A SECOND-HALF header from Spartans' Jack Whiteside was all that could separate his side and Musselburgh Windsor in an entertaining Under-13 Persevere Cup Final at the Gyle Recreation Park.
Both sides played some brilliant fast-paced football, but every final must have its loser and league champions Spartans just had the edge over their determined opponents.
The game wasn't slow to start and Spartans were quick to try and grab a goal
early on. Playmaker and captain Robbie Sheperdson slotted a great ball through the middle to Jasper Price, who used his pace to get into a good position in the box. But Windsor centre back Kieron Sim flew in with the first of many crucial tackles before playing the ball away to safety.
Moments later, Windsor had a penalty shout when a Lewis Archibald cross was blatantly hand-balled by a Spartans defender. But the referee ruled that the incident had occurred outside the box, from where Ryan Cameron could only fire a free-kick into the hands of Stuart Wilcox. In the early stages, it was Spartans who looked most threatening, and they could have gone ahead on eight minutes were it not for a great save by Marcus Gaines in the Windsor goal. A free-kick was chipped in from 25 yards out, falling to Thomas Doherty, who took the ball down and rifled a half volley at goal, but Gaines showed some brilliant reflexes to tip the ball over.
For all the chances falling to Spartans, it was actually Windsor who had most of the possession in this first half. Ben Stewart was playing excellently in the middle throwing himself into tackles and playing some neat passes, and Lewis Archibald was working his socks off up front, only to be let down by a lack of support from his team-mates.
But Spartans were happy to let their opponents do all the hard work, and then use their superior pace to hit them on the counter. It was this clever gameplan that led to a scoring opportunity on 30 minutes when Sheperdson caught Windsor on the back foot before smacking a shot off the cross bar. As the teams gathered at the end of the first half, the Windsor coaches were driving it into their players that they had to support Archibald.
The youngster was having a blinder up front, but his crosses and through balls were only ever flying into open space.
Spartans meanwhile, were sticking to their first-half tactics, and all they needed in this second half was a bit of luck up front and, on 55 minutes, they got their break and finally went ahead. A free kick was floated into the box, and nippy striker Whiteside jumped to head the ball past Marcus Gaines and into the back of the net. It was justice for Spartans, but harsh luck for the Windsor defence who had given their all to keep a clean sheet.
Spartans then sat back protecting their precious one-goal advantage, much to Windsor's frustration. As the referee brought the match to a close, Spartans must have been relieved to have overcome a rugged Windsor.
Musselburgh Windsor: Marcus Gaimes, Dillon Ahmed, Lewis Archibald, Ryan Cameron, Jamie Crawford, Jack Kay, Gary Scott-Learmouth, Kieron Sim, Ben Stewart, Ryan Thomason, Ryan Watt, Neil D'Arcy, Ryan Leishman, Lewis Malcolm, Greg Ritchie, Sam Rintoul.
Spartans: Stuart Wilcox, Gregg Veitch, Gordon Aitken, Ruaridh Smith, Scott Docherty, Ben Black, Jasper Price, Jack Whiteside, Robbie Sheperdson, Thomas Doherty, Bradley Laing, Elliot Mitchell, Adam Davidson, Lewis Edgar, Callum McKenzie.
The full article contains 604 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
