Tag: Ramsdens Cup

Queens prove to strong for Spartans

Spartans travelled to Palmerston Park to take on Ramsdens Cup holder Queen Of The South on Saturday.

Both sides started brightly and it didn’t take long for Queens to start piling on the pressure and they were rewarded in the tenth minute when a corner was whipped in and wasn’t cleared and this allowed Stephen McKenna to head how from close range.

Jack Beacher then gave away a free kick on the edge of the box and the cross ball was left by the Spartans players and Derek Lyle nipped in and scored from close range.

QOS v Spartans

McKenna got his second of the afternoon when Spartans again failed to deal with a cross and McKenna headed the ball into the net.

Spartans started the second half well and were beginning to take control of the game, however, they were dealt a sucker punch when a wild cross was whipped into the Spartans box and Kevin Holt out jumped the defence and his powerful header left the keeper with no chance.

After the game Spartans manager Dougie Samuel was upbeat and he said “We will take lots of positives from this game, it was a really hard match for us and I was disappointed that we lost three goals from crosses. We will be working hard over the next few weeks to ensure we are ready for the season starting on the 10th August”.

Spartans Lead in Ramsdens Cup qualifier

Spartans won 4 – 2 at home over Threave Rovers to go into next weeks second leg with a two goal advantage.

A crowd of 321 were treated to six goals in a fantastic opener to the Scottish football season in the Capital.

The visitors had the first chance of the game in the opening minutes after a goalmouth stramash from a Nicholl free-kick finally saw the ball sneak wide of Bennett’s post.

Aerial challenge (Picture: Carlson Ralton)
Aerial challenge (Picture: Carlson Ralton)

Despite the early start to the 2013/14 campaign and several new faces in each camp, both teams looked confident on the ball but couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock.

With no changes at the break from either camp, both managers stuck with their original line ups in a bid to make an early breakthrough.

That came in the 48th minute – and it was for the home team.

A Jack Beesley cross whipped in from out wide evaded the Rovers defence and it was left for Robbie Ross to get his big yellow boots wrapped round the ball to tap it in from 6 yards out. 1-0.

It was a double for Ross minutes later when he headed the ball past Parker in the Threave goal with the aid of a slight deflection to extend the Spartans lead.

Threave edged their way back into the game with a Milligan goal with a tap in from a yard out, nipping between Whatley and Sivewright in the Spartans defence. 2-1.

It was all square after 77 minutes when Bennett rushed out to the edge of his box to deal with a through ball however his clumsy challenge on Milligan left the man in the middle no option than to point to the spot. Wilby sent the keeper the wrong way and pegged back the deficit. 2-2.

With 5 minutes to go, Spartans nudged their way back in front and it was another clear-cut spot kick decision for the whistler.

Gary Cennerazzo made a bursting run into the box and as he stepped inside to shape up for the shot at goal, he was upended by Kerr. Kevin Motion took the resultant penalty and slotted it neatly into the bottom left hand corner. 3-2.

As the keenly and cleanly fought contest went into injury time, Chris Anderson restored Spartans two goal advantage. Main left three Threave defenders rooted to the spot in the 6 yard box after connecting with a Beacher cross from the right flank. His half-volley across the box was a gift for Anderson who popped it home despite the despairing attempts of goalkeeper Parker to stop him.

source: www.spartansfc.com