Tomassi’s men topple Tynecastle to reach League Cup Final

Posted on Monday, April 11th, 2016

Spartans will take on Leith Athletic in the Final of the East of Scotland League Cup after defeating Tynecastle 3-0 at a bitterly cold Ainslie Park on Monday evening.

Due to pressing fixture congestion and an unplayable Saughton Enclosure, the tie moved across the capital, with Tynecastle foregoing their home advantage to ensure the game could go ahead.

Colin Tomassi’s side were looking to bounce back after a brace of disappointing defeats in the league and they got off to an ideal start in the 27^th minute when Chris Anderson’s tenacious play allowed him to set up Sean Stewart who rammed the ball high into the corner of the Craig Cockburn’s net.

Anderson turned from provider to scorer just sixty seconds later when he found the same squares in the onion bag to deliver a double whammy that sent Spartans on their way to securing a place in the Final against the League Leaders on April 24^th.

Half Time: Tynecastle FC 0-2 Spartans EOS

The swirling wind at the Café end almost claimed an assist for the Tynecastle men as they mounted an early assault on the Spartans defence.  An in-swinging corner causing confusion inside the six yard box before Geri Rossi unceremoniously hoofed* the ball to safety from under his own crossbar. (* “tactically hoofed with precise precision” according to the player’s twitter account post-match!)

There was a comedy moment midway in the second half when Spartans Andy Mair and Danny Munro of Tynecastle appeared to re-enact the climax of Torvill and Dean’s 1984 Winter Olympics ‘Bolero’ routine as both players grabbed a hold of each other before twirling to the ground.  The Referee stepped in accordingly – whether to offer a 5.9 or a quick word to the duo – to curtail the testosterone charged tangle.

Scott Coleman came close to finding a way back into the game when he unleashed a strike inside the box, only to find the fists of Ross Gilpin who beat the ball away before it was helped out of play Danny O’Donnell.

Substitute Brandon Archibald almost made an instant impact as he took the ball for a run from one touchline towards the other before catching the Tynecastle defence off guard with a timely chip that found Blair Atkinson who saw his shot cannon off the post.

Then, with the game deep into injury time, Archibald – who usually plies his trade in the Under 20s side – carved another opportunity for Atkinson who this didn’t need a second invitation to shoot and wrap up a well deserved win and set up a shot at silverware in two weeks’ time.

FT: Tynecastle FC 0-3 Spartans EOS

An ebullient Tomassi said of the win, “I’m delighted for the boys on their win tonight.  We played very well in the first half but we’ve done that so many times this season then put in a Jekyll and Hyde performance in the second however I felt we played very well in both periods and deserved the win.

“We knew Tynecastle would come at us after the break however we held firm defensively and all credit to the players for digging in.  It was also good to have a handful of the Under 20s involved in the squad too which is great also for the club.

Looking ahead to the Final, the Spartans gaffer in his first season at the helm added, “The Final will be a tough test.  Leith are certainly the ‘team of the season’ and, in my opinion, champions elect however we’ll enjoy tonight’s result before setting our sights on another tough opponent in Lothian Thistle on Saturday.”