Goals from Willie Bremner and Blair Tolmie gave Spartans a comfortable three points on the road as they defeated 10-man Hawick Royal Albert on Tuesday evening.

After the return of the ‘Beast from the East’ at the weekend, the Albert Park groundstaff should take credit for turning round a surface of snow to a playable paddock as the inevitable springtime fixture backlog grows.

Spartans got off to the perfect start with the opening two minutes. A free-kick was launched into the box, an aerial tussle didn’t find the head of Guillermo Lamarca but the lurking Willie Bremner swooped on the ball akin to a seagull on chips to send home.

An early goal settling the tourists who were keen to avoid any proverbial banana skin slip ups against the basement side who could perhaps have counted themselves unfortunate not to have picked up more points in recent games.

Despite getting off to the ideal start, the visitors couldn’t get past the stuffy Hawick rearguard who set out their stall to nullify the title hopefuls.

Lamarca almost double the lead when he got on the end of a cross inside the box but his header was easily gathered by the Craig Saunders between the Hawick sticks.

The man from Madrid was even closer following some nifty footwork and skill from Blair Atkinson who slid him at the near post only to find Saunders pulling off a crucial save down low.

Hawick’s could have gone in level at the break when their only notable excursion into the Spartans danger zone offered a chance for David McCaughie. His thirty yards effort found the fingertips of Blair Carswell who done well to push it over the bar.

HT: Hawick Royal Albert 0-1 Spartans

In carbon copy timing from the first half, Spartans started the second with a goal shortly after the restart and what a collectors item it was too.

Blair Tolmie taking possession of the ball on the edge of the box before unleashing an unstoppable strike that crashed home via the underside of the crossbar. They’d be raving about that kinda stuff on the Match of Day sofa and no doubt Blair will be dining out on it for a while to come!

The hosts hopes of any recovery were hampered further when they were reduced to 10 men. The Referee having offered Tully a final warning was left with little option than to send the defender to the sheds for first dibs on the hot showers.

Samuel rung the changes midway through the half and it was a welcome return to the fray for Gavin Malin after a frustrating period on the treatment table.

Fellow bench custodian Dachi ‘the Georgian Bulldog’ Khutsishvili was unlucky not to make his mark from the bench when he had the ball in the net late on. Sadly for the sub, his effort was flagged offside by the stand-side linesman.

The decision offering a difference of opinion between the dugouts causing a lone female voice within the stand to tell the chaps to temper the testosterone. At least that’s a paraphrase of what your scribe heard.

FT: Hawick Royal Albert 0-2 Spartans

Spartans XI: 1. Carswell, 2. Herd, 3. Stevenson, 4. Tolmie, 5. Corbett, 6. Dishington (Malin), 7. Atkinson (Stevens), 8. Brown, 9. Lamarca (Khutsishvili), 10. Bremner, 11. Maxwell  Subs (Unused): 15. Thomson, 17. Nixon, GK. Stobie

A Blair Atkinson double helped guide Dougie Samuel’s Spartans to an emphatic five goal victory over Cumbernauld Colts in the Lowland League and sees his side move into second spot in the table following BSC Glasgow’s 1-3 defeat at home to Gretna.

It almost wasn’t to be for Atkinson as the Pathway Graduate was drafted into the starting XI following the late withdrawal of a poorly David Greenhill.  On a bitter night in North Edinburgh, the playmaker was certainly not caught cold by the call-up and from the outset, he tormented the Colts defence with his trickery and pace.

Man of the Match Craig Stevenson showed his intent to make a mark on the game when he slalomed through the Colts defence, only to his shot easily saved.

Spanish striker Guillermo Lamarca was first to have the ball in the net, but the man from Madrid was denied by the far-side linesman who flagged him for offside.

The last line of defence was however finally breached in the 25th minute when Alan Brown went for a wander towards the edge of the box before unleashing an effort towards the goal.  His shot took a deflection and in what felt like a form of suspended animation, it finally spun beyond a flat-footed Ronan Fallons who could only look on as the ball nestled in the net.

Willie Bremner looked like he’d ditched his drought in front of goal when he powered home a header from six yards, only for the Referee to rule it out for a transgression during the aerial challenge.

HT:  Spartans 1-0 Cumbernauld Colts

With the previous encounter between the sides seeing a one goal advantage cancelled out late in the game, a cushion of a second strike was high on the Spartans agenda.  They didn’t have long to wait for their pressure to come to fruition when, just six minutes into the half, Blair Atkinson sent a delightfully curled attempt beyond Fallons and into the bottom corner.

Six minutes later, further light appeared.  Craig Stevenson’s free-kick from just outside the box rattled the bar and Jamie Dishington was on hand to turn the rebound into the net with the head from close range.

Spartans continued to dominate and as the game entered the final quarter of an hour, they added a fourth.  Guillermo Lamarca holding the ball up well inside the box and with the deftest of touches, opened up an opportunity for Blair Atkinson to unleash an unstoppable drive.

With four minutes left on the stopwatch, the Spaniard was rewarded for his endeavours with a goal of his own.  Collecting the ball out on the edge of the box, he looked up before sending his shot flying past Fallons to cap a good night at the office for the title chasers and give them their biggest winning margin against their opponents in the competition.

FT: Spartans 5-0 Cumbernauld Colts

Spartans Spanish eyes were smiling in the Scottish Borders on Saturday afternoon as a double from Guillermo Lamarca saw them move into third place in the Ferrari Packaging League after an emphatic 0-5 victory on the road against Vale of Leithen at Victoria Park.

With the title chasing pack all picking up maximum points in their respective fixtures, any potential banana skin moments against opponents littered with ‘well-kent’ faces were extinguished within the opening quarter of an hour.

As early as the second minute, Dougie Samuel’s side showed their intent with Willie Bremner forcing Martin into a transgression with his trickery in the box.  Man of the Match David Greenhill stepped up to send former Spartan Army favourite Ross Gilpin the wrong way.

The lead was doubled by Jamie Dishington who was on hand to turn in Greenhill’s cross that left Gilpin with little chance to stop.

A chance to halve the deficit came midway through the half courtesy of the second penalty award of the afternoon.  Adam Corbett with the foul on Stewart however the Defender’s blushes were saved – as was the spot kick – by Blair Carswell who sent Kerr Allan’s effort round the post.

That miss was to prove crucial as moments later, Lamarca made it three after turning home Bremner’s cross.

A lull in goal scoring proceedings followed and it wasn’t until two minutes before the break that Spartans added their fourth.  Greenhill once again the provider and Lamarca made no mistake with a powerful effort that tested the strength of the pegs.

Half Time: Vale of Leithen 0-4 Spartans

A triple swap came on the hour with the gaffer perhaps with one eye on Tuesday night’s Football Nation Cup semi against East Kilbride.  On came Ross Allum, Dachi Khutsisvili and Ross Guthrie with Bremner, Herd and Lamarca enjoyed the early shot of the showers.

With a four goal cushion and a trio of changes, Spartans continued to press however it was the hosts who built up a wee head of steam with Paterson and Martin coming close.

As the match looked to be heading for a goal free second period, Corbett was on hand to despatch Khutsishvili’s delivery to make it five.

Full Time: Vale of Leithen 0-5 Spartans

Spartans: Carswell, Herd (Guthrie), Brown, Tolmie, Corbett, Greenhill, Dishington, McFarland, Lamarca (Khutsishvili), Bremner (Allum), Maxwell Subs: Stevenson, Thomson, Atkinson, Stobie

Spartans set up a home Semi Final Football Nation Qualifying Cup clash against East Kilbride next Tuesday after Ross Allum’s Extra Time solitary strike was enough to separate the sides as they defeated Gretna 2008 at Raydale Park.

With the Lowland League title race in full swing, Manager Dougie Samuel continued to utilise his squad with Andrew Stobie taking up guard between the sticks and there was a start for Spanish striker Guillermo Lamarca at the other end of the park.

Bright sky during the day meant for a clear cold starry night and the temperatures dipped in Dumfriesshire as the quarter final tie got underway.

The main source of men exuding a bountiful of energy during the opening quarter was the small band of home faithful who engaged with the visiting bench whilst harrumphing throughout as neither side took charge of the game.

Scott Maxwell made a telling run to one of the darkened corners of Raydale before whipping in a cross that fell to the head of Lamarca who headed into the bread basket of John Jamieson who was a thorn in the Spartans side throughout.

When Willie Bremner collected the ball on the bed of treacle on the half hour mark, he raced into the box only to be upended whilst looking to shape up a shot. Play raged on due to lack of interest in a penalty award from the man in the middle.

Half Time came and went without goals to note and it took until midway through the second before another save from Jamieson denied the deadlock to be broken. Thankfully for his own Defender Daniel Wadge, the shot stopper save his blushes by pulling off an instinctive save from point blank range.

It was Andrew Stobie next up to be the king of the keepers when he dived at full stretch to thwart Kevin Connelly with what would surely have been the winner.

Instead, the frozen fans were treated to more bang for their buck with an additional period of extra time.

Cometh the hour, well, 100 minutes to be honest, Ross Allum netted what proved to be the goal that paved the way to setting up an intriguing semi next week.

A long ball took a decidedly squirty bounce on the slippy quagmire and created some confusion between Allum, defender and goalie before the striker reacted the quickest to flick over Jamieson to find the net.

Play had barely the chance to get underway when Ian McFarland was invited by the Referee to partake in an early shower.

Maybe Subo had some nice smelling shower gel in his bag as he was joined with five minutes of the additional period to go by a Gretna lad who pick up a second yellow for a further transgression.

Extra Time Full Time: Gretna 2008 0-1 Spartans

Spartans: Stobie, Nixon (Brown), Maxwell, Corbett, Thomson, Guthrie, Lamarca (Allum), Bremner (Stevenson), Herd, McFarland , Stevens.  Unused: Carswell

Malt & Hops Man of the Match: Michael Herd