Bragging rights go to Spartans in derby with Civil Service Strollers

Spartans skipper Adam Corbett scores the second goal. Picture: Neil Hanna

The victory, Spartans’ fifth of the season, sees the club leapfrog their opponents into fifth and just four points adrift of league leaders Bonnyrigg Rose with a game in hand.

Strollers, meanwhile, drop to sixth.

Former Scotland and Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was an interested onlooker and he would have been impressed with the standard of Scottish football’s fifth tier.

The opening goal for the visitors arrived just after the 15th-minute mark, Aaron Murrell holding the ball up for the onrushing Blair Atkinson to finish with aplomb.

Dougie Samuel’s men doubled their advantage right on the stroke of half-time when skipper Adam Corbett rose above the Strollers defence to head home.

Atkinson had a couple of opportunities after the break to kill the game off as a contest but it was the hosts who set up a nervy finish when Josh Morris reduced the deficit.

Leaders Bonnyrigg failed to extend their single-point lead over second-place Kelty Hearts as they lost for the first time this season going down 3-1 to BSC Glasgow.

The visitors, who move up third, took the lead through Robbie McNab and the Glasgow side edged two in front at New Dundas Park through Thomas Collins’ header.

Collins grabbed his second and BSC’s third four minutes after the restart, curling the ball beyond Mark Weir in the Rose goal.

The hosts gave themselves some hope when Lewis Turner blasted into the unguarded net just before the hour mark but that was it as far as the scoring was concerned.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh University and Stirling University played out a 1-1 draw with at East Peffermill.

Stirling assumed the lead in the first half through an Angus Mailer header but Mark Waters, again from a header, salvaged a point for Dorian Ogunro’s men.

The Uni remain in 14th position having won just once so far this season.