Lowland League: Little fortune favours the Braves

Posted on Sunday, October 6th, 2019

A late Dean Hoskins headed goal was little consolation for Spartans as they were defeated 1-3 by Caledonian Braves at a soggy Ainslie Park.

With Captain Adam Corbett sidelined following his dismissal at Deveronvale in the Scottish Cup victory on Monday, Ian McFarland took over the armband as Dougie Samuel’s side returned to Lowland League duty.

The early stages didn’t hand out much in the way of notable events, however there was a strong shout from the hosts in the 10th minute when Aaron Murrell passed to Blair Atkinson inside the box and when his shot was deflected behind for a corner, the home congregation were vocal in questioning which part of the Braves defender’s body was used to direct the ball wide.

Dean Hoskins then made a dash up the touchline to whip in a low inviting cross deep into the box. Aaron Murrell nipped in front of the defender and keeper to win the race only for his deft flick to go agonisingly wide.

Another attack quickly turned into a backtrack to defend and a timely intervention from Jake Davidson saved the Spartans on this occasion.

Nine minutes before the break, Braves struck and sent the teams into the sheds with a solitary strike between them.

HT: The Spartans 0-1 Caledonian Braves

Blair Carswell was called into action shortly after the break when a deflected shot saw the keeper throw himself in two directions in the space of nano-seconds to somehow claw the ball away from his goal line.

Just before the hour mark, the visitors doubled their lead.

Spartans looked to narrow the deficit and when Aaron Scott’s free-kick was floated into the box, Bolochoweckyj won the aerial challenge but couldn’t get enough purchase on his header to trouble the keeper.

A fine passing move from their own half saw Braves make it 0-3 as Spartans miserable afternoon continued.

A crumb of comfort at the death came in the shape of a Dean Hoskins header from a corner however it was too little too late to salvage a comeback.

FT: The Spartans 1-3 Caledonian Braves