Around the Grounds: EOS edged out at the death and Amateurs draw in Cup classic

Posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2015

Spartans EOS fell to their first defeat under Colin Tomassi’s reign in dramatic style against Heriot Watt at Riccarton.

A couple of forced changes in the back four saw Spartans take time to adjust however the Students weren’t in a generous mood, scoring two early goals through Adam Kerlin and Chris Donnelly to put the Ainslie Park men on the back foot.

Blair Atkinson was denied when he saw his penalty kick saved however Spartans rallied and Chris Anderson got his side back in the game prior to the break with his 7th goal of the season.

The Student’s goalkeeper was to be Spartans’ nemesis and continued to deny chance after chance as Tomassi’s side continued to dominate play looking for an equaliser.

The task in hand was made a little more difficult with 20 minutes to go after the hosts were awarded a penalty that was duly converted by Anton Dowds.  That lead was then reduced once again after Harry Girdwood poked the ball over the line following a stramash in the box.

With five minutes left, Spartans looked to have kept their unbeaten start to the season intact when Andy Howat equalised with the third spot kick awarded on the day.

As Spartans pressed for a winner in the last minute, Heriot Watt perfected a smash and grab with Liam Walker benefitting from a deflected goal after a breakaway deep inside their own half.

Final Score: Heriot Watt 4-3 Spartans

Meanwhile, back at Ainslie Park, Spartans Amateurs were involved in an exciting six-goal thriller against Tollcross Thistle in the Scottish Amateurs FA Cup.

A 3-3 draw in front of a decent crowd on the Community Pitch saw the pendulum swing back and forth like the arm on a cuckoo clock as neither side could nurture their lead that sees the teams battle it out again next week in a replay at Saughton 3G.

Ryan Park, Lukasz Paczkowski and David Cran all netted for Spartans however Alex Cunningham, Chris Reid and Kyle Hay were on target for Tollcross.

The result shows progress for Nick and the team who lost out to today’s opponents 0-4 only two weeks ago.

On Friday night, the Under 20s went down 2-5 in an incident packed Qualifying League game against Preston Athletic at Ainslie Park.  Match Report, including a link to ‘that penalty incident’ can be viewed here.


Next Fixture

                     
Date: 16/11/24
Opponent: Stirling Albion
Venue:Ainslie Park
Competition: SPFL 2
Kick off: 3.00pm

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