SALVESEN 94 sealed their second piece of silverware this season with a 3-1 win over Spartans in an entertaining under-14 League Cup final at Gyle Recreation Ground.
Salvie took the lead after just eight minutes, when a Jack Beaumont corner found the head of Tom Holligan before the ball bulleted past Thomas Swinney in the Spartans goal.
Sam McNab could – and should – have twice added to Salvie's tally within f
ive minutes of the opening goal, but he headed over from Holligan's right-wing cross and then blazed the ball over the bar from a similar build-up.
Haydn Crane doubled Salvie's lead shortly after half time, smashing the ball home from close range.
Spartans, despite mirroring their opponents' attractive passing game, failed to create many chances and it wasn't long before Salvie punished them further.
On 46 minutes, Holligan's strong run forward took him into the penalty area, where, after fending off the challenge of Scott Noble, his low shot on the run by-passed both the goalkeeper and the right-hand post. On the hour mark, though, Holligan, the Salvesen skipper, redeemed himself, notching a personal second and putting the result beyond doubt with a powerful finish past Swinney from the left-hand corner of the box.
A fine consolation strike by a resilient Spartans proved too little, too late for the vanquished to even consider mounting a comeback, and it was a delighted Salvie secretary, Crawford Matthews, who was able to hail his team afterwards.
He said: "We won the Blackpool Cup (a 4-0 win over Bellshill in the final on Easter weekend] already this season, so this is our second trophy. It's been another progressive season for us, and I think we can improve again next year. Today we showed how we try to play football and the win was down to the attitude and determination of the players."
Salvesen: Jackson Bell, John MacAndrew, Arran Foster, Danny Mayhew, Ross Davidson, Sam MacNab, Tom Holligan, Liam Scott, Kieran Glen, Haydn Crane, Murray Pollock, Finlay Matthews, Jamie Murray, Ruaridh Davidson, Jack Beaumont.
Spartans: Thomas Swinney, Daniel Shields, Max Mitchell, Scott Noble, Jack McKinley, Fraser Hunter, Greg Atkinson, Isaac Imrie, Michael Duncan, Max Rose, Craig Low, James Wilson, Scott Simpson, Adam McCraw, Sean Veitch, Jonathan Hepburn.
The full article contains 388 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
