Spartans East of Scotland side are on the road for the second time in a few days when they travel to the Borders to take on Kelso in the latest of their Qualifying Group fixtures.

Colin Tomassi’s men go into the game with a 100% record so far with wins against Duns and Stirling University however they head into Saturday’s clash without shot-stopper Ross Gilpin.  The keeper received red in the latter stages of the midweek win, with Danny O’Donnell taking over between the sticks.  The big defender’s first task was to face a penalty which was blasted over the bar in a 1-2 victory.

Saturday’s hosts Kelso will be looking to bounce back after their 7-2 reversal on the road to Duns after their opening day draw against the Students.  Tomassi has been impressed by his new side’s start to the season however he is cautious of the challenge that lies ahead at Woodside Park.

The gaffer said, “We’re looking forward to Saturday’s game with a view to keeping our winning run going. We got a bit of luck on Wednesday in a thrilling finish but overall I think we deserved to win.

“I don’t think we can read too much into Kelso’s result against Duns as personnel can be so different from midweek to the weekend and we are once again expecting a tough game. We are working on a goalkeeper solution as Ross is obviously suspended after his late red against Stirling.

“We also have Ewan Sanderson on holiday and Paul Dickson could be doubtful after picking up a knock at Gannochy.”

The match at Woodside Park, Kelso, kicks-off at 2.30pm.

This weekend our East of Scotland side are away from home to high flying Lothian Thistle HV in a league fixture. Lothian who now have Hutchie stalwart Ramie Carr back at the helm and they are looking to reduce Leith Athletic’s advantage at the top of the league.  It all makes for an interesting encounter at Saughton Enclosure (3:00pm kick off). Ross Gilpin returns between the sticks while Kyle Hogg is unavailable due to work commitments.

We will be hoping to take last week’s form into the game as we saw off Coldstream by 4 goals to 1 in the League Cup semi-final, with Davy Stewart netting a hat trick, taking his season’s tally to 22 in all competitions.  The match report follows:

Davy Stewart Hat Trick takes Spartans OES into Cup Final

On a good day for football Spartans EOS took on Coldstream in the semi-final of the League Cup. The Streamers were bidding to reach their first cup final in 16 years the last time being in 1999 at Netherdale where they lost to Annan Athletic.

There was an interesting event prior to the kick off with referee Duncan Smith telling Jack Hay of Coldstream he could not take to the field of play unless he removed his nose ring, he was unable to do so resulting in a hasty reshuffle with Jamie Dickson having to take his place. Ex Spartan Phil Johnson was in the Coldstream line up while Kevin Swain and John Grant were in the Spartans starting eleven.

The game started with Spartans on the front foot and Mark Walters made a number of important saves to keep the Streamers in the game, one of which was exceptional from a Davy Stewart close range effort. The midfield battle was being won with Cunningham, Clapperton and Grant in good form along with Stewart and Raiker providing the width. Barry Milven was back in the starting side alongside Robbie Laird with Ian Ballanyne and Alex Brown at full back. Haydn Crane again started up front.

Despite creating a number of very good chances Spartans were unable to take the lead in the early stages, then Crawford saw his shot deflected of Laird with Swain had to look lively to stop the effort. The breakthrough for Spartans eventually came on the half hour mark when Haydn Crane played a good pass between two defenders to put Davy Stewart in one on one with Walters and he finished well placing the ball low into the corner of the net, Walters was finally breached.

Within a few minutes of the restart, a head flick on by Crane was picked up by Matty Cunningham and he sped past the Coldstream defence before delivering a superb cross which was dispatched into the Coldstream net by an equally impressive header from Davy Stewart.

Half Time Spartans 2-0 Coldstream

Coldstream came out in the second with more purpose and made a change to the personnel at half time with recent French signing Arnaud Gauthier replacing Regan Graham in the midfield.

Just after the hour, Coldstream pulled one back.  A short corner kick caught the home defence napping and Crawford netted his 30^th goal of the season.

Andy Howatt missed a golden opportunity to increase the lead but somehow managed to miss the target, then in the 86^th minute Spartans again broke up field and when McLeod was penalised for a late tackle in the box, Referee Duncan Smith pointed to the spot.  Up stepped Davy Stewart to send Walters the wrong way claiming his hat-trick and putting the tie beyond doubt.

Deep into injury time, Andy Howatt made up for his earlier miss by slotting home the rebound after Walters had made a good save.

Overall a deserved win for Spartans who now take on the in-form Leith Athletic in the Cup Final as they ran out 2-0 victors against Easthouses in the other semi-final.

Friday Night Football sees the Battle of Ferry Road as the East of Scotland League’s nearest neighbours lock horns in the North Edinburgh Derby under the lights at Ainslie Park (7.45pm KO).

Alex Cunningham’s Spartans side take on Craigroyston in their first league game of 2015.   It was all square the last time the two sides met, a 2-2 draw at St Mark’s Park in September and Cunningham will be looking to earn the bragging rights on home ‘turf’.

“After the festive break and last weekend’s game at Tynecastle cancelled due to the weather, the squad are looking forward to getting back to winning ways and collecting their first win of 2015.  Thankfully due to the all-weather surface at the Academy, we managed to get some game time last week in a friendly match against Junior Premier League side Dalkeith Juniors so all was not lost and helped keep the legs ticking over.”

On the playing front, Blair McWhirter & Mike Gray warm the treatment table with their respective ankle injuries, whilst Lucasz Rusin is now back from his trip home to Poland.

Admission: £5:00, Concessions Apply

Season Tickets are Valid

Spartans Head Coach Douglas Samuel made the draw for the Spartans East of Scotland Team raffle last night Tuesday 6^th January at the Ainslie Park Academy.

Congratulations to Hearts Legend Walter Kidd whose ticket was drawn first by Douglas, Walter wins a trip for 2 to the wonderful city of Rome.

Below is the full list of all our winners, once again many thanks to everyone that participated and if you were not a lucky winner this year then perhaps next year will be your lucky year.

Congratulations to all the lucky winners and again many thanks for your support.

With last week’s scheduled game away to Easthouses Lily cancelled due to the poor weather conditions, Alex Cunningham’s East of Scotland side return to action on Saturday, keen to get back to winning ways.

Providing there are no snow storms or sub-zero temperatures across the Capital overnight, the side are scheduled to play Lothian Hutchison Vale at Ainslie Park with a 3:00pm kick off this Saturday.

Cunningham is keen to get his side back playing after a week of being idle. “It will be good to get back to playing as the players were beginning to show some good form prior to last weekend’s cancellation with a very credible win against league leaders Leith Athletic and then a good away win against Tynecastle FC in the League Cup quarter final. Let’s hope we can pick up where we left off a few weeks ago.”

“As we were not playing last week it gave Dougie the opportunity to start Davy Stewart against Edinburgh City in the Lowland League Cup game and by all accounts he did well. Davy has been in good form this season so far hitting 14 goals in total from a midfield position. It is always good to see the players developing and coming through to play with our senior side with Matty, Brad, Blair, Seb, Hammy, Murray and Lucasz all being involved at some point during the season so far.”