Lowland League wrap: Spartans enjoy Gala day | Whitehill claim first win

Spartans maintained their 100 per cent record while Whitehill defeated Edusport. But Civil Service Strollers were defeated. Here's our round-up of the other Lowland League matches ...
Darren McCraw celebrates opening the scoring against Edusport but later suffered an injuryDarren McCraw celebrates opening the scoring against Edusport but later suffered an injury
Darren McCraw celebrates opening the scoring against Edusport but later suffered an injury

• Civil Service Strollers 2, Stirling University 4

Civil Service Strollers suffered their second home defeat in three days as they went down 4-2 to Stirling University at Christie Gillies Park. After losing 2-1 at home to Spartans on Wednesday night, Alex Cunningham’s men were hoping to bounce back strongly, but it was the visitors who took the lead on six minutes when Kieran Hall broke through and netted. Uni doubled their lead on 17 minutes when Rory McLean teed up Chris Geddes and the same player netted again after good work from Angus Mailer. Strollers had been in the match and the 3-0 scoreline was harsh on them. They threatened a comeback in an action-packed first half when David Stewart converted a wicked cross from Andrew Mair before Ian Ballantyne made it 3-2 at the break. A much quieter second half ensued, with both defences on top until Lewis Hunter blasted the ball home two minutes before full time to seal the win for the students.

Civil Service Strollers: Burnside, Newall (Boyle 60), Fee, Watson, Verth, Stewart, Mair, Cunningham, Downie, Froude, Ballantyne. Unusued subs: Boggie, Clapperton.

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Stirling University: Walker, Webb, Slattery, Ashe, Mailer, Hunter, McEwan, McCafferty, Geddes (Bonar 60), Hall (Cowley 72), Lyons (Keane 45).

• Gala Fairydean 0, Spartans 1

Spartans kept up their 100 per cent record and moved to the top of the Lowland League with a 1-0 victory on the road at Gala courtesy of a fine strike by Craig Stevenson. The opening spell of the match was played in a frantic fashion, with Spartans dominating the early play. They took the lead on 21 minutes when the quick-thinking David Greenhill played a short corner to Stevenson, who then sent a curled effort beyond Lewis Muir into the corner of the net. Blair Carswell pulled off a fine save to deny Gala skipper Billy Miller from levelling proceedings shortly after as the Borders side pressed for an equaliser. Scott Main’s downward header midway through the second half that hit the bar was the closest Gala came in the second half to finding an equaliser.

Gala: Muir, Stephen, Miller, Main, Windram, Bonnar, Smith (Craigie 60), Aitchison, Noble, Gullan, Watson. Unused Subs: Brown, Paliczka, Haugh, Pattenden, Swaney, Walters

Spartans: Carswell, Herd, Stevenson, Tolmie, Corbett, Greenhill, Dishington, McFarland, Allum (Khutsishvili 86), Bremner (Wilson 67), Guthrie (Archibald 67). Unused Subs: Atkinson, Nixon, Stobie.

• Whitehill Welfare 3, Edusport Academy 1

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Whitehill claimed their first victory of the season, although this match will be remembered for the 45-minute delay after a injury to Welfare’s Darren McCraw. The striker had put the hosts ahead on 27 minutes, finishing off a great team move, but his involvement in the match was ended shortly afterwards when he picked up a nasty knee injury. The match was halted as an ambulance was called and paramedics attended to the striken player, who was then taken to hospital. An update for the club said that McCraw’s knee had been “popped back into place” and they hope to have him back in action soon. Despite the delay, Whitehill pressed on and made it 2-0 on 51 minutes thanks to a goal from Kyle Mitchell. Edusport responded on the hour-mark when Thomas Garnier broke clear of the hosts’ defence and he finished well. However, Whitehill put the game to bed not long after when James McPartlin collected a long diagonal ball from Hamish Hunter and slotting home.

Whitehill Welfare: Jardine, McGrath, Murray, McKenzie, Kidd, Wright (Swanson 61), McPartlin, Dodds, McCraw (Gormley 36), Mitchell, Hunter (Smith 66), Unused subs: Watson, Kerr, Lucas, Taylor

Edusport Academy: Halliwell, Hewitt, Oulaitoh, McCann, Wilson, Nelson (Saccayaradjy 76), McCall (Steyer 84), Zeghdane (Capoc-hichi 60), Garnier, Bouchentouf, Jordan. Unused subs: Wilton, Nuissier, Breton, Jeffrey

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