It’s another exciting midweek clash for Dougie Samuel’s Spartans as they welcome Cumbernauld Colts to Ainslie Park as the tricky Lowland League fixtures keep coming thick and fast.

The Gaffer will be looking for his men to execute their moves smarter than Michael Gove on an Aberdonian nightclub dancefloor and harness the opportunity to get back to winning ways against the Colts in front of a home crowd which has been in healthy numbers post lockdown.

Gregor Woods enjoyed game time on Saturday in what was his 50th appearance for the club however Michael Bolochoweckyj mustang around for his return as he remains suspended and won’t saddle up against the Colts.

As revealed in Saturday’s match programme, Samuel noted that Blair Carswell will be out for the next six weeks following the poor first minute challenge in the game against East Stirlingshire.  Check out our Twitter feed ahead of kick-off to see who will be taking over the reigns.

It’ll be a huge disappointment to ‘The Cat’ who was back to his best with four clean sheets following his return from a serious calf injury last season.  We wish Blair a speedy recovery and it was good to see him down watching against the Braves.

We have no shortages of Blair flare in the squad and record scorer in fixtures between the sides with six goals, Atkinson, is one goal away from notching up his half-century of strikes for the senior side.

Our visitors may have to look back to the opening day of the campaign for their solitary victory so far however a recent 4-4 humdinger against Gretna shows that the Colts have a nose for goal and will prove to be a threat as the look to win at Ainslie Park for the first time since the 2016/17 season.

Last time out between the sides saw eight goals too however it was a canter in the end for Spartans who scored six of them, with Gregor Woods not only breaking his duck but bagging a brace in an incredible evening at Broadwood.

The match kicks-off at 7.45pm.  Tickets can be bought in advance via the Fanbase App however you can also pay at the gate.  Season Tickets remain great value for money and can only be purchased via the same methods.

With no other senior games in Edinburgh on Tuesday night, we’re hoping our Affordable Football For All offering can stirrup a big support and bring Spartans the unbridled joy of three points.

Tale of the Tape:

After a rare midweek off from competitive action, The Spartans are back at the coal face when they welcome Caledonian Braves to Ainslie Park this Saturday.

Following last weekend’s day of drama, Dougie Samuel’s side have had an opportunity to regroup and regather via two positive training sessions as they await another tough challenge from the Braves who head across to the Capital boosted by back-to-back victories against the two basement sides in the league.

Samuel will be without Michael Bolochoweckyj following his sending off against Shire however he is boosted by the return of influential playmaker Sam Jones who has served his two-match suspension.

Kick-off is at 3.00pm.  Admission Prices are £8 Adults and £5 Concessions.  You can buy your ticket in advance via the Fanbase app or alternatively we will still accept pay at the gate – card preferred.

A message for supporters attending games:

The SFA have requested that clubs remind fans to take the following measures before, during and after attending a match. They ask supporters to:-

1. Not attend a match if they have any symptoms.
2. Take a precautionary Lateral Flow Test before arrival at the stadium.
3. Ensure that mandatory regulations are followed when travelling to and from the stadium (car, train, supporters’ buses etc) with particularly attention to the wearing of face coverings.
4. Keep a safe distance when entering and exiting the stadium.
5. Wear a face covering when entering and exiting the stadium.
6. Ensure that mandatory regulations are followed when using hospitality facilities within the stadium.
7. Where possible, keep a distance between you and other supporters when seated in the stadium.

Spartans head into Saturday’s Lowland League clash with East Stirlingshire on the back of an incredible comeback win over Bo’ness United on Wednesday night.

It was a result that put Dougie Samuel’s side into third place in the table and sees them with six wins out of seven games played in a busy opening few weeks of the campaign.

The visitors have had an indifferent start, although their 8th placing so early in the season means nothing and after two draws and a narrow defeat to new table toppers Bonnyrigg in midweek, Shire will undoubtedly head East keen to get their promotion bid back on track.

Comebacks are of course something both teams meeting at Ainslie Park are familiar with.  The previous two clashes between the sides have witnessed sensational Spartans recoveries – a Jake Davidson solo spectacular and an Archie Meekison hat-trick memorable highlights – however the Gaffer and the Spartan Army faithful will be keen for a more traditional route to three points this time round.

One of the main architects behind Wednesday’s late show was Malt & Hops Man of the Match Michael Allan.  The Academy Graduate reflected on the win, “I think we started the first half against Bo’ness rather sloppily, but quickly got ourselves back in the game and we had about half a dozen chances, but just couldn’t put them away.  We came out in the second half, frustratingly conceded again early, but plugged away and eventually took our chances in the final third and came out on top.

“If we can keep it tight at the back and the boys up top continue to do the job they are doing, we’re going to come away from games with points.  Wednesday was the first time we’d found ourselves in that position since the opening game of the season against Rangers where we’ve been two goals down but it shows that we are capable of digging deep and turning a game around and getting the win.

“We’re doing well at the moment, getting wins where maybe last season we wouldn’t have done so. The boys are simply taking each game as it comes and our immediate focus now is East Stirling on Saturday.   We know how difficult they can be as opponents and we’ll need to compete from the first whistle to keep them at bay.”

Kick-off at Ainslie Park is 3pm.  Advance tickets are via the Fanbase App however we do accept payment at the gate.  Admission is £8 Adults, £5 Concessions, Under 16s Free.

The match is being sponsored by J-Teq EMS Solutions. 

The Spartans are back in midweek action as they make their inaugural visit to Bo’ness for the first meeting between the sides.

Spartans will be without Sam Jones following his red card at Dalbeattie on Saturday however Dougie Samuel will have an otherwise full pack to choose from ahead of yet another high tempo tough encounter.

After Tuesday night’s round of fixtures, Spartans go into the game in fifth place, three points off leaders Rangers B, the only side to inflict defeat on the Ainslie Park side so far, and a game in hand.

Hosts Bo’ness, in their first season in the competition, will be keen to get back to winning ways after an unwelcome hat-trick of defeats however their strike-force is to be reckoned with, scoring 13 goals in their two victories so far.

However the Spartans defence has been in fine form, with four out of their six games so far seeing Blair Carswell return clean sheets and just two out of the three goals conceded, the fewest by any team in the league, coming from open play.

It sets up an exciting evening at Newton Park as Samuel goes head to head with Max Christie, but will Spartans ruffle the Christie duffle?

Kick off is at 19.45h, gates open at 1900. Entry set at £7 adult, £4 concession, tickets via the Fanbase app or you can pay at the gate.