Lowland League: Allum’s brace in the Borders sinks Selkirk

Posted on Sunday, October 1st, 2017

A brace from the boot of Ross Allum earned Spartans three points on the road as they defeated Selkirk at Yarrow Park to move up to second place in the Lowland League.

It was a picturesque backdrop, akin to that seen on All Creatures Great and Small, that set the scene on a sunny September day however players were wearing their ‘proper’ studs as going was, in horse racing terms, soft.

The supporters had barely made their way to their favoured vantage point by the time the opening booking of the day had been administered.  Ryan Sclater finding his name in the Ref’s jotter for an unhelpful challenge on Paul Thomson.

Ross Allum and David Greenhill were interacting well in the early stages and the former set up the latter who could only find the welcoming arms of keeper Amos between the home sticks.

Play was then held up briefly as far-side Assistant Emma Hingant fell foul of Spartans man Ross Guthrie who trampled on the toes of the flag waver whilst trying to tear down the touchline.

With four minutes til the break, Spartans finally broke the deadlock.  An enterprising piece of play by Ross Guthrie allowed him to release his namesake Allum in the box and he didn’t need written instruction on what to do next.

HT: Selkirk 0-1 Spartans

The second half started with limited gusto, both sides cancelling each other out and clear cut chances few and far between.

Ex-Spartan Sean Muhsin attempted an acrobatic effort in a valiant attempt to square proceedings.  Perhaps he needs to consult with former team mate Alan Brown on the execution element, with Brown completing a now trademark bicycle kick clearance in the opening period.

A relative onlooker for the bulk of proceedings, Spartans keeper Andrew Stobie has to spring into action to ensure the eventual clean sheet was kept intact when the pulled off a fine stop midway through the half.

Spartans introduced Dachi Khutsishvili with twenty minutes left on the clock and ten minutes later, he was instrumental in setting up Ross Allum to extend the lead.

There was almost a third near the death when David Greenhill made another telling break into the penalty box, before seeing his shot palmed away to safety.

FT: Selkirk 0-2 Spartans

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Blair Tolmie

Spartans: Stobie, Nixon, Stevenson, Thomson, Tolmie, Greenhill (Wilson), Dishington, McFarland, Allum (Atkinson), Guthrie (Khutsishvili), Brown.  Unused Subs: Corbett, Archibald, Carswell.