One sleep to go….

Posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2014

Three weeks after defeating ‘The Welfare’ at Rosewell to all but win the inaugural Lowland League, our new squad and the rest of the Spartans family finally get the chance to celebrate tomorrow afternoon.

The Lowland League has been a real breath of fresh air.  It’s a new challenge we have all enjoyed.  There’s no doubt in my mind that the new league has provided our players and staff with a step-up in class.  To become the inaugural Lowland League winners was our no.1 goal at the start of the season, to do just that feels good.

Our players deserve great credit for winning the league with 2 games to spare however, a deeper analysis of the league statistics reveal just how well our new squad of players has performed.  54 goals scored and only 12 goals conceded in 20 league games represents a notable achievement, is something everyone who has played a part can be hugely proud of.  Over the season as a whole we have scored 102 goals in 40 games.

As I touched upon earlier, this season has been a real challenge, exacerbated by the fact we have been hit by so many short and sadly long term injuries.  Numerous players have suffered from long spells out on the sidelines, unable to play their part on the park.  As the season ends, we have 5 players – Scotty Bennett, Ali MacKinnon, Alan Brown, Robbie Ross and Jack Beacher – all out again tomorrow.  At no point this season have we had a full squad of 20 players to choose from, which goes to show the true benefit of having a large squad with genuine depth and quality.

We know we are still in transition, however, we also know we are making progress towards our long term goal.  Plans are well underway for next season, with the majority of the squad already re-signed, pre-season games lined up and signing targets identified.  However, tomorrow is not about the future, instead it’s about living fully in the present – a Spartans party at the Academy to celebrate making a small piece of history.

I hope you can make it along.

Sammy