A re-jigged Spartans XI succumbed to two second half strikes which saw Championship side Livingston progress in the SPFL Trust Trophy at Ainslie Park on Saturday.

There were no fewer than five changes from the previous week’s outing at Forthbank with a long-awaited return to side for skipper Kevin Waugh whilst Adam Meek and Mark Stowe made their first starts of the season.  Rory Whittaker was away on Scotland u19s duty and Danny Denholm came in for Cammy Russell who took up one of the seven spots on the bench.

The early running was made by the visitors, keen to avenge the recent Premier Sports Cup defeat. Play almost exclusively featuring in the Spartans half however it’s a resolute defence that held tight.

Academy Graduate Goalie kept things interesting when his attempted kick up the park was blocked by Steve May’s back, the two players racing towards the rebound before the Livingston player got a shot in that was well saved by the backtracking keeper.

Bradley Whyte was in the wars as he required treatment after using his face to halt Lewis Smith’s endeavours to set up another break.

Spartans got their first free-kick of note shortly after following Mark Stowe being grappled to the ground.  He dusted himself down however couldn’t find a way round the wall to trouble Jerome Prior between the sticks.

Moments later, a shot towards the Livingston goal was directed behind by Michael Nottingham in the box.  As to how it founds its way there, the home contingent in the box were adamant it came off an arm, such was their remonstrations that ultimately fell on deaf ears.

There were hearts in home mouths when Lewis Smith appeared to break the offside trap with only Meek left to engage with.  Thankfully for the Spartans faithful, Smith lost his footing, landed on the carpet and danger denied.

The ball found itself in the Livingston net ahead of the break however Blair Henderson’s reaction to the AR’s flag suggested the Spartans striker had more than an inkling.

Then, with seconds left before the interval, a long cross to the back post by Callum Booth evaded Cristian Montano, it fell to Stowe who found Prior in good form to save.

HT: The Spartans 0-0 Livingston

Spartans made a change at half time with Paul Watson replacing Kevin Waugh.

Just like the first half, the opening minutes once again saw the visitors make progress up the park however they found Meek in fine form with a brace of fine saves.

Further changes were made by the hosts just shy of the hour mark with Cammy Russell and James Craigen coming on for Booth and Stowe.

Livingston were to take the lead in the 64^th minute.  Meek could count himself unlucky after pulling off a sublime save however it was Steve May who pounced to send the rebound home.

A second stop of the day for a knock to the coupon, this time Montano’s napper.  After a lengthy stoppage, the Livingston man’s game was done as the visitors included him in a raft of changes.

At the same stage, Aaron Scott entered the fray, replacing Brogan Walls.

The break appeared to benefit the visitors more and they were to double their lead almost immediately after the restart.

Winter’s low pass towards Lewis Smith couldn’t be cut out and the Livi man progressed into the box before sliding beyond Meek.

With the game entering the final minutes, Ben Lamont came on for Lewis Hunter and made some positive yards and despatches during his cameo up top.

FT: The Spartans 0-2 Livingston

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Bradley Whyte

Blair Carswell returned between the sticks in what was the only change in the Spartans starting line-up and there was positive news with skipper Kevin Waugh taking a spot on the bench.

Another blustery Saturday afternoon for both teams to deal with as the game kicked-off between two teams who were constant top four bedfellows in last season’s competition.

An early foul on Cammy Russell, perhaps the quickest since he signed for the club offered Spartans a free-kick that was launched into the Peterhead box but comfortably dealt with by the visiting defence.

Calum Booth was next to deliver the ball into the Blue Toon penalty area with Blair Henderson’s flicked header flashing past the far post.

The offside trap was then sprung by Cammy Russell who looked to latch on to the ball however Stuart McKenzie dashed from his area to just about get there before the Spartans playmaker and the ball was retrieved in a neighbouring post code.

There was a lengthy break in play as Andy McCarthy took a sore knock during a collision in midfield which brought an early end to his involvement in the game.

Best move of the half came on the stroke of half time following dogged determination by Jamie Dishington who works hard to get to the byeline to pull back for Cammy Russell who didn’t have much time to consider his options as he was closed down and he sent his shot over the bar.

HT: The Spartans 0-0 Peterhead

Blair Henderson was presented with an early half chance in the box however the cross into the box was a trickier one to direct to trouble the keeper than preferred, forcing the nod wide.

The visitors, sitting top of the table going into the game following a promising start, then had a period of pressure that saw the Spartans defence step up to the plate and ensure Blair Carswell was allowed the luxury of minimal saves required.

A couple of changes midway through the half saw Rory Whittaker and Brogan Walls replace Dishington and Craigen.

Callum Booth then went on the attack.  Reports of a nose bleed were denied as the defender made it to the edge of the box however his final shot unfortunately not able to match the dynamic dash through the Peterhead half.

Then, with the game heading towards stalemate, there was almost a twist in the full time tale.

Peterhead launched one last attack, Ben Armour just getting a toe to the ball in front of the defending Blair Henderson to chip over Blair Carswell, only to find Malt and Hops Man of the Match Jamie Dishington on hand to clear off the line.

With time running out, Brogan Walls went on an impressive run in search of his first Spartans goal only for his shot to rise over the bar.

FT: The Spartans 0-0 Peterhead  

The Spartans set up a Premier Sports Cup Quarter Final tie away to Premiership side Aberdeen after despatching fellow top-flight opposition in the shape of Ross County courtesy of a Blair Henderson second half header.

Gaffer Douglas Samuel made one change from the side that defeated Bonnyrigg Rose as Paul Watson returned to the starting XI replacing Danny Denholm who took up a spot on the bench.

Ross County, former winners of the competition in 2016, arrived at Ainslie Park with a strong unbeaten record behind them and the odds firmly in their favour.

Spartans took the game to their lofty opponents from the off and could very well have found themselves ahead within the opening quarter of an hour.

Cammy Russell’s impressive turn and volley on the edge of the box found Ross Laidlaw in fine form between the County sticks, pushing the effort over the bar.

A few moments later, the industrious play-maker had another pop, this time his free-kick from 25 yards curled round the wall but landed just over the bar.

The travelling Staggies support finally had something to applaud when Ronan Hale’s powerful shot from deep inside the box found Heraghty in fine form.

Keiran Watson came within a post-width from netting an opener Spartans would have richly deserved as his acrobatic volley went agonisingly wide.

HT: The Spartans 0-0 Ross County

With half time pies barely digested by supporters and seagulls alike, Spartans took the lead with just twenty second half seconds on the clock.

Jacques Heraghty received the ball from James Craigen’s kick-off before launching it into the Ross County half.  Kieran Watson won the ball on the deck to find Craigen who distributed up the line to find Jamie Dishington.  A nod past Ryan Leak saw Dishington win the foot-race before his cross into the box found Blair Henderson who headed an almighty looped effort beyond Laidlaw into the net.

Absolute scenes across Ainslie Park as the hitman headed to celebrate with the crowd after putting the SPFL 2 side ahead.

Henderson closely followed up by almost adding a second when he met Russell’s cross on the edge of the six yard box however this time Laidlaw was able to pull off a fine saw at point blank range to keep the deficit at a single score.

County gaffer Cowie rung the changes as he emptied the bench during the half in a valiant attempt to get on level terms.

An unfortunate bounce off the wrong toe was then to deny Henderson the opportunity to put late further light between the sides as he beat the offside trap but couldn’t collect and his frustration was clear.

The proverbial County kitchen sink was then hurled towards Heraghty however both he and the Spartans defence held strong, along with the backtracking Henderson who used his height to head to safety County’s corner threats.

With five minutes left on the clock, Malt and Hops Man of the Match Jamie Dishington was replaced by Rory Whittaker.

Nails were bitten to the quick as the scoreboard locked on 90 minutes with all eyes on the Referee and how many added minutes the home faithful would be required to suffer before they could exhale an almighty roar.

When that moment finally came, the home faithful went proper radge with unrivalled joy.  The biggest scalp so far in a proud history of Cup victories for a Spartans side who always dare to dream.

FT: The Spartans 1-0 Ross County

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