EVERYTHING possible to portray all that is good and positive in competitive youth club football was on show at Paties Road where Spartans Reds and Spartans Blacks played each other in a memorable Ian Mackay Cup Final.

The huge turnout of Spartans’ fans to see two of their youth teams in action in a cup final made it difficult to find a parking space with so many cars carrying passengers arriving at the venue in Colinton. In a quite magnificent night of glowing sunshine the atmosphere created by the crowd was matched by the wonderful attitude of the players and officials on the field of play.

The Reds were pre-match favourites to win this all-Spartans showdown and they looked to be on their way to lifting the trophy when big Matty Hardie finally broke the deadlock in the 23^rd minute of the second half, heading the ball over the line in a crowded goalmouth following a corner on the right. This goal came after a non-stop obsorbing game of good play from both sides with the Blacks very unlucky, indeed, to be trailing 1-0. However, if the Reds and their ecstatic fans in the crowd surrounding the pitch at Paties Road thought the game was as good a over, they had the most morale-shattering experience still to come.

In time added on by a quite excellent match referee, Dick Menzies, the Reds virtually turned the game ‘on its head’ when Alan Taylor showed great skill to win the ball in an overcrowded Reds goalmouth to fire a low shot past the good opposition goalkeeper, Mark Alexander, to square the game. That equaliser was the very last kick of the game and it took the tie to extra time. Before the shattered Reds had time to get over the late, late goal, they were hit with another ‘thunderbolt, from the right boot of Alex Dry. When a ball was played up the left, the very quick Blacks striker went after it like a boy inspired and he outpaced his marker to win the ball, turn back in to his tracks to outwit the Reds defender then unleash an unstoppable shot in to the far corner of Alexander’s goal.

The roar from the crowd that acclaimed this wonder goal must have been heard miles away.  It also effectively ended Reds hopes of winning the trophy. The boost in confidence in the ranks of the Blacks and their fans was further illustrated when big Sean Gavin smashed a thunderous shot from a few yards out on to Alexander’s crossbar and when the ball crashed down it hit a defender before bounding over the line to give the Blacks an unassailable 3-1 lead. To make it an even more miserable end for the Reds, a corner from the left in the last minute from Alistair Wood somehow was allowed to go across of the Reds goal and enter the net at the far post to make the final scoreline 4-1.

That was a cruel score, indeed, for the Reds to accept at the end of a classic duel in the sun at Paties Road. Spartans FC are the most  progressive football club I have come across with a structure within the club that covers all ages and skills, from very young kids at their youth section in Inverleith Park, to their two amateur sides that are both based at Peffermill and on to the senior side in the club that plays in the East of Scotland League. Plans are well advanced for the building of their own modern stadium in the Ainslie Park area of north Edinburgh and the progress in coaching in their two young teams at Paties Road was there for everyone to see.

The Ian Mackay Cup Final was a perfect example of all that is good in competitive youth club football. It was a great night for the Eastern Region Youth FA and their officials who were at Paties Road to organise the game, the match officials and the big crowd that gave such wonderful support and encouragement to both teams. The game was all a about the players on the pitch and their respective coaches and the most praise must go to all of them for making this another of the most memorable finals I have seen in minor-grade football. The game and the atmosphere it was played in at Paties Road was as near perfect as you will ever get!

Spartans Blacks – Clarke Veitch, Lewis Kidd, Blair Stuart, Alan Taylor, Ross Downie, Alistair Wood, James Hymers, Jack Foreman, Alex Dry, Charles McKenzie, Fraser Reid, Mark Millar, Sam Lodge, Scott Muir, Iain Hall, Sean Gavin.

Spartans Blacks – Mark Alexander, Ryan Stevenson, Kyle Edington, Jordan Irvine, Tommy Farrell, Gareth Swing, Liam Donnelly, Blair McWhirter, Johnny Gilfillan, Matthew Cunningham, Paul Martin, Jason Scott, Matty Hardie, Liam Andrews, Lewis Renton, Evan Todd, Mark Cable, Alistair Price.

Referee – Dick Menzies; assistants – Gordon Bain and Alan Downie.