William Hill Scottish Cup | Nicky nabs it at the death to down Deveronvale and set up showdown with the Spiders

Posted on Monday, September 30th, 2019

Teenage Supersub Nicky Reid sent The Spartans into last minute heaven and set up a William Hill Scottish Cup 2nd Round tie against League 2 side Queen’s Park as the Ainslie Park defeated Deveronvale at the death by the odd goal in three.

After Banff finding itself under water on Saturday, the sides finally met at Princess Royal Park for a Monday night under the lights tie that, as time raced on, looked odds on for extra time until Reid snatched victory moments after seeing his skipper Adam Corbett find himself trudging up the tunnel following his red card.

The early stages saw opportunities at both ends with Dean Hoskins firing over the bar before Noble was at least closer with his effort, but didn’t trouble Blair Carswell.

With 22 minutes on the clock, Spartans took the lead.  Aaron Murrell showed just why Manager Dougie Samuel brought the Academy Graduate back to Ainslie Park in pre-season as he raced into the box before unleashing an unstoppable drive low into the net.

Gregor Woods was close to doubling the visitor’s lead only for his strike to narrowly rise over the bar.

Just after the half hour mark, Lewis Dunbar equalised for the hosts when his 20 yards strike appeared to take a deflection whilst making it’s way through a plethora of bodies before nestling into the bottom corner.

As the half drew to a close, Aaron Murrell was a post-width away from earning his side a half-time lead when he looked on as his shot beat the keeper but not the upright.

Akin to the first game, the sides heading into the sheds all square at the break.

Half Time: Deveronvale 1-1 Spartans

The second half started off in stuttering form, with neither keeper needing to be brought into play as both sides struggled to make much headway.

Decent run and close control by Blair Atkinson saw him cut back inside before threading the ball into the path of Aaron Murrell who took it round the keeper but wasn’t able to compose himself to attempt to convert from a narrow angle.

Ian McFarland’s long ball out of the danger area dropped out of the darkness of the Banff sky with Atkinson’s energy seeing him rush goal bound but his shot fell a foot the wrong side of the sticks.

Manager Dougie Samuel looked to freshen legs with Nicky Reid replacing the industrious Gregor Wood. 

Adam Corbett was next to come close when his header from a corner went agonisingly wide.  It was to be the skippers final effort as minutes later, he was dismissed following a stramash in front of the dugouts that caused untold harrumphing from the stand and much mayhem from the technical areas.

Calm was restored, but it was a temporary respite as Aaron Murrell’s textbook pass to Nicky Reid allowed the 17 year old to turn his man on a sixpence before shooting home, causing chaos amongst his colleagues who raced from all corners of the paddock to create an almighty pile-on to celebrate.

There was to be no comeback for a deflated Deveronvale and when the Referee blew the final whistle, the Spartans celebrated the win that sees them meet the Spiders next month in Round 2.

Full Time: Deveronvale 1-2 The Spartans