Lowland League: Shire share of the spoils enough to secure Title

Posted on Monday, April 16th, 2018

As our eagle-eyed reader Howard from the Spartans FC Walking Football spotted, the match report from Saturday’s Lowland League Title Winning Day has taken it’s time to get online.  So, better late than ever…

Spartans lifted the Ferrari Packaging Lowland League title for the second time in the tournament’s history following a tense and dramatic final day that saw Dougie Samuel’s side play out a 0-0 share of the spoils against East Stirlingshire as events elsewhere meant the trophy would he heading to North Edinburgh in what was dubbed as ‘wee car Saturday’ by the league chairman Andrew Waddell earlier in the week.

The match itself may not go down in the annals of Scottish Football as an end to end humdinger, however the bumper crowd inside Ainslie Park watched the rollercoaster ride of emotions unfold in what was a pleasant afternoon for spectator sport.

It was, as anticipated, a tight affair in the opening periods of play, with the keepers at either end relative onlookers as a midfield war of attrition saw the teams pass the ball about with consummate ease, inviting their opposite numbers into the lair before setting the trap of a potential breakaway move.

Neither side looked conceding as the first half whizzed towards the interval and the only half chances of the opening forty five falling to Andy Rogers of the visitors and David Greenhill of the title chasers.

HT: Spartans 0-0 East Stirlingshire

With one final half of league football to go and both Spartans and East Kilbride being held to a draw, one would have been deemed decidedly certifiable to suggest that would be a position likely to remain come full time.

Man of the Match Craig Stevenson showed just how he’s been an invaluable member of Samuel’s side this season when he turned his man inside out like a sock and swung in a delivery that Blair Atkinson could only header wide.

Word reached the sidelines of a goal in Falkirk.  Perversely, not a peep.  A pin could drop around the Pilton San Siro, almost as if the Spartan Army were in the final throws of a poker game and didn’t want to give their hand away to their own team, urging them on to find a goal of their own.

It certainly looked like it would be the men in white and red that would be more likely to break the deadlock as the game started to open up midway through the second spell.

Usually your scribe trawls through his tweets to pad these match reports out.  The tense moments clearly not conducive for twittery activity, as commented upon from an interested follower in Aberdeen.

A second goal from the Students of Stirling meant Kilby would have to score three times in thirteen minutes to maintain their claim as title holders.  It wasn’t to be.  With Referee Steven Reid playing a lengthy period of injury time, contributed to by the bloodied warrior Blair Tolmie, a huge cheer erupted as news rippled round the ground that it was all over elsewhere.

Sixty seconds later, Reid the Ref put his whistle to his lips one final time and his last shrill could barely be heard over the euphoria that ensued.  Spartans were the 2017/18 Ferrari Packaging Lowland League Champions.

FT: Spartans 0-o East Stirlingshire

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Craig Stevenson

Spartans: Carswell, Brown, Stevenson, Tolmie, Corbett (Thomson), Greenhill (Stevens), Atkinson (Lamarca), Herd, Maxwell, Dishington, McFarland.  Subs (Unused) Malin, Nixon, Stobie.