Unbridled joy for Spartans as Dean’s double helps collar Colts

Posted on Saturday, February 6th, 2016

A double from Dean Horribine together with George Hunter’s thunderous opener helped guide Spartans to a 3-0 victory over Cumbernauld Colts at Ainslie Park.

Spartans were boosted by the return of playmaker Alan Brown for the visit of the Colts, their first of two trips to the Capital in the space of seven days.

The opening quarter of an hour saw neither make inroads into breaking the deadlock, the only thing to dazzle in front of goal perhaps Colts keeper Chris Fahey in his decidedly day-glo kit.

Spartans had the first of the opportunities in the 17th minute when Horribine and David Greenhill put together a well worked ‘one-two’ before the former unleashed a shot that gained height as it progressed towards goal.

Blair Carswell was then forced into a diving save, pushing Jamie Barclay’s shot round the post as the Colts looked to take the lead.

The breakthrough came in the 26th minute and it was the home side that drew first blood. Hunter collected the ball in the Colts box before leaving keeper Fahey with little chance as he fired home from 10 yards.

Cumbernauld’s Stephen O’Neill’s speculative long range effort kept Carswell on his toes five minutes later and it was the same player who forced the home shot-stopper to swoop low at his feet to deny a great equalising opportunity in the 42nd minute.

Spartans went on the attack from Carswell’s clearance and the springboard footed Ross Gray rose above his marker to head into the path of Horribine who lobbed a stranded Fahey to double the lead.

HT: Spartans 2-0 Cumbernauld Colts

There was almost further light between the sides just two minutes after the interval when David Greenhill’s well weighted pass found Alan Brown who rounded the keeper but the angle wasn’t favourable and the finished product frustratingly hit the side-netting.

Chances were as rare as a winter swallow in a second half that was largely one for the purists within the Ainslie Park stand.

The visitors felt aggrieved when an O’Neill cross-come-shot saw Barclay’s header hit the post however the far-side linesman had adjudged the ball to have crossed the bye-line in its journey towards goal.

With the game edging into stoppage time, Horribine wrapped up proceedings after capitalising on Fahey’s rush of blood to race out from his box to slide the loose ball home to bag his brace.

FT: Spartans 3-0 Cumbernauld Colts

Teams:
Spartans: Carswell, Herd, Stevenson, Malone, McNab, Greenhill, Brown, Dishington, Hunter (Murray 70), Horribine, Gray. Subs (Unused): Beesley, Raiker, Maxwell, Feather

Cumbernauld: Fahey, Kirwan (Fergus), Ramsay, Oliver, Davidson, Ballantyne, Duncan, Munn (Pirrie), Hunter, Barclay, O’Neill. Subs (Unused): Ward, Giles, D Brown, Foggin, S Brown

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Ross Gray