Darian MacKinnon |
![]() Darian MacKinnon was born on Wednesday, 9th October, 1985, in Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire. The 5' 10 (9st 13lbs) midfielder signed for Ian McCall's Thistle on Monday, 13th January, 2020, having most recently been with Hamilton Academical. Aged 34, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 18th January, 2020, in a 2-1 defeat at home to Celtic in the Scottish Cup. There were no goals for Darian during his spell with Thistle. He played his third and last game for the club on Friday, 31st January, 2020, in a 1-1 draw at home to Ayr United in the SPFL Championship. At September, 2020, his club-list included Dumbarton United, Dumbarton Harp Celtic, St Thomas, St Patrick's Former Pupils, Clydebank, Hamilton Academical, Ayr United, Partick Thistle and Drumchapel United. |
![]() In his early personal life, at 16, he was charged with assault, and at 18 he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. He spent two years and seven months in a young offenders institution. He became a father for the first time shortly after being released. Focusing his attentions on family and football, MacKinnon played as as a midfielder and striker, and spent his early career in Junior football with Dumbarton United, Dumbarton Harp, St. Thomas', St. Patrick's Athletic and Clydebank, before turning professional with Hamilton Academical in 2012. He made his name and reputation at Accies where he was club captain and loved by the fans for his whole-hearted approach. He played a pivotal role in Hamilton's sensational promotion to the Premiership in 2014, culminating in a dramatic play-off win against Terry Butcher's Hibernian in 2014. Thereafter, he had many succesful seasons in the top-flight with Accies. For many, the 34-year-old was a surprise addition to Ian McCall's squad in the January transfer window of 2020. He was viewed as a player who would add a steely determination to a struggling Thistle team, desperately in need of points to lift them clear of the danger zone. It didn't work out in the end, and Thistle were relegated / demoted to the third tier with a measly points-per-game ratio of 0.963, the club's worst figure of all-time outwith the top-flight. In the summer of 2020, MacKinnon returned to the Junior ranks with Drumchapel United, where he spent two full seasons, before retiring to become a first-team coach back at Hamilton Accies in August 2022. |
(WIK/WS) |