Bremner’s brace puts Spartans back on track as Locos are derailed in the fog

Posted on Sunday, July 20th, 2014

Spartans came from a goal behind to beat last season’s Highland League runners-up 2-1 in a fog filled afternoon at Ainslie Park.

Summer football had finally made its mark when, 30 minutes ahead of the 1pm kick-off, the floodlights were switched on due to poor visibility across the Academy.

The opening quarter of an hour of this pre-season friendly was to be no thriller in the mist with the wet conditions and a few robust challenges making for a fractured and fractious start.

A defensive lapse in the Spartans box with 19^th minutes on the clock saw the ball bounce its way to David Ross who obliged by giving his side the lead.

Quick thinking and top class defending by Kevin Sivewright on his own goal line denied Locos the opportunity to go in at the break with more to show for the first half efforts.

HT: Spartans 0-1 Inverurie Loco Works FC

Gary Cennerazzo and Donal Henretty emerged from the tunnel for the second half, with Craig Stevenson and Errol Douglas getting first dibs on the showers.

Whatever Manager Dougie Samuel said in the home changing room at the interval, it clearly refocused his side as they burst into life from the restart.

Willie Bremner came close then the ball skimmed across the wet surface, avoided contact with Jack Beesley’s boot by the narrowest of margins.

The home side were laying siege upon the visitors red zone and with 60 minutes on the clock, the travelling drum beating Chuff Chuffs from Inverurie were silenced with an equalising goal.

Tenacious play by Bremner earned himself a corner.  Beesley whipped in an in-swinger for Bremner to rise above his marker to head home.

A stramash in the Highland League side’s six yard box almost brought Bremner more fortune however the sea of Locos legs denied him the chance to put Spartans in the lead.

Sean Muhsin showed fantastic pace down the wing and his cross from the byeline fell to Beesley who couldn’t make his end product count.

It took an individual moment of goal scoring brilliance from Bremner to put Spartans ahead for the first time.

A well-timed tackle in the centre of the park by John Grant saw Bremner collect the ball on the corner of the box.  The striker cut inside Ross Anderson, leaving the defender wrong footed and on the ground, before unleashing a thunderous strike that flew past the helpless Andy Reid in the Locos goal.

Kevin Swain had to look sharp to push a Jordan Leyden speculative cross-come-shot over his bar as the visitors pushed hard for an equaliser.  It wasn’t to come and Spartans held on in the haar to secure the win.

FT: Spartans 2-1 Inverurie Loco Works FC

Match winner Willie Bremner, who described his second strike as “a little bit lucky” said,

“I thought we didn’t do enough in the first half to match them physically and we should’ve matched them more and we got a bit of a grilling for that at half time.  I think we came out for the second half with a lot more fight about us and we won a load more ‘second balls’ which allowed us to move further up the park and helped us score our goals.

“I think the fact the Lowland and Highland leagues will have the play-offs from this season helped raise the bar today, making it a more competitive fixture than perhaps one might expect from a pre-season friendly and puts us in good stead for a bite at Morton next week in the Petrofac Training Cup.”

Spartans: Swain, O’Donnell, Stevenson, Sivewright, Bruce, Grant, Muhsin, Herd, Douglas, Beesley & Bremner. Subs: Cennerazzo, Henretty, MacKinnon & Gilpin (GK)