On Saturday we travelled up to Lochee in Dundee to play against Super
League Team Lochee United who currently sit in 2nd place in the Super
League and were hotly tipped favourites to win the East of Scotland Cup in
which we played in on Saturday. Lochee had previously won this Cup 2
years ago.

When we arrived at the ground the sun was shinning and the park was
in excellent condition however due to an unbelievable downpour mid
way through the first half it began to cut up in the second half.

Kenny, Andy and I decided that we would set the team up in a 4-5-1
formation with Ross playing as the link to Sean in an effort to limit
Lochee’s attacking options and hopefully give us more of the ball
in the mid field area. It should be said that Lochee had a huge wealth
of professional football experience within their side and they were
fully expecting to win this game against a team from 2 divisions below
them.  

I thought we started well and contained Lochee in the early stages
however they were causing us some problems down our right hand side
with their pace and drive.

On 17 minutes Lochee took the lead through Jon Voigt when he cut in from
the left wing and neatly chipped the ball over Muzz into the far corner of the
net. We kept playing away and we were retaining the ball well and passing
it around whilst being competitive for everything. Big Muzz had a fantastic
save to keep us in the game at 1-0 what a save it was. We then had a
couple of chances in the first half from corners and Chris Milligan fired a
long range shot over the bar.

The rain downpour arrived on around the half hour mark and the players
were well and truly soaked, fortunately we had a change of kit with us
and they were able to put on dry tops at half time.

Half Time we went in 1 – 0 down.

The second half saw us continue to try and play football with Ross, Matty
Anslie and the two Chris’s trying to retain possession as much as possible,
at the back Darran was talking the players through the game and leading
by example with Big Muzz holding the fort. Up front Sean continued to chase
anything and was running himself into the ground.

In 54 mins we went 2-0 down from a corner on the right with Gary Irons
extending Lochee’s lead. We then took the decision to revert to a 4-4-2
formation and as Ross was doubtful to start the game and then looking
ahead to next week we took him off and replaced him with Nick. Nick’s
arrival gave the Lochee defence something else to think about with his
arial presence and he started to compete and win some ball in the air
for us.

With 20 minutes to go Matty had run himself into the ground and made a
tackle in the middle of the park which resulted in him having to off and
being replaced with Hammy. Our final substitution with 15 minutes to saw
Paulo replacing Chris Rooney. With all our changes made we started to
apply some pressure on the Lochee defence and they started to look
a little bit shaky in the 89th minute we got a goal as Sean cooly tucked
away a shot from about 10yds out with a number of players in the
penalty box. Game now on and the players seemed to find some extra
energy from somewhere and we continued to press their defence, deep
into injury time – 94mins Chris Milligan popped up in the box to slide a
shot past two defenders and inside the goalkeepers right hand post to
get us an unimaginable equaliser!

With very little time left we played out the game and
headed towards penalty kicks.

Up stepped the Spartan’s players Darran, Nick, Paulo, Boysie & Hammy who
all scored to cancel out Lochee’s efforts  

It was onto sudden death-  Ainslie scored, Connor scored, Muzz saved the Lochee 8th penalty but Chris Milligan also saw his effort saved, Browne of Lochee then stepped
up and blasted his kick high over the bar. The pressure was now all on
Lewis “the fish” Kidd. He calmly slammed home his spot kick! What a game and what a
finish!

Quote from the Lochee Website:

“Summing up…Lochee were 2-0 up and coasting. After the
substitutions late on it all changed for Lochee. Lost possession
and invited Spartans to press up the field in the dying part of
the game. Not many chances to really score more goals but
the ones that were created should of been buried. Spartans,
a good young team, played well and held their own, but never
really troubled Vandy in the goal until the last few minutes.
They will never get another chance like that but good luck to them.
They showed they wanted it more in the penalty shoot-out, all
their players were arm in arm embracing each other throughout
…whilst Lochee’s players just stood with disbelief as in how
dare they take us to a penalty shootout! They did and won”

The players showed fantastic team spirit and togetherness and this must
go down as the best result the Spartans  Juniors have had since they
formed a few years ago – what a great team effort. We defended well all
over the park and the team must take credit for going out and applying
what we had worked on.

I personally have been involved in many exciting games through out
my football career but this must be the No1 in terms of the the level of
the scalp the team has taken.

Well done guys, as the saying goes ” you never take anything for granted
in football ” and always remember as you showed on Saturday ” Fitness
is a Weapon”

Now Kenny, Andy and I need to get the players back down to earth as we prepare
for another key fixture this Saturday, against Haddington Athletic away from
home in the League.

Many thanks to Lochee United for their hospitality and we wish them all
the best for the rest of the season.

Alex

Tomorrow we travel to Super League Team Lochee United in an East of Scotland Cup Tie.

Following on from last weeks result we face a much tougher game against Super League
opposition who have started the season well and sit in second place in the League.
Lochee played a mid week friendly against local opposition and won 14-1 so we will have
to be at the top of our game and I have already stressed to the player’s that they must be fully prepared for this game as I thought we were a bit too relaxed prior to the Edinburgh United game which showed as we went 1-0 behind before we started playing.

We travel to Dundee minus a few players as Robbo, Adam and Davy are all on holiday, Zav’s is on call with his work, Colin has picked up a knee injury at work whilst Cruicky and Paulo are still recovering from their injuries. This means that we will make some changes for the game providing some of the players with an opportunity to impress Kenny, Andy and myself prior to the League games against Haddington and Livingston.

Alex

Tomorrow sees us travelling up to Paties Road for derby game against Edinburgh United

Having started our league campaign with 2 good results against Pumpherston and Harthill
Kenny, Andy and I are looking for more of the same tomorrow.

Cruicky is still out with a foot injury and Paulo is nursing a calf strain whilst Nick Reid is unavailable
due to some family commitments however Hammy is now back from his American adventure and
has trained this week as he works to achieve the fitness levels of his team mates.

Having played Edinburgh United in the League Cup Section we are well aware of what they are
capable off and we will need to compete and play well to get a result.

The players have trained well this week and the changing room banter continues to get better, we
also have a few players looking forward to a trip back to Paties Road

Alex

Last Saturday saw us travel to Pumpherston Juniors for our first League game of the season.

We came into this game with an air of optimism as we had previously beaten our opponents in a league cup fixture at home. We had just about a full squad available for the fixture with only Cruicky and Connor unavailable.

We started the game well and forced back Pumpherston early on in the game and we took the lead within 3 minutes through Davy Stewart after some good play.

Pumpherston were trying to catch us on the break however the back four marshalled by Paulo were coping with everything that was coming their way. In 23 minutes we were awarded a corner kick on the right and Davy found Chris Milligan in the box and he shot home (although Robbo is claiming the goal).
Pumpherston continued to try and hit us on the break and they got their reward with 5 minutes to go to half time, breaking quickly from a corner we got caught out slightly and they scored.

Half Time saw us go in 2 – 1 up which actually should have been more given the chances that we created.

We started the second half well and within 10 minutes we extended our lead through a fantastic strike by Robbo high into the corner of the net, he continues to add to his goal tally this season.

The game continued to be played in a competitive manner and with 15 minutes to go Davy scored his second and our 4th goal of the afternoon after some good build up play. Unfortunately this was not the end of the scoring as Pumpherston were awarded a very soft penalty kick with about 1 minute remaining, they scored from the spot kick ending the game at 4 – 2.

We were pleased with the performance as the team and squad continues to gel and develop, there were some good performances with Kiddo and Paulo doing really well in central defence, Davy chipping in with 2 goals from a midfield position, Robbo continuing to add to his goal tally, Chris Milligan getting on the score sheet (goals committee verdict to verify) all marshalled well by Ross Elliot overall everyone contributed to a great start to the league campaign.

Next Saturday sees us at home to Harthill who have had a very impressive start to the season having beaten Edin Utd 3 – 0 last weekend.

Alex

Tomorrow we entertain Edinburgh United at Ainslie Park in our next League Cup
fixture which kicks off at 3.00 pm .

This is our second competitive fixture of the season after our midweek game at Bonnyrigg Rose where we were unfortunate to come away defeated by a score of 1 -0. The team played well against the Super League opposition and we could have taken some points away with us had we carried a bit of luck on the night. All credit must go to the players for not being overawed by their Super League opponents and given that this is very much a new team the performance level and team spirit were very good.

Tomorrow provides us with another tough test against opponents from our own League which should then provide us with a gauge on how we are positioned for the forthcoming season.

Alex

The Juniors lost by a single goal late on in last night match against in form Haddington Athletic.

In terrible conditions, it was Spartans who adapted better, and carved out the first chance after only 2 minutes. Nick Reid will feel he should have done better when faced with just the keeper to beat after excellent work by Roberts.

The same player had another chance moments later however the defender did just enough to put Reid off.

Haddington came into the game and had a few efforts of there own, without really troubling Dawid in the Spartans goal. The closest the ‘Hi-Hi’ came was when a shot from the edge of the box bounced narrowly wide.

The second half started as scrappily as the first although by now Haddington were starting to get more of the ball. The big left back getting forward in support of his side was making a difference.

New signing George Nikolaidis was first to make way having run his socks off, for Stewart Hogg, and Adam Perry replaced Roberts, who had put in a great shift- and who had been unlucky not to score. A tiring Spartans side, with many players having just returned from injury, was then rocked when Haddington took the lead 12 minutes from the end.

A corner caused problems for the Spartans keeper due to the wind and his clearance went straight to the Hi-Hi’s in form striker Jamieson to nod home.

Coach Kenny Cameron says; “First of all I was very proud of the effort put in by the players against a very good side. They had just hammered Tranent 5 nil on Saturday and they really fancied they’re chances today. However we made it very difficult for them and with a bit of luck might have taken the lead.

Once they score it’s very difficult to recover after putting so much effort in in terrible conditions. To compound matters it looks like Hoggy is out for the season and we are gutted for him.

However there are positives to take and we are confident we can take this side forward in the longer term.”

Team; Paterek, Hair, Smith, Nikolaidis Hogg 53, Cruikshank, Ewart, Bannon, Preston Shanks 79, Roberts Perry 71, Reid, Laidlaw.