Gretna pay the Penalty as Spartans secure win

Posted on Saturday, March 17th, 2012

Two second half penalties were enough to secure a vital three points in a 2-0 victory over 2nd place Gretna.

Gretna brought with them a good support and a drum of their own which ensured that with the Spartan Army in full voice, the Main stand was a noisy place to be.

The first half a close affair with limited chances for both sides. Gavin Malin hit the crossbar with a strike from outside the box, while Donal Henretty ended a mazy run with a strike which went just wide.

At the other end the usually impressive Phil Storey was being kept quiet by the impressive pairing of Sivewright and MacKinnon.

Just 3 minutes into the second half we were award our first penalty when Donal was bundled over in the box. Gavin Malin placed the ball and fired striking ht down the middle to give us the lead.

After that the game opened up more and Keith McLeod on any other day would have scored a hat trick, however a combination the impressive Gretna keeper and some unlucky deflections meant he wouldn’t get on the score sheet.

Gretna continued to look for an equaliser however MacKinnon and Sivewright were solid throughout then entire match which was Chris Flockhart only having a couple of saves to make all game.

Just as the game moved into injury time we were awarded our second penalty when Chris Anderson was tripped in the box. Gavin Malin once again placed the ball and once again fired it into the net to make it 2-0.

Team: Flockhart, Manson, Hoskins, Sivewright, MacKinnon, Malin, Kader, Grant, Anderson, McLeod, Henretty

Unused: Finnie, O’Donnell, Seeley, Beesley, C Donnelly

Malt & Hops Man of the Match: Ally MacKinnon for a commanding performance at the back.