Spartans 1 Dalbeattie Star 1 (Spartans win 5-4 on penalties)

Posted on Sunday, October 19th, 2008

Spartans find themselves in the 4th round draw of the Challenge Cup after a hard fought victory over Dalbeattie Star. It took a penalty shoot out to separate the two sides after a goalless ninety minutes followed by a goal each in extra time.

Spartans made several changes to the side which saw Preston, Malin and Livingstone start in place of Kader, Fowlie and King. With Kader having played a full game in midweek, he was rested. Fowlie is still carrying a slight knock so wasn’t risked and King suffered illness during the week so didn’t quite make the starting team.

Spartans lined up in a more attacking 4-4-2 formation and frequently pushed forward to try and break down the determined Dalbeattie defence.

Struan Preston, starting after an impressive display last week, had a half chance on the seventh minute, his half volley just flying past the post.

In the twenty third minute Walker collected the ball on the right wing, he ran into the box and passed into the middle. The ball was missed by Malin who kicked only air, however it fell to Henretty whose shot went just over the bar.

In the twenty sixth minute Preston had the ball in the back of the net however was judged to have been in an offside position.

Spartans were having most of the play and the midfield partnership of Manson and Livingstone was working well. In the thirty third minute Manson had a shot from just inside the box which the keeper could only palm away, however there was nobody on the follow up and the chance was lost.

Dean Hoskins then struck a great free kick only minutes later. Again the keeper was down quick and was able to stop the shot.

It took until the forty second minute for Dalbeattie to have a shot at goal, however it was well wide of the right hand post.

Just before half time Spartans had a penalty shout for what appeared to be a blatant handball inside the box. Neither the referee nor assistant saw this and play continued, much to the frustration of the Spartans bench.

Into the second half, Spartan continued to look for a goal. Walker, Henretty and Malin all had chances however their shots were either weak or wide.

Devlin replaced the hard working Preston in the sixty fifth minute as Spartans continued to maintain most of the possession. Dalbeattie were using the counter attack to try and put pressure on the home side however they had very few chances to test Flockhart in the Spartans goal.

In the seventy second minute Dalbeattie twice cleared the ball off the line as their defenders threw their bodies at the ball. Spartans again, unable to get the ball over the line.

King was brought on to replace Livingstone toward the end of the game as extra time was looming.

Just before the end of the game the referee sent off the Dalbeattie manager for dissent as frustration took hold of the visiting support.

Into extra time, it took less than 60 seconds for Spartans to do what they had failed in the previous 5400. Alex King’s shot from outside the box came back of the post for Devlin to tap home from about 4 yards.

The lead lasted for just two minutes. The referee strangely deciding to pull play back for a free kick when Henretty was on the ball. From the resulting freekick the ball was played to Manson who then passed right into the path of a Dalbeattie striker. He set up his fellow striker to score and bring the game back level.

Kader replaced Malin as Spartans continued to look for the winner.

King had a couple of chances at goal, working hard for his chances and showing exactly why he will be missed next weekend at Annan. The Dalbeattie defence stood strong however as the game ended and we would need to decide this on penalties.

Walker, King and Henretty all scored their spot kicks and after 3 rounds all attempts from both sides had gone in. Flockhart then saved Dalbeattie’s fourth penalty, diving brilliantly to his right and touching the ball onto the bar. The keeper struck the post in the dive and needed some medical attention as Hoskins slotted the ball home to give Spartans the advantage. Dalbeattie scored their fifth penalty however Devlin stepped up and scored to ensure Spartans won the game 5-4 on penalties and they will look forward to the fourth round of the cup.

Motm: Dan Gerrard – In a game where the Spartans defence played very high up the Park Gerrard looked not only in control when defending but also as he was distributing passes all over the park. Another solid performance for arguably one of the top players in this division.

Team: Flockhart, O’Donnell, Hoskins, Archibald, Gerrard, Manson, Malin (Kader), Livinstone (King), Walker, Preston (Devlin), Henretty, Subs not used: Young, Fowlie

Attendance: 158