The Seniors had a convincing 7 – 0 win over Selkirk in the league while the Juniors game was postponed and the Amateurs game was abandoned after 20 minutes following a really bad leg break for popular striker Finlay Clark.

The Seniors rotation system saw Donal Henretty, Omar Kader and Sean McAuley come in for Alex King, Gavin Malin and Dean Hoskins who all dropped to the bench.  After an even first 15 minutes we scored 3 goals in three minutes.  Firstly a floated Dan Gerrard free kick was beuatifully nodded home by Donal Henretty.  Straight from the kick off the Selkirk centre half was robbed by Donal who squared the ball for Keith McLeod to knock the ball home.  Keith then found space in the box and his left foot drive was deflected into the net.  Just before half time Keith completed his hat trick from close range. 

We scored three more early goals in the second half – Keith’s 4th a header from a Danny O’Donnell cross, and then another strike from 10 yards.  Gavin Malin completed the scoring with his left foot from the edge of the box after a Jorge Vinelli drive was blocked.

Cloudy - 5 goal haul

Ross Archibald did clear off the line with 85 minutes on the clock as Selkirk kept on trying to push forward.  The man of the match has to be Cloudy who was simply on fire today.  Team: Flockhart, O’Donnell, Fowlie, Gerrard (Malin 63), Sivewright, Archibald, McAuley, Manson, Kader, Henretty (Vinelli 53), McLeod (Smith 69) Subs not used: King, Hoskins Att 173

The Amateurs Miller Cup game against East Calder was abandoned after only 20 minutes following a very bad leg break to Spartans striker Finlay Clark.  We were already 1 – 0 ahead with a goal from the big man when he went through and tried to round the ‘keeper.  Their ‘keeper however had different ideas and took Fin out with an appalling challenge.   

Fin - in hospital for a few days

The latest from the hospital is that Fin will be operated on tomorrow and he is expected to the in the Infirmary for a few days.

Finally the Womens opening League Cup game away tomorrow to Dundee Utd has already been postponed. 

Our Eos 19s are in action tomorrow, the league game against Edinburgh City is a 2pm ko at City Park.  The Sunday Amateurs play a league game against Pentland Roadhouse at the Academy, also with a 2pm ko.

The Seniors league game against Selkirk kicks off at 2.30.  The Academy pitch was in perfect condition today after the frost lifted so we hope tomorrow’s afternoon temperatures climb in the same way.

The Juniors head off to Stoneyburn for a league fixture with a 2.15ko.  This game is in more doubt if the overnight forecast rings true.  Adam Perry has fully recovered from injury and his pace will be a great addition.  Phil McKibben and Dale Robertson may miss the trip with Paul Sutherland and James Hair definitely out.  David McLeod has been released as he looks for a more regular start elsewhere.

The Amateurs take on East Calder on the Academy FieldTurf in the Miller Cup third round with a 2.30pm ko.  Manager Dave Bryce has returned from a work trip overseas after missing last Saturday’s defeat.  We beat Premier league outfit Newcraighall Vics in a friendly 3 – 1 in midweek at Peffermill so we’re looking to take the same form into tomorrow.

After the move to Summer football our Womens team start their season this Sunday with a League Cup fi rst round tie away to Dundee United. We have strengthened our squad with four signings and manager Shelley Kerr has come out of retirement to move to a player/manager role with coach Debbi McCulloch leading from the dug out. The new players are Scotland and ex Celtic striker Pauline Hammell, ex Scotland Under 19 goalkeeper Rachel Harrison from Boroughmuir, Chloe Fitzpatrick from Aberdeen who is currently in the Scotland Under 19 squad and Julie Melrose who has also returned from Celtic after studying in Glasgow during last season. Pauline is the most ever capped Scotland player with 128 caps.

New signings

Dundee United is a tough opening fixture but with the League Cup Final being played at the Academy in May there is an added incentive to go through to play Rangers in the next round at home.

Reigning champions Glasgow City will again be favourites for the league title but Hibs and Celtic have also strengthened their squad so it should be an exciting season.

Keep up with the action on www.spartanswfc.com.

Mike says -

“An own goal well inside the last 10 minutes decided the league game against Selkirk in our favour at Yarrow Park 2 weeks ago and that will give our opponents confidence they can compete with us tomorrow. Add the fact that Selkirk have a better away league record having won at Meadowbank and the Pennypitt this season and you can be sure that Paul Brownlee and his players won’t be travelling up to Edinburgh with any negative thoughts.

For different reasons the game is important to both teams. As we attempt to pick up another 3 points in the pursuit of the Premiership League title, Selkirk are sitting second bottom of the table and are looking for points to stave off the threat of relegation. Some people seem to think both these objectives are a foregone conclusion but Sam, myself and I presume the management team from Yarrow Park are not thinking that way. They don’t hand out titles nor relegate teams until May and there is still a lot of football to be played at both ends of the table before then.

We have a full squad available and although we picked up 3 valuable points at Fernieside against Tynecastle last week we didn’t fire on all cylinders for parts of the game. Sam and I will make a couple of changes tomorrow to both freshen things up and keep everyone involved and on their toes. We have 5 league games left and it’s imperative that we keep the pressure on the chasing pack by winning, especially at home. Whitehill can still overhaul us if they win all their games in hand and it’s up to us to post as many points as we can and make their challenge as difficult as possible.

That starts against Selkirk tomorrow and we are prepared for a hard fought game.”

Mike

Saturday 27th February 2010 – Gorgie Suite, Tynecastle, 7.30pm

The Spartans Juniors have organised a fun filled evening to raise funds for the club at the home of Hearts on Sat 27th February. The evening will take the form of:

• Game Show Night
• Buffet
• Disco
• Raffle and more

Tickets for the event are only £10 and it promises to be an excellent evening - we would like as many fellow Spartans players, coaches, supporters, friends and family to join us on the night.

Anyone interested in coming along to support the club please contact:

Nick Reid – 07789 926 671 (nick_reid@bankofscotland.co.uk)

Paul Sutherland – 07717 706 922 (PaulSutherland@bankofscotland.co.uk)

Our EoS 19s had a convincing 3 – 0 win at City Park over Easthouses in the League Cup, goals from Jamie Walsh 2 and Andrew Sinclair.

The Sunday Amateur team also won well, 5 – 1 against Ryrie’s Alba, goals from Dean Shanks 2, Johnny one of Kenny’s African finds who also got a brace and Aliou Faye.