New-look Seton cruise to next round

Seton BC eased through to the SPORTSassist under-19 South East Region Cup quarter finals to play either Polbeth United or Lochend YFC after beating Spartans 93 6-2 in their second round tie.

Having lost all of their league games so far this season, Seton dominated this cup tie from start to finish, a tribute to the squad’s resilience after losing eight first team members to Berwick Rangers before the start of the season.

Seton took the lead in the first 10 minutes after a fine passing move allowed Michael Blair to stroll unmarked into the box and place a bulleted header past the helpless Tom Swinney in the Spartans goal. The move began with Seton’s No. 1 Joshua McFarlane, who played a long ball up to the pacey and tricky Nicky Garrity. Garrity flew past right back Darren McLuskie before firing in a cross with pin-point accuracy towards team mate Blair, who headed into the bottom corner.

Just when it looked like Seton were taking control of the game, Spartans equalised through Rory McLean’s drive from 25 yards out. McLean picked up a loose ball on the halfway line and moved directly towards the goal before unleashing a fierce dipping shot that whizzed past McFarlane in the Seton goal.

This equalising goal shocked Seton into action resulting in two swift goals in quick succession. The first saw Garrity finish off a move he started, firing in an unstoppable shot that nestled into the top corner. Garrity picked the ball up on the halfway line and played the ball square to Jack Kennedy, whose first time flick found Blair in space. Blair controlled the ball before unleashing a defence-splitting pass that found the run of Garrity, who fired a fierce drive past the stranded Swinney.

The Seton third goal came from the penalty spot after Swinney took down striker Kennedy after Kyle Williams had pressured Subhaan Ahmed into a misplaced pass. That pass fell to the feet of Kennedy who, as he rounded the keeper, was taken down by the outstretched hands of Swinney giving the referee no option but to award a penalty. Jack Wheatley stepped up and fired the spot kick to the keeper’s right only for Swinney, who was booked for the foul, to save. However ,the rebounding ball fell straight to the feet of spot kicker Wheatley to slide into the opposite corner.

Two minutes after half time Seton scored their fourth goal of the game with a deflected Taylor McKillop shot which dipped over the advancing Swinney. Williams danced down the right wing before playing in Blair, who flicked the ball into the path of McKillop, who, in turn, smashed a first time shot that deflected off the legs of Alastair Fleming and into the net.

Seton kept up the pressure on the Spartans defence and on the hour mark they scored their fifth goal of the game, with Garrity getting his second goal of the game after some intense pressure by substitute Greg Lauder. Lauder chased and harried defender Ahmed into trying to clear the ball only for it to fall straight to the feet of Garrity to hit a first-time shot into the back of the net.

Five minutes before full time, Seton rounded off their scoring getting their sixth and final goal as Blair got his second of the game. Jack Godsell started off the move down the left wing before cutting in and laying on the ball to Blair who passed the ball into the far corner of the net.

Billy Lauder hopes the win could signal the beginnings of a positive run from his side. He said: “The performance was fantastic with the boys controlling the game throughout. We have struggled with losing so many players in pre-season but the guys who have come in have been great and have adapted well to our style of play. If we win a cup this year I will be over the moon but realistically our aim this season is to consolidate for next season.”

Alasdair McCabe, the Spartans 93 coach, felt his team struggled throughout. “We never really turned up and let in some soft goals,” he said. “I thought when it was 1-0 we were going to get back into the game but we let it slip again.”

Spartans 93: Thomas Swinney, Darren McLuskie, Subhaan Ahmed, Alastair Fleming, Jonathan Hepburn, Rory McLean, Connor Bremner, Stewart Haldane, Paul Crolla, Mark James, Kerr Reid, Connal Boyle.

Seton BC: Joshua McFarlane, Ryan Brown, Jack Wheatley, David Lamond, Michael Blair, Taylor McKillop, Kyle Williams, Greg Lauder, Jack Kennedy, Nick Garrity, Dean Riddell, Chris Jamison, Jack Godsell, Nicholas Pearson, Paul Luby, Ryan Cossettini.