It gained an ample revenge over Broxburn Shamrock in the final in 1885–86, winning with a goal in the last 90 seconds.

[11] The club also won the one-off Linlithgowshire Charity Cup in 1885–86, with a 9–0 win over the Bathgate Volunteers in the final at Durhamtown's ground.

[21] The same season the club was drawn at home to Hibernian in the Scottish Cup; the tie was played at the new ground on Volunteer Park, and Armadale drew its biggest-ever crowd.

[22] The 1890–91 Scottish Cup was the last in which every entrant started in the first round proper; the club was drawn away - yet again - to Leith Athletic, and lost 3–2, amid controversy; Armadale had a goal disallowed for unknown reasons, and Leith's winner came from a shot across the goal which the crowd claimed had gone in (apparently a regular tactic at Bank Park).

After some deliberation, Leith claimed the goal, which the referee awarded, resulting in Armadale coming close to walking off the pitch.

[25] The introduction of qualifying rounds for the Cup 1891–92, and the arrival of league football, was devastating for the clubs in the smaller Linlithgowshire towns.

[26] Armadale did play in the Eastern Alliance in its one season in 1891–92, but struggled, being bottom-but-one in the unfinished competition after 3 wins in 12 matches.

[27] The club's decline was swift and in part down to administrative incompetence, as the long-serving secretary Archer had left in 1893.

[28] This "new" Armadale was disqualified from the Linlithgowshire Cup in 1893–94 because the new secretary repeated the error of an earlier generation, and forgot the elemental task of sending a list of players, this time though after a successful tie.