Football Nation Cup: Spartans seek silverware win in Indoor Final first

Posted on Friday, March 17th, 2017

A football first on Sunday afternoon sees Dougie Samuel take his Spartans side into the Football Nation Qualifying Cup Final against Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale under the roof on the artificial surface at Oriam, the bespoke Scotland Sports Performance Centre at Riccarton.

Samuel will be looking to go one better than last year’s final at Broxburn and will be looking to build on the 0-4 win last weekend in the Hawick quagmire in order to lift the silverware at the second time of asking.

Standing in his way are Raymond Carr’s Saughton-based outfit who currently sit 3^rd in the East of Scotland League.   They’ve been enjoying a rich vein of form recently, including a Lowland League scalp in the shape of Whitehill Welfare in last Saturday’s South Region Cup.

In what promises to be a hotly contested Edinburgh Derby, the teams will be doing so in unique fashion by playing a Cup Final indoors for the first time.

The unfamiliar surroundings will be a point of interest for the football anoraks amongst those who will attend on Sunday.  However, for Goalkeeper Blair Carswell, it’s just another day at the football office, “We trained up at Oriam during the week to get a feel for the surroundings ahead of Sunday but preparations for me remain the same as every match and focus on another shut out.  At the end of the day, how much motivation do you need to go out and win a trophy?”

Meanwhile, Chris Townsley remains confident ahead of the all-Edinburgh encounter whilst mindful of the task that LTHV will offer.  “They’ll be a massive threat.  We know they are a good team and would undoubtedly compete well in the Lowland League.  If I’m honest, it’ll probably be a step up in quality against some of the teams we play week in, week out.

“The Gaffer has done his homework, watched them a few times and fed it back to us, so we know we’re in for a tough game.  It’s a massive 90 minutes for the club – a club that should be winning trophies – and we go in confident to deliver this.”

The match kicks off at 3.30pm.  Admission is £5 Adults and £3 Concessions (Children / Senior Citizens).

Anyone attending by car should park in Car Park A before proceeding to Oriam through Car Park B and in by the main entrance. Access to Car Park A is by turning right at the mini roundabout in the main drive and then right again. A map of the locations can be viewed here