into the team.”

For young players especially, conceding or falling behind doesn’t have to mean a game has gone.

That’s the mentality Mark wants them to develop.

“It is important for players to have self-belief and to realise that even if you go behind in a game, if you keep heads up and keep working there is a chance that you can turn it around.”

Sunday gave him evidence that message is getting through.

“I thought the boys showed that determination and resilience on Sunday. We kept going and came very close to getting a point from the game. I am very proud of them.”

Vale left Boclair with the three points.

But Milngavie left having demonstrated something their coaches have specifically been asking from them.

Sometimes development isn’t measured by the result alone.

Mark has now spent a significant part of his life helping young people play football.

Around a decade coaching at youth level was followed by helping establish this amateur side and creating somewhere for young players to continue into the adult game.

So what keeps him doing it?

His answer required very little explanation.

“It’s the players that keep me going, pure and simple.”

“They are a great bunch of lads and I feel proud to be part of their management team.”