Premier Sports Cup: Late show Hendo earns the win

Posted on Thursday, July 25th, 2024

Blair Henderson’s late goal against Forfar Athletic was enough to claim the win in the latest round of Premier Sports Group E ties and sets up a top of the table clash against Livingston this weekend.

Manager Douglas Samuel fielded an unchanged XI that saw off Cove Rangers seven days earlier with the sunny Edinburgh conditions in direct contrast to the fog filled Balmoral Stadium experienced last week.

Last season’s SPFL 2 head to head encounters between the sides at Ainslie Park were both decided by solitary Spartans strikes and this latest war of attrition turned out to be no different.

Early creative play from the hosts looked hopeful as they searched for the opening goal. A Cammy Russell long throw into the box was nodded on by Ayrton Sonkur however there were no takers to trouble Marc McCallum between the Forfar sticks.

Referee Gary Hanvidge was keen to let play flow as much as possible in a closely fought opening period with the advantage rule being applied frequently despite a few robust challenges creeping in.

The first notable attempt of the evening fell to Ross MacLean however the Forfar man only succeeded in hitting the top of the TV Tower behind Blair Carswell’s goal.

On the half hour mark, Spartans were forced into a change as James Craigen was forced to withdraw following a jarred neck sustained in an aerial collision.

Just before the interval, Blair Henderson came closest to breaking the deadlock following a bit of a stramash in the box and as he just about managed to dig out the ball from under his feet, his effort was saved by McCallum.

HT: The Spartans 0-0 Forfar Athletic

New signing Brogan Walls made a cracking run through the middle of the park as he advanced towards the box before a wee tug en-route impeded the Spartans man. Whilst a shot at goal did materialise, it was tame at best with him off balance however that was deemed advantage enough and play raged on.

Blair Carswell had little to do for 55 minutes however he was called upon to deny former Spartans favourite Mark Whately who drilled a decent effort his direction.

Cammy Russell continued to torment the Forfar defence.  It looked as if the Spartans playmaker had been wrestled to the ground following a challenge with Matt Allan, only for Russell to be pinged as the transgressor.  Disappointed with the verdict, he was offered a caution for his remonstrations.

Shortly after, the Gaffer made his first set of changes with Mackie Scott and Danny Denholm coming off the bench, replacing Kieran Watson and Callum Booth.

It was 1-1 in Russell v Allan bookings as the game headed closer to a penalty shoot out decider when the Forfar defender crudely swiped Russell’s legs to halt any further advance.

Then, with just three minutes left on the scoreboard, a mix up in the Forfar defence gifted the ball to Blair Henderson inside the box.  Not known for looking gift horses in their mouths, the talismanic striker needed no invitation to swoop, round the keeper and slide home into the empty net.  Queue scenes.

Injury time offered one final squeekybumtime moment to survive in the shape of a Forfar corner.  The keeper was up, the ball came in, the home defence dealt with the threat accordingly and with that, three points secured.

FT: The Spartans 1-0 Forfar Athletic

Malt and Hops Man of the Match: Bradley Whyte