Polton Vale Football Club was a football club from the town of Loanhead, Midlothian, Scotland. The club played in the Scottish Cup in the 1890s and had some success at local level, but was thrown off the club register in 1902. History The first recorded match for the club was in the King Cup, for members of the East of Scotland Football Association, in 1886. Rise and Consolation Cup successes The club first rose to prominence with an unexpected run to the semi-final of the Edinburgh Shield in 1888–89; the Vale's quarter-final win over Cowdenbeath F.C., in a twice-replayed tie, was considered a particular surprise. The club lost the semi-final 11–0 against Heart of Midlothian. The club's first success of note was in the Shield's Consolation Cup (for clubs knocked out before the final) in 1890–91, beating Penicuik Athletic F.C. 3–2 in the final. This success led to a nomination that the club be one of the four that would be exempt to the fifth round of the Shield the following season, but Vale came bottom of the six nominated clubs in the ballot. The club's growing ambitions were shown by its first entry to the Scottish Cup in 1891–92, although by then the competition had introduced preliminary rounds, and the club did not make it through to the first round proper in its first three seasons. At the end of the 1891–92 season, the Vale applied to join the Eastern Alliance; however the competition would not be revived until 1893–94, when the club was admitted, but the competition did not start until late in the season, and was left uncompleted, with the Vale 3rd out of 7 teams, but well behind leaders Broxburn Shamrock. The club again reached the semi-final of the Shield in 1892–93, and again won the Consolation Cup; the club had to win 8 ties in order to take the trophy, its defeat in the main competition being again to Hearts (albeit this time only 5–0). The club beat Bathgate Rovers in the final at New Logie Green 4–2, indebted to some brilliant goalkeeping from Leitch. One notable occurrence during the run was that a protest by Mossend Swifts F.C. against the Vale's quarter-final win, because of bad weather affecting the match, was dismissed at a subsequent hearing by the Swifts' own club secretary Mr Williamson, his honesty "stand[ing] out as bold example as to how