Unbeaten record goes down the Pans as Preston stun Spartans

Posted on Saturday, December 6th, 2014

They say that a week is a long time in politics. In football it can sometimes seem like a lifetime as the Scottish Cup highs were replaced by the Lowland League lows as Preston Athletic lifted themselves of the bottom of the table with a 0-2 win at a cold and windy Ainslie Park.

Goals either side of half time ensured the Panners returned to Pennypitt with three points and left the home side ruing several missed chances in a frustrating afternoon for Dougie Samuel’s side.

Keith McLeod had an early opportunity to test John Gilbertson in the Preston goal however the Spartans striker couldn’t add to his 283 career tally.

Preston’s first attempt came in the 20^th minute when Taylor Aitchison’s turn and shot from 20 yards trickled through to Kevin Swain.

It was the East Lothian side who took the lead in the 26^th minute when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area by Referee McHendry.  Dale O’Hara stepped up and he kept his dead ball strike low and hard to find the bottom corner of Swain’s net.

A startled Spartans looked to get back on level terms from the restart.  Jack Beacher carving an opening for Kevin Motion however his strike wouldn’t have looked out of place at nearby Murrayfield as it cleared the crossbar by some distance.

Half-Time: Spartans 0-1 Preston Athletic

Alan Brown replaced Jack Nixon who felt poorly at the interval as Spartans set out to come from behind for the second week in a row.

A Willie Bremner back heel set Gary Cennerazzo on a run up to the bye-line, his cross was met by a Preston defender who unceremoniously booted the ball to safety.

Errol Douglas replaced Jack Beacher on the hour and his introduction offered an additional aerial threat against a Preston side who were defending deeply and resolutely.

A Beesley free-kick from the touchline found an unmarked Douglas inside the Preston penalty area however he couldn’t direct his header home from close range.

It was a frustrating afternoon for the home side as they looked to break down the Athletic back division and when Beesley’s long range effort cleared the crossbar, there was a sense that it wasn’t to be the home side’s day.

The misery was further compounded in the 85^th minute when Preston doubled their advantage with a breakaway goal.  As Spartans searched for a late way back into the game, Jake MacDonald was on the end of a ball across the face of the Spartans six-yard box and he slid in to tap home from close range.

Final Score: Spartans 0-2 Preston Athletic