Archive for April, 2009
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009Spartans and the East of Scotland Cup
Spartans have reluctantly and regrettably decided not to appeal the decision by the Eastern District to expel the club from the Semi Final stage of the East of Scotland Cup and the SAFA Appeals committee’s decision to uphold the verdict. The club can appeal to the SFA but does not wish to cause further disruption or derail the competition.
The Facts
Spartans signed a player from East of Scotland Senior side Leith Athletic in November 2009 after he was released in October and had trained with the club for a few weeks and following a short injury the player then made his debut for Spartans.
After some peculiar comments posted on a non amateur football forum in February 2009 (4 months later) it was brought to the attention of the club that the player had picked up a red card at the end of the previous season in the Central Scottish league with Leith before they had resigned from the league.the player had played against Pilton Albion Wanderers in the 2nd Round of the East Cup. The player was then not in the squad to face either Plean or Liberton and came on as sub in the last minute of the Quarter Final against Stenhousemuir with the score at 6-2.
At this point Spartans proactively approached the Central Scottish League to bring our findings to their attention and to seek advice on:
- whether or not the player had actually received a suspension from the Central Scottish League
- whether or not the suspension had lapsed following Leith’s resignation from the Central League, and
- if the player was still suspended how this would affect the games he had played in
It transpired that the player had a three match ban carried over from Season 2007/08. The player had not received a letter advising him of a suspension for his red card although Leith Athletic had been aware of it.
The outcome of the Central Scottish League Committee meeting was to severely punish the club, financially, deduct points from the league and suspend the player for 6 games. It was unclear from the SAFA Cup rules whether the player had been ineligible when he played in the East of Scotland Cup. The Eastern District considered him to be ineligible and decided that Spartans should be expelled from the East of Scotland Cup at the Semi Final stage. The SAFA committee then subsequently upheld the Eastern District decision much to the club’s disappointment.
At no point did Spartans attempt to gain an unfair advantage or knowingly play a suspended player and as a club we are extremely disappointed by some of the comments made on forums in regards to cheating and justice being served and we would like to clearly state the events that actually took place. Unfortunately, for the club and the honesty in coming forward we will not be taking part in the semi final.
The Spartans FC wish both finalist good luck on what is truly a superb day and achievement in reaching the East of Scotland Cup Final on May 12th
Finally, the 2’s would like to specifically thank Craig Graham and Jim Martin for their tireless efforts in regards to this case and are very appreciate of all time to pull our case together and attend several meetings.
Management thoughts on the weekend results.
Monday, April 27th, 2009 Just as Sam and I thought everybody around the first team were a bit down on themselves after the Lothian and Whitehill games, we think they shouldn’t be getting carried away after our victory and Dalbeattie dropping two points on Saturday. That is the message Sam and I will be putting across to the players on Tuesday at training.In early April we were dealt four very difficult fixtures in eleven days with several important players unavailable for various reason so two victories, a draw and a defeat wasn’t the end of the world. Things look a bit better after Saturday but we still have four very hard games to play against teams who all have something to play for starting with Heriot-Watt.
The students will be buoyant after reaching the King Cup Final on Saturday and they will take real heart from their last 45 minutes against us at Riccartion a few weeks back. Dalbeattie, City and the Lily can go on the back burner as we turn all our attentions to City Park on Saturday and a game against a very good side.
Sam, myself and everybody concerned with the first team would also like to extend our congratulations to Mark Lamb and his team on an outstanding league campaign this season. Mark has brought an obvious professionalism to the club and I’m sure he and his team are destined for more success at a higher level. Our congratulations also go to the Under 13’s on their league success. Everyone involved at the senior level are more than proud of our youth and Ladies sections.
Every success at every level helps put the club on the map and helps the club grow. Now can the Ladies and the first team follow the Seconds and the Under 13’s?
Mike Lawson
Womens Update
Sunday, April 26th, 2009 No game this weekend due to Internationals being played. Our Coach Shelley Kerr is taking the 19s for a double header against the hosts in the Czech Republic. Scotland won their first game 2 – 1 with Spartans’ Hayley Lauder scoring the winning goal. Shelley’s mentor for the trip is Academy and Edinburgh Uni manager Douglas Samuel, the girls play their second game today.Our next game is a league encounter against Hibs at the Academy next Sunday. Our striker Diana Barry has been chosen in the short-list of four for the Scottish Player of the Year alongside two girls from Glasgow City and the ‘keeper from Forfar. The award is presented at a gala dinner at Hampden on 12th June.
Diana - PoY shortlist
Tomorrow’s action
Saturday, April 25th, 2009 Our 19s are away to Tynecastle in a league game with a 2pm ko. Coach Gary Mclelland is looking for his squad to bounce back from last weeks cup final defeat.Also in action tomorrow is the select team from the Central Scottish league with Nick Reid, Paul Sutherland and Keith Boyes in the squad. The game against Ayrshire AFA is at Colville Park with a 2pm ko. The Central League team need to win by three goals to retain the Inter League Trophy.
2nd Xi Clinch Promotion
Saturday, April 25th, 2009 The eloquently crafted 2nd XI match reports are normally hidden away in the 2nd XI news…their promotion today fully justfies the report coming to the home page.Elderslie 0 – Spartans 3
Spartans won the Divison 1B title away at Elderslie with a solid and professional display. Skipper Burns was quick to point out that this was the Red and White’s 9th clean sheet in their last 10 league games (despite the fact that Monty Burns has assumed a midfield role over the last few weeks he made sure credit was given to the non ball players – defenders!)
The League table speaks for itself (*3 points deducted for fielding inellgible player):
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |||
| 1 | Spartans | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 12 | 52* | |
| 2 | Linwood | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 31 | 34 | |
| 3 | Elderslie | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 38 | 27 | 33 | |
| 4 | Campsie Minerva | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 51 | 20 | 33 | |
| 5 | Wishaw HSFP | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 40 | 29 | 29 |
Elderslie set about carrying out their manager’s request during the team talk to try and stop Spartans playing football and came out literally fighting! Maybe if their energy had been channelled towards trying to play football it would have been more of a contest.
Spartans started brightly and the back four looked like another clean sheet was on the cards. Elderslie’s best chance actually coming from their keeper on the small park which Paternek had to put over the bar. There were 3 ludacrious calls for penalties from the home side all of which were rejected by the referee.
Young – proved he can actually get to byeline in setting up first
Spartans played some nice football in spells with Bunyan and Moffat in particular asking questions. A break down the right saw full Gary Young whipping in an excellent cross which McLeod met with his head and crashed home from 12 yards – an excellent goal and the lift the Champions elect needed. Cartwright added a fine second turning and slamming home an excellent finish into the top corner.
At this point the Elderslie skipper decided to try and bolster his team’s spirits by shouting “if we can’t win this one, then lets hurt some of them.” A moment of amateur footballing class! Bunyan almost created an excellent chance for himself but the defender did well to block his shot for a corner after a neat one two with Puff the magic Carthorse!
Spartans again looked comfortable in the second half with the outstanding Sutherland mopping up any attack with ease and Steele replaced the injured Bunyan (who at the age of 20 has never managed a run of more than 5 games – truly a chocolate boy!) Sam Scott was enjoying his time on the bench and was particularly taken by the size of Joe Steele’s dog’s appendage which kept the camp tackler amused for quite a long time.
Reid replaced Perry with half an hour to go and managed a fresh air shot within seconds much to the delight of his teammates. A break down the left wing by Boyes ended with a delightfully driven cross which Reid headed home for a 3 goal advantage. Steele then managed 2 missed chances and Sutherland (who claims to be a goal threat) also missed a sitter yet remains in a lofty position on the top goals panel.
The game fizzled out and Spartans recored another win on the road and sealed promotion and the Division 1 B title with a very impressive record.
Coach Lamb was delighted after the game but has reminded the squad that there are still 3 games remaining and expects maximum points against Campsie, Scotia and Sporting – all on the road.
A final thought, the Corporal did say at the start of the season – “Striker’s win games, Defenders win titles.” The superb performance of the back four this year really has been the difference with only 12 goals conceeded in 19 games.
Team: Paterek, Young, Rae, Sutherland, Bunyan (Steele), Moffat, McLeod, Burns, Boyes, Perry (Reid), Cartwright (Scott)
MOM: Sutherland – outstanding and classy performance from the hairy ‘Bin Man.’ Faultless perfomance and should have added to his goal tally.
Flawless Spartans seal Division title in style
Saturday, April 25th, 2009 Elderslie 0 – Spartans 3Spartans won the Divison 1B title away at Elderslie with a solid and professional display. Skipper Burns was quick to point out that this was the Red and White’s 9th clean sheet in their last 10 league games (despite the fact that Monty Burns has assumed a midfield role over the last few weeks he made sure credit was given to the non ball players – defenders!)
The League table speaks for itself (*3 points deducted for fielding inellgible player):
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |||
| 1 | Spartans | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 12 | 52* | |
| 2 | Linwood | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 31 | 34 | |
| 3 | Elderslie | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 38 | 27 | 33 | |
| 4 | Campsie Minerva | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 51 | 20 | 33 | |
| 5 | Wishaw HSFP | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 40 | 29 | 29 |
Elderslie set about carrying out their manager’s request during the team talk to try and stop Spartans playing football and came out literally fighting! Maybe if their energy had been channelled towards trying to play football it would have been more of a contest.
Spartans started brightly and the back four looked like another clean sheet was on the cards. Elderslie’s best chance actually coming from their keeper on the small park which Paternek had to put over the bar. There were 3 ludacrious calls for penalties from the home side all of which were rejected by the referee.
Young - proved he can actually get to byeline in setting up first
Spartans played some nice football in spells with Bunyan and Moffat in particular asking questions. A break down the right saw full Gary Young whipping in an excellent cross which McLeod met with his head and crashed home from 12 yards – an excellent goal and the lift the Champions elect needed. Cartwright added a fine second turning and slamming home an excellent finish into the top corner.
At this point the Elderslie skipper decided to try and bolster his team’s spirits by shouting “if we can’t win this one, then lets hurt some of them.” A moment of amateur footballing class! Bunyan almost created an excellent chance for himself but the defender did well to block his shot for a corner after a neat one two with Puff the magic Carthorse!
Spartans again looked comfortable in the second half with the outstanding Sutherland mopping up any attack with ease and Steele replaced the injured Bunyan (who at the age of 20 has never managed a run of more than 5 games – truly a chocolate boy!) Sam Scott was enjoying his time on the bench and was particularly taken by the size of Joe Steele’s dog’s appendage which kept the camp tackler amused for quite a long time.
Reid replaced Perry with half an hour to go and managed a fresh air shot within seconds much to the delight of his teammates. A break down the left wing by Boyes ended with a delightfully driven cross which Reid headed home for a 3 goal advantage. Steele then managed 2 missed chances and Sutherland (who claims to be a goal threat) also missed a sitter yet remains in a lofty position on the top goals panel.
The game fizzled out and Spartans recored another win on the road and sealed promotion and the Division 1 B title with a very impressive record.
Coach Lamb was delighted after the game but has reminded the squad that there are still 3 games remaining and expects maximum points against Campsie, Scotia and Sporting – all on the road.
A final thought, the Corporal did say at the start of the season – “Striker’s win games, Defenders win titles.” The superb performance of the back four this year really has been the difference with only 12 goals conceeded in 19 games.
Team: Paterek, Young, Rae, Sutherland, Bunyan (Steele), Moffat, McLeod, Burns, Boyes, Perry (Reid), Cartwright (Scott)
MOM: Sutherland – outstanding and classy performance from the hairy ‘Bin Man.’ Faultless perfomance and should have added to his goal tally.
Spartans back on track with solid victory.
Saturday, April 25th, 2009 Spartans edged closer to league leaders Dalbeattie with a solid 7-0 victory over Premier league basement side Peebles.Spartans made several changes changes from the team that started against Whitehill. Darryl Devlin, Alex King and Keith McLeod returned to the starting line up. Struan Preston and Michal Opilka dropped to the bench but Nicky Walker was left out the squad.
Spartans started strong and scored in only the third minute. Devlin slotting home from close range. Rather than open the flood gates the goal seemed to bring a positive reaction from the home side. Peebles made it hard work for Spartans, who were struggling to create many clear chances. It took until the 30th minute for Donal Henretty to extend Spartan’s lead from a Kader cross.
Keith McLeod slotted a low ball past the Peebles keeper just before half time to make it 3-0 going into the break.
Into the second half and Struan Preston replaced Donal Henretty, with Devlin moving out the the wing.
It took only 4 minutes for Omar Kader to further extend the lead. Dean Hoskins scored from close range before Struan Preston made it 6 with a wonderful looping shot from range over the Peebles keeper.
In the dying seconds of the game Spartans were awarded a penalty after Dave Etale was brought down in the box. The Peebles players were still protesting when Darryl Devlin stepped up to take the penatly and despite the keeper getting a hand to it, the ball crossed the line to make it 7-0.
With Dalbeattie being held by Edinburgh University it means Spartans are now a single point behind with 2 games in hand. With a tough home game against Heriot-Watt Uni next weekend, Spartans will need to continue to raise their game if they are going to have any chance of winning the title.
Sqaud: Flockhart, O’Donnell, Hoskins, Archibald, Gerrard, Kader, King (Malin), Manson, Devlin, McLeod (Etale), Henretty (Preston) Subs not used: Opilka, Hair
Att: 55
Chris helps the goal difference by keeping a clean sheet
Today’s Action
Saturday, April 25th, 2009 The 1st XI league game away to Peebles kicks off at 2.30pm. With Dalbeattie having a tricky game in Edinburgh against the University the fans will be keeping an eye on both games.The 2nd XI get the chance to secure the Division 1B title with an away game against Elderslie. Manager Mark Lamb has a strong squad going through with Nick Reid with an eye on a starting position after grabbing a brace from the bench in midweek. The ko is 2pm.
The 3rd XI have a free Saturday ahead of their 5th Round Logan Cup game away to Redhall Star on Wednesday.
Management thoughts on Peebles tomorrow
Friday, April 24th, 2009 Mike Lawson looks ahead to tomorrow, “We travel to Peebles on Saturday where getting the three points is our primary aim. We also know that goal difference could come into play on May 23rd so we will be playing full out for the ninety minutes. A young Peebles side have struggled to find their feet in the Premier division this season but they did break their duck against Selkirk a few weeks back and have started scoring goals. We will treat them with the upmost respect.For our part Sam and I will freshen up the team after playing four hard games in eleven days. The last two results may not have been to our liking but we cannot deny the effort the players put in especially in the second half on Tuesday against Whitehill. None more so than goalscorer Struan Preston who literally run himself into the ground. He could start from the bench tomorrow.
Alex King is free from suspension and will start as will Daryl Devlin who is now fully recovered from a broken jaw he sustained over a month ago. Dan will be back from Australia but Sam and I will take a good look at our talisman defender before deciding if he’s fit enough to start. Nicky Walker misses out with an ankle knock and David Etale has been on Army exercises and we’ve still to find out if he’s available for the bench.
Over the last two or three weeks too many people out with the club have talked us to the league title and that pressure got to the players. We were well aware of the difficult fixtures we had to overcome and who would be unavailable to take part in them so there was no talk of league titles in the Spartans dressing room. In many respects the adverse results have lifted that pressure and Sam and I hope that shows in the performance tomorrow. We are all looking forward to the run-in.”
Sam, Mike I and Eric in pensive mood
Rocket Reid shows Shotshy Strikers way to goal
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 Cumbernauld Clyde 0 – Spartans 8Spartans moved to within one win of the League title with another emphatic display in Cumbernauld. With only two teams left in contention (Campsie and Wishaw), one point would be enough with a vastly superior goal difference from 4 games.
The game was shrouded in controversy with Manager (Corporal) Lamb opting to give the youngsters a chance to shine leaving Sugar Rae (fresh from his second penalty miss of the season), Mitchell (fresh from yet another wonder free kick) and The Rocket Reid (fresh from 2 weeks in the Canary Islands) on the bench.
Goal, penalty miss and half of the chuckle brothers
Spartans started off in a 4-4-2 formation with Burns and MacLeod in middle and the chuckle brothers (Puff) Cartwright and (Asbo) Perry up top. The back four had an air of impenetrability with Steele, (the free scoring) Sutherland, Young and Bunyan. The gulf in class was clear from the start and only one result was ever going to be recorded. The volume of missed chances must be a worry for the manager with some big games coming up.
Puff opened the scoring early after Perry raced clear to miss the first of a hatful of chances. Rather than place the ball past the keeper, he played a wall pass off his knees to rebound to Cartwright who (for once) hit the target. Sutherland made it 2-0, fisting in from a wicked Boyes free kick – proving he is a natural finisher and has the audacity to handle the ball over the line. The third goal has been submitted to the dubious goal’s panel as a long Steele throw in may have crossed the line before Perry claimed he touched it. Further evidence that Perry couldn’t hit a barn door from 5 yards was to be witnessed and helps the case for the prosecution (Sutherland).
Humour was then injected into the game as Steele pushed Sutherland following a ‘clash’ with Sutherland and the latter quickly realised that he should hide behind Skipper Monty and make childish gestures from behind the safety of the level headed Burns. It is understood that the two feel out over who’s fault it was that Cumbernauld managed to cross the half way line.
Further numerous chances were passed up, Perry blasted over, Cartwright missed an open goal (yet managed to blame someone else!), Sutherland heading over and countless goal mouth scrambles yielded no more goals. The game was crying out for a bit of quality – but Mitchell, Reid and Rae were still shackled on the bench. Despite the missed chances the front two were proving to be too much of a handful for the Cumbernauld outfit. Moffat then added a fourth to prove that he hasn’t lost his touch in front of goal.
Finally, some sublime skill and efforts on target did arrive – first Mitchell curled in a great free kick, Reid lashed in a fine strike and Rae actually hit the target from 12 yards – half time heroes had arrived! Gaffer Lamb must have seen these pieces of genius and set about turning the game on it’s head from only a 4 goal cushion.
The second half continued as the first left off – chance after chance. A penalty was awarded after a goal bound Moffat shot was palmed over by the Clyde centre back who received his marching orders and up stepped young Apprentice Asbo to stroke ome the penalty after Sugar Rae had been relieved off his duty (and was on the bench still – in case this report has not been clear!) Perry sent the keeper the wrong way but the ball cannoned back off the bar. There were a number of players who were quick to commiserate Asbo, however, more chose to mock the youngster who has never lacked confidence!
The return of The Rocket -goal with 2nd touch
Finally, the game was brought to life again with the goal of the game after Lamb evetually could take no more of Reid’s consistent questioning as to when the subs would come on – and proved this move should have happened much sooner. With his first touch after a two week holiday Reid produced a fine lay off to Cartwright out wide to start a flowing move. Cartwright squared the ball back to Reid a full 22 yards out and he produced a left foot Rocket which flew into the top corner – 30 seconds after his introduction. The look on Perry’s face was priceless and a shout of ‘Nooooo’ was clearly heard from Sutherland’s mouth at the back – simply a sublime footballing moment.
Predatory Sutherland headed his second, Reid found the net for his second after a Bunyan Cross-cum-shot and Bunyan added a fine headed eighth goal from an excellent Cartwright Cross.
Overall, a fine result with excellent performances from the back four, Burns, MacLeod and Bunyan in particular.
Bunyan - excellent performance and headed goal
Team: Paterek, Young, Steele, Sutherland, Bunyan, Moffat, Burns (Mitchell), MacLeod, Boyes (Rae), Perry (Reid), Cartwright.
Goals: Reid 2, Sutherland 2, Perry, Cartwright, Bunyan, Moffat
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