Jamie Dishington set Spartans on their way to three Christmas Eve’s Eve points against Gala Fairydean Rovers in what was a tough old slog in the eye of a hoolie at Ainslie Park.

In the final home game of 2017, Spartans Gaffer Dougie Samuel commented in his match programme notes that the visitors were ‘a side who are set up to play on the front, to be positive’ and defied their current 10th spot in the table.

Craig Stevenson earned the honour of pulling on the iconic white and red Spartans kit for the 150th occasion.  Indeed, it was the same player who was the difference between the sides last time out, scoring the only goal in the Borders.

A mere 20 seconds had elapsed and it was almost an early Christmas gift for Guff as Ross Guthrie pounced deep in the Gala half and it was the legs of Lewis Muir than prevented one of the quickest goals of the season.

The visitors were up next to try their luck and it was a long ranger effort from Darren Smith that saw the ball float in mid air like a 99p flyaway those of a certain vintage will recall being offered in your sack from Santa.  It took decisive action from Blair Carswell to push the shot over the bar.

It was the cat-like reflexes of Carswell once again that came to Spartans rescue, the second of a possible nine lives utilised within the opening twenty five minutes.  Fairydean’s Grant Rose must have thought he’d found his way past the home keeper only for Carswell to the be thorn in Rose’s side to get down low to deny.  Michael Herd was on sweepy-up duties and tidied up the rebound.

A blustery afternoon inside the Pilton San Siro not only transfixed a freezing faced smile on every fan in the stand due to the wind-chill factor, but the windy times offered some additional challenges to the players looking to set up a free-kick.  First up was Darren Smith who, facing towards the blustery conditions, was almost like a magnet to the ball as it just kept blowing back towards him as he stepped back to line up the delivery!  Funny the first time for the fans, but frustrating for the handful of players affected throughout the game.

One final chance of the opening half came to Adam Corbett following a Scott Maxwell corner kick.  The ball whizzing into the box but the Academy Graduate couldn’t quite direct his header home.

Half Time: Spartans 0-o Gala Fairydean Rovers

Akin to the opening exchanges, Spartans came flying out the traps first and within four minutes of the restart, they found themselves ahead.

Hugging the standside touchline, Jamie Dishington edged his way back inside and let fly with a speculative cross.  Cue – wind.  A flummoxed Muir between the Rovers sticks could only watch on in bemusement as the effort cleared his outstretched arm to fly into the net.  Cue – celebrations!

Looking to put some light between the sides was Jason Stevens.  The new recruit was keen to add to his debut goal and it was the width of the post that denied him from making it two.

Jamie Dishington was unlucky not to turn some trickery into an eleventh for the season when his nifty feet set up an opportunity that narrowly flashed past the post with Muir well beaten.

When David Greenhill became the second Spartan to rattle the woodwork, it looked like a solitary strike would be all that was on offer however the same player was to wrap it up with a bow on top for the Gaffer’s Christmas when he pounced on a rebound after Muir had done well to save his original shot.

Full Time: Spartans 2-0 Gala Fairydean Rovers

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Michael Herd

Spartans: Carswell, Herd, Stevenson (Atkinson 79), Nixon, Corbett, Greenhill (Brown 88), Dishington, McFarland, Guthrie (Allum 71), Stevens, Maxwell.  Subs: (Unused) Bremner, Thomson, Stobie.

Spartans made it three wins on the bounce with a well earned 1-3 victory over Stirling University at a freezing cold Falkirk Stadium under the lights on Friday night.

Blair Carswell pulled on the gloves for the 100th time in his Spartans senior career whilst Willie Bremner was named in amongst the replacements following a long road to recovery from injury.

It took just 8 minutes for the deadlock to be broken and it was the visitors who caught the hosts out cold.  Scott Maxwell flighted a well placed corner kick into the danger area to find the talismanic Blair Tolmie who rose above the Stirling defence to thunder his header beyond Kevin Walker in the Uni goal.

That lead was doubled just nine minutes later and it was done so in some style.  A textbook guide defence splitting pass by Ian McFarland saw the Students on the back foot from which they never recovered and David Greenhill was on hand to hammer home from inside the box to put light between the sides.

Paul Thomson showed why he is one of the top defenders in the Lowland League with his mopping up of long balls and his work at the back was to see Ross Guthrie almost capitalise at the other end of the park, only to be squeezed out as he looked to find a shot at the target.

The clear starry sky may have been picturesque and welcoming for those looking for NASA’s new planets, but the lack of cloud cover meant temperatures dipped considerably as the night progressed.  This was causing some challenges across the non-stand side where players looked like they were wearing their baffies instead of mouldies as they slipped around over on the sidelines.

HT: Stirling Uni 0-2 Spartans

Spartans made a change at the break with Adam Corbett replacing Paul Thomson, the replacement yet another fantastic product of the player pathway system in place at the Academy.

It took the heroics of Stirling keeper Walker to deny Jason Stevens from opening his account, clawing the ball away when a goal looked the only likely outcome from the headed finish to Craig Stevenson’s cross.

Blair Lyons then came close for the Students with the thickness of the post coming to Spartans rescue as the hosts began to gradually creep their way back into the game.

Ten minutes into the second half and the deficit was finally halved.  Pressure paid off and a challenge in the box was immediately turned into a spot kick which Lewis Bonar drilled right down the middle.

It could have been worse for the visitors had the match official allowed play to progress with Stirling on the break.  The ball finding its way into the net only for the whistle to have been blown seconds before it trundled over the whitewash and brought back for a free-kick for the hosts outside the box.

Michael Herd came off the bench to replace Ross Guthrie as the game entered its final quarter.

Then, with twenty minutes left on the clock, the half time two goal lead was restored.  Jamie Dishington’s cross evaded the Uni defence and new recruit Jason Stevens didn’t need a written invitation to see off the move with a dynamic header that tested the pegs on the base on the net.

Dachi Khutsishvili was next to peel off the layers to make an appearance at the expense of Dishington who celebrated his 21st birthday on Tuesday.

There was nearly icing on the Spartans cake shortly after when the Georgian substitute beat his man on the flank and his cross was hoofed off the line by Daniel Ashe.

FT: Stirling Uni 1-3 Spartans

Post match, Spartans Centurion Blair Carswell said, “I have to admit I wasn’t aware that it was my 100th game which is obviously a fantastic milestone for me having progressed from the youth ranks.  We came here to get the three points and we done the job we set out to do.

“I think we had control of the bulk of the game and whilst Stirling had a decent amount of possession early in the second half, I felt that our defence held strong, were well organised and prevented their strikers from troubling me too much.  We scored three great goals and that’s all that matters.

“All we can do is play one game at a time and keep going out to record victories and see where it takes us.”

Spartans: 1. Carswell 2. Nixon 3. Stevenson 4. Tolmie (Corbett) 5. Thomson 6. Greenhill 7. Dishington (Khutsishvili) 8. McFarland 9. Guthrie (Herd) 10. Stevens 11. Maxwell Subs (Unused) 14. Atkinson 16. Dawson 18. Bremner GK. Stobie

Images from the game can be found on our Facebook page here and here

Spartans under 20s booked a league cup semi final clash against Cumbernauld Colts after a five goal thriller extra time win over Whitehill Welfare at Ainslie Park.

Availability offered Gaffer Les Atkinson selection challenges and it was a changed side from Friday’s victory in Mid Annandale.

The early days of Storm Caroline appeared to visit Ainslie Park as a hoolie blew around the Pilton San Siro, offering neither side any advantage as it swirled around the stadium.

An early burst up the line by Gabriel Hill showed Spartans’ intent and his whipped in cross saw the Welfare keeper equal to the task as be dived to deny the lurking Cameron Dawson from breaking the deadlock.

Dawson then robbed a dithering defender in midfield before pursuing the lead in earnest, only for the goalie to thwart him at the second time of asking.

That deadlock was broken on the half hour mark when a fabulous piece of individual skill by Calum O’Neil saw him skip past his man, drive into the box and shoots through the keeper into the net.

Spartans were forced into a change as Douglas Crowe failed to recover from a knock sustained in a 50/50 that also saw his opposite man withdrawn, and he’s replaced by Lewis Grant.

The lengthy break in play seemed to benefit the visitors more as the Spartans momentum diluted and within moments of the restart, the scores were level, offering Atkinson a different complexion to his half time team talk.

HT: Spartans 1-1 Whitehill Welfare

Both bag men were busy in what was a tough tackling true grit battle between two old adversaries as the Ainslie Park Astro represented a scene from the Alamo with bodies strewn across the park in the name of combat.

With the game entering into the final quarter of an hour, Mikey Allan could only look on in anguish as he watched his shot cannon off the base of the post as Spartans searched for a winner.

Then, two minutes into injury time, Gabriel Hill skipped his way into the visitor’s box to drill home what looked like a last gasp victorious goal.

Welfare hadn’t read the script and in the fifth minute of added time, the ball somehow found its way into the home danger area and with a Welfare man thinking his Christmas had come early, he unwrapped a gift to send the game into extra time.

FT: Spartans 2-2 Whitehill Welfare

The pendulum of momentum may have swung the way of the Rosewell at the end of both halves but it was Spartans who were to have the final say in a see-saw topsy turvy tussle.

Six minutes into the opening period of the extra half hour, Danny Sutherland made significant ground before the ball fell into the path of Cameron Dawson. The striker didn’t get the cleanest of strikes however that probably helped outfox Jardine to give Spartans the lead for the third time in the game.

As the hosts looked to put further light between the sides, a fine save by Jardine drew warm applause as he pushed Dawson’s effort round the post and keep his side in the tie.

With time running out, intelligent play by the home attack force saw the ball reach corners of the park previously not entered throughout the rest of the tie. The frustrations within the visiting camp were clear when the No.8 was shown a second yellow for dissent and off he popped for an early shower.

As the cool night area stopped becoming fresh for the fans and freezing on the fingers, finally the Referee put whistle to mouth one final time to bring a cracking quarter final to a close.

ET FT: Spartans 3-2 Whitehill Welfare

Spartans got back to winning ways as they cruised into the next round of the Football Nation Qualifying Cup with an emphatic 0-5 victory on the road at Roswell against Whitehill Welfare.

Fine pitch-fork work on the paddock by the hosts ahead of the early afternoon kick-off ensured that game one of two between the old ‘frienemies’ in December went ahead.  It was to be a stamina sapping encounter that saw the hosts finish the match with 10 men following a late dismissal.

Kick-off was temporarily delayed as last minute repairs to one of the nets was carried out and as the half played out, it didn’t seem like they were in any danger of being damaged any further as the deadlock remained unbroken.

An early adventurous backpass to Welfare keeper on the bumpy surface put Connar Easton under pressure and after a scramble, the ball was unceremoniously hoofed away to safety.

Debutant Jason Stevens almost made a perfect start to his Spartans career when he got his head to a cross but couldn’t direct it on target.

Welfare’s attacking prowess was limited and a rare excursion into the Spartans half saw Andrew Stobie gather with consummate ease.

Jack Wright was then booked by Referee Shepherd, a caution that was to haunt the Welfare midfielder later in the game.

Then, with five minutes before the interval, the home rear guard was finally overcome.  Craig Stevenson’s pinpoint delivery found Blair Tolmie who outjumped William Kidd to head home past Easton.

Spartans were to head into the sheds with a two goal cushion when, on the stroke of half time, a telling run down the line by Stevens saw him scoop the ball low into the box for the onrushing Scott Maxwell to beat Cameron Watson to the ball and double his side’s lead.

HT: Whitehill Welfare 0-2 Spartans

Five minutes into the second half, Spartans passage into the next round was all but secured when the match official had his easiest decision of the match to make when Ian McFarland was upended in the box.  Ross Allum stepped up and sent Easton the wrong way to make it three.

Craig Stevenson was next up to have a pop and his free-kick cleared the wall, only to find the welcoming hands of Easton between the home sticks.

When Ross Allum broke the offside trap it looked as if number four was on its way.  A corner kick was the outcome despite the remonstrations of the home defence however a knowing smile from Easton meant he could count that one as a fine save.

The game entered its final stages as the bed of treacle continued to hold up as well as it could.  A throw in from Stevenson was collected by Ross Guthrie who squeezed between Cameron Watson and Kerr Dodds before firing past Easton.

It went from bad to worse for Whitehill when Jack Wright was shown his second yellow of the afternoon for an infringement.

With almost the last kick of the ball, Jamie Dishington broke free to deliver for David Greenhill who made no mistake with the head from 10 yards.

FT: Whitehill Welfare 0-5 Spartans

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Scott Maxwell

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