Lowland League: Blair brace sees Spartans canter past the Colts

Posted on Saturday, March 17th, 2018

A Blair Atkinson double helped guide Dougie Samuel’s Spartans to an emphatic five goal victory over Cumbernauld Colts in the Lowland League and sees his side move into second spot in the table following BSC Glasgow’s 1-3 defeat at home to Gretna.

It almost wasn’t to be for Atkinson as the Pathway Graduate was drafted into the starting XI following the late withdrawal of a poorly David Greenhill.  On a bitter night in North Edinburgh, the playmaker was certainly not caught cold by the call-up and from the outset, he tormented the Colts defence with his trickery and pace.

Man of the Match Craig Stevenson showed his intent to make a mark on the game when he slalomed through the Colts defence, only to his shot easily saved.

Spanish striker Guillermo Lamarca was first to have the ball in the net, but the man from Madrid was denied by the far-side linesman who flagged him for offside.

The last line of defence was however finally breached in the 25th minute when Alan Brown went for a wander towards the edge of the box before unleashing an effort towards the goal.  His shot took a deflection and in what felt like a form of suspended animation, it finally spun beyond a flat-footed Ronan Fallons who could only look on as the ball nestled in the net.

Willie Bremner looked like he’d ditched his drought in front of goal when he powered home a header from six yards, only for the Referee to rule it out for a transgression during the aerial challenge.

HT:  Spartans 1-0 Cumbernauld Colts

With the previous encounter between the sides seeing a one goal advantage cancelled out late in the game, a cushion of a second strike was high on the Spartans agenda.  They didn’t have long to wait for their pressure to come to fruition when, just six minutes into the half, Blair Atkinson sent a delightfully curled attempt beyond Fallons and into the bottom corner.

Six minutes later, further light appeared.  Craig Stevenson’s free-kick from just outside the box rattled the bar and Jamie Dishington was on hand to turn the rebound into the net with the head from close range.

Spartans continued to dominate and as the game entered the final quarter of an hour, they added a fourth.  Guillermo Lamarca holding the ball up well inside the box and with the deftest of touches, opened up an opportunity for Blair Atkinson to unleash an unstoppable drive.

With four minutes left on the stopwatch, the Spaniard was rewarded for his endeavours with a goal of his own.  Collecting the ball out on the edge of the box, he looked up before sending his shot flying past Fallons to cap a good night at the office for the title chasers and give them their biggest winning margin against their opponents in the competition.

FT: Spartans 5-0 Cumbernauld Colts