Blair Henderson’s double opened up Spartans account at home in a 2-0 victory over Bonnyrigg Rose at a sunny, but decidedly blustery Ainslie Park.

New signing Rory Whittaker was one of six former Spartans Youth players on the seven-man strong bench whilst Jacques Heraghty returned between the sticks as Trialist keeper.

Danny Denholm looked to make some early gains when he pounced on a loose pass back however Tom Ritchie raced off his line to hoof up the park to deny the Spartans man.

It was an opening quarter largely spoilt by the wind swirling around the Ainslie Park arena with stray passes and aerial challenges the theme of the day thus far.

Cammy Russell was unlucky with a 25 yard free-kick that landed on top of the roof of the net rather than the desired couple of inches lower.

Jacques Heraghty was largely a bystander however as the half-time interval approached, he had to look lively to get down low to push a Neil Martyniuk effort behind for a corner.

Half Time: The Spartans 0-0 Bonnyrigg Rose

Spartans had an early opportunity after the break when Bradley Whyte showed some enterprising play with James Craigen not far away with an effort that went just wide of the near post.

Then, just before the hour mark, Spartans took the lead.  Tenacious play by Cammy Russell made his way to the bye-line before scooping the ball to the back post.  Tom Ritchie was unable to stop the cross and Blair Henderson sent the ball home from close range to open the scoring.

A double Spartans substitution followed shortly after, with Brogan Walls and Rory Whittaker replacing Danny Denholm and Lewis Hunter.

Bonnyrigg looked to retaliate however Dean Watson’s long range effort almost cleaned out two supporters behind the goal on the embankment, but for their alert response to move either way of the ball flying towards them.

With just five minutes left on the clock, Spartans doubled their advantage in somewhat fortunate circumstances. 

Brogan Walls nodded the ball into the path of Blair Henderson on the edge of the box.  The hitman sent a speculative shot that looked a bread and butter for the keeper however Ritchie could only fumble and look on as the ball agonisingly darted into the net.

The visitors looked to have got themselves back into the game at the death however the travelling support’s cheers turned to jeers when Cammy Ross headed home, only to look up to see the Assistant Referee’s flag up in the air for offside.

One final swap in the Spartans ranks with Archie Wylie replacing Cammy Russell.  Wylie had scored a hat-trick the previous evening for the Under 20s in their Development League opener and he drew warm applause from the home support with his audacious attacking play during his cameo appearance.  Expect to see more from the young playmaker in due course.

FT: The Spartans 2-0 Bonnyrigg Rose

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Blair Henderson.

Attendance: 616

Paul Watson’s second half double saw The Spartans come back from a two goal deficit at the break to earn his side a point on the road in the opening match day of the William Hill SPFL 2 campaign.

Spartans were unbeaten in both encounters between the clubs at Stair Park last season however that record looked on the ropes come half time however a spirited fightback saw a share of the spoils come the final whistle.

The opening quarter of an hour saw a cagey affair and the players adjusted to the warm conditions and a slightly slippy surface underfoot caused by overnight rain.

There followed a six-minute one-two rapid double blow on the Spartans chin that had the visitors on the ropes.

Stranraer went on the counter and as Ayrton Sonkur put in a last gasp challenge to try and thwart Deryn Lang, the ball could only be deflected and it looped over Blair Carswell and into the empty net.

It could have been all square moments later when Cammy Russell sprung the offside trap to race towards goal.  He looked to square to Blair Henderson who spun to face Jacob Pazikas between the sticks however his effort went narrowly wide of the post.

Then, in the 26^th minute, Stranraer doubled their lead. A long hoof up the park saw the ball fall to Lang and he look to turn Sonkur, his team mate Elliot Dunlop had other plans and slammed home via the inside of the post.

The crossbar came to the Spartans rescue shortly after with the rebound being headed off the line by Sonkur as Stranraer attempted to put further light between the sides before retreating to the sheds.

HT: Stranraer 2-0 The Spartans

Would the hosts rue the missed chances ahead of the break? Could Spartans pull this back from the brink come full time? 

Well, just four minutes into the second half, the deficit was halved.

A Cammy Russell in-swinging corner was headed back across goal by Blair Henderson to find Paul Watson hovering on the six yard line and he nodded home.

Callum Booth then launched a probing cross to the back post and it was only an inch or two too high for Jamie Dishington to connect with.

It was Dishington’s last involvement as he was replaced by Brogan Walls midway through the half.

With a quarter of an hour left on the clock and as cliches go, the next goal likely to be crucial, it was the visitors who found the net to silence the vuvuzela blower in the stand.

Lewis Hunter was wrestled to the ground in a move that wouldn’t have looked out of place across the road at neighbouring Wigtonshire Rugby Club’s paddock.  Tomas Brindley earning a caution for his involvement that offered Spartans a free-kick out wide.

Cammy Russell sent the free-kick into the box and after two ricochets, it landed at the feet of Paul Watson who slid in with a half volley that flew beyond the defender on the post and into the back of the net.

Both sides tried valiantly to create a late winner however it just proved to be too elusive and were eventually rewarded with a point a-piece for their efforts.

FT: Stranraer 2-2 The Spartans

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Paul Watson