Lowland League: Allum double downs the Students

Posted on Sunday, September 10th, 2017

Man of the Match Ross Allum’s double earned Spartans a vital three points away from home as Dougie Samuel’s side defeated a stuffy Edinburgh University side 1-2 at a sunny Peffermill.

Both Lowland League matches between the sides last season failed to deliver a winner in a fixture that offers a tremendous amount of history in the life of the Clubs.

There was almost a false start with just four minutes on the clock as the match officials called a temporary halt to proceedings in order to sheepishly return to the changing rooms to replace their traditional dark jerseys for fluorescent kit due to a clash with the Students.

Yellow tops and red faces later, the match resumed in a less than rambunctious fashion however there was an early opportunity from the restart as Scott Maxwell’s cross found Craig Stevenson who shot wide.

Andrew Stobie was forced into action with a full length save to deny the Students, keen to kick-start their campaign on their home patch.  At the other end, it was a less than controlled dash from his line by University stalwart Tait, only for the angle to narrow considerably to allow Allum to benefit.

With just over the half hour played, it was a case of deja vu between the same players, this time the high flying Tait missed man and ball to give Allum the opportunity to compose himself before sliding into the empty net.

There was almost a second moments after when David Greenhill’s effort from an edge of the penalty box free kick cleared the wall, only for the ball to hit the corner of post and bar.

The lead was doubled with six minutes left in the elongated half.

Scott Maxwell weaved through the University defence akin to a slalom skier heading down the slopes of Courchevel, using the static Students like gates on the way before squaring to Allum who unleashed an unstoppable drive to put light between the sides.

That gap was halved however just two minutes later when the visitors failed to deal effectively with a cross into the box and Murray made his mark from close range.

Half Time: Edinburgh University 1-2 Spartans

It was a second half for the purists, the main highlight being the traditional home baking fayre from the MacKinnon family.

There was one final opportunity at the death for substitute Blair Atkinson who raced in on goal, only to be denied by the shoelaces of Tait.

Full Time: Edinburgh University 1-2 Spartans