20th April 2019 The Spartans v Cumbernauld Colts. 6-2

After a poor game at Tynecastle I decided to head for Ainslie Park in the hope of seeing a decent game of football. Spartans offer half-price season tickets to season-ticket holders at Hearts, Hibs and Edinburgh City. By going to todays game I am making the most of my £35 investment in a Spartans season ticket. I left Tynecastle on the final whistle and walked down to Haymarket then along to the West End to catch a bus to Ainslie Park. I caught a 37 bus outside Mathers Bar in Queensferry Road to Crewe Toll and walked along Ferry Road and down the hill to Ainslie Park. Arrived around 14.30 and headed for the cafe/bar for a Diet Coke and a sausage roll before kickoff. Had a good chat with the two girls behind the bar about the Hearts game. One, who had been married at on the Tynecastle pitch, was sympathetic while the other, a Hibs fan, was not. As I sat down with my snack I met Ally, another ex-work colleague. His son, Aaron Scott, now plays for Spartans after spells in both Hearts and His development sides followed by a year in the USA. Ally and I talked for about ten minutes mainly about football but also about working days and former colleagues.

Spartans lined up on familiar lines although, with both Stephen MacDonald and Jack Smith injured, they were a bit light in the striking department. As normal with Spartans numbers on the players backs did not necessarily equate to their positions on the park.Gary Cennerazzo at number two played at left-back, Scott Maxwell wearing three played left midfield and Mikey Herd at eleven played at right-back.I recognised a few names in the Cumbernauld side having seen them play previously. I know Sean Brown is their top scorer and a danger to any defence.

The match almost started with a bang with Maxwell firing a twenty-five yard shot against the Cumbernauld bar in two minutes with keeper Jordan Pettigrew, on loan from Livingston, helpless. The first goal came after nine minutes when a through ball found Blair Atkinson racing into the penalty area. Pettigrew rushed from his goal but the striker lobbed the ball over his head and into the net from about sixteen yards to put Spartans ahead. Two minutes later Ciumbernauld equalised after a good run from midfielder Gavin Lachlan on the left. He squared the ball inside to Steve O'Neill just outside the box who passed into space for Brown to run into. He took a touch and moved slightly to the left before firing  across Blair Carswell into the net from ten yards. Spartans lost Blair Tolmie to injury and he was replaced by striker Jason Stevens. This necessitated a reshuffle in the ranks with Cennerazzo moving to central defence and Maxwell to left-back. Stevens came on as central striker with Atkinson playing off him. Spartans regained the lead after thirty-seven minutes. A flowing move down the left ended with a pass into the feet of David Greenhill inside the penalty box. He laid the ball back to Atkinson twenty-five yards from goal. The striker shot low and hard into the net giving the keeper no chance. Even the linesman was saying 'good goal' as he ran back towards the halfway line for the centre. There was a strange incident around this time when Cumbernaulds Gavin Lachlan had to go off with a blood injury. As there was blood on his shirt he had to change it and with no spare number eleven shirt he had to come back on with number twelve on his back. The referee had to check that Cumbernauld had no-one on the bench wearing number twelve before Lachlan was allowed back on in the number twelve shirt with number eleven on his shorts. Shortly before halftime Greenhill also sustained a blood injury and played the second half in the number twelve shirt rather than his listed number six. I don't think I have ever seen this happen before. 

Spartans went further ahead in fifty-one minutes when a pass from Jamie Dishington found Atkinson on the right hand side of the penalty box. He twisted and turned before shooting past Pettigrew from around fifteen yards for his hat-trick. Cumbernauld's task began to look more difficult minutes later when Scott Davidson was sent off. He went through the back of Greenhill with a tackle about thirty yards out. It was one of these tackles which did not need to be made and the referee had no hesitation in producing a red card although maybe a yellow wold have sufficed. However they pulled a goal back in seventy-one minutes. A long clearance from keeper Pettigrew was missed by Adam Corbett in central defence. Fraser Team latched onto the ball and, like Atkinson in the first half, lobbed the onrushing Carswell to bring the score back to 3-2. Spartans increased their lead in seventy-seven minutes through substitute Alan 'Hovie' Brown, making his two hundred and first appearance for the club. A long pass from Scott beat the offside trap and founding Hovie rushing into the penalty area on the right. He shot across Peigrew into the far corner of the net. Hovie was not finished yet and in eighty-five minutes his cross from the right found Stevens who headed past Pettigrew. Spartans sixth and final goal came in eighty-eighty minutes when Stevens ran onto a ball into the box and poked the ball past the keeper, The striker seemed to injure himself in the process of scoring and limped off leaving Spartans with ten men for the remainder of the match having used all three permitted substitutes.

The final whistle went shortly after the sixth goal with Spartans achieving their biggest league win in their last league game of the season. The win lifted them to a finishing position of fourth and qualification for next years Irn-Bru Cup which involves SPFL sides. I walked up to Ferry Road but found I had just missed a 27 bus. Walked along to Crewe Toll and caught a 24. Arrived home at 17.35 after walking along Fountainbridge after getting off the 24.

Teams
Spartans: Carswell, Cennerazzo, Maxwell, Tolmie, Corbett, Greenhill, Atkinson, McFarland, Scott, Dishington, Herd.
Subs: Stevens, Brown, Dawson.
Cumbernauld Colts: Pettigrew, Fergus, Pascazio, Davidson, O'Neill, Brown, Holms, Lachlan, Team, Trialist, Henderson.
Subs: Pirrie,