THE final of the East of Scotland FA’s under-19 challenge cup between Spartans FC and Edinburgh City at Riccarton was spoiled by the behaviour of the players on the pitch, with what must be a world record red-card shown to an Edinburgh City player within 40 seconds of the game kicking off getting the final off to the worst possible start.

The Edinburgh City players looked to be extremely ‘fired-up’ when they came out for the start of what should have been a showcase final for the East of Scotland League’s under-19 set up, but when Ryan Pollock was sent off for an illegal tackle on an opponent in front of match referee, Alan Hogg, the task of beating Spartans FC became an almost impossible one for them. But the crowd on the touchlines were further sickened by the behaviour of many of the  players on the pitch with the level of cursing and swearing from some as bad as I have ever heard from players at any game I have attended – at any level.

A male spectator said at the close of play: “When did they change the rules to make swearing such as this from players acceptable during a game?” I do not think it has come about because of any rule change, it is more a reflection on the way we live now than anything else and our acceptance of behaviour such as this. We do not complain and, instead, keep quiet in fear of getting involved. It is all part of the social structure in Scotland and we are all to blame. Certainly, the three officials on duty at the lovely Heriot-Watt University enclosure did nothing to curb the flow of bad language that could be clearly heard by everyone on the touchlines.

It took Spartans fully 38 minutes to make the breakthrough against the ten-man Edinburgh City outfit with a high cross from the right delivered by Craig Hunter which Michael Kennedy stuck away at the second attempt – after completely missing the ball when swinging at it when it first came across. Spartans went on to make it 2-0 at half-time, following a corner the ball broke to the  left of the City 18yd box and Struan Preston fired it low back in to the Edinburgh City goalmouth for Oliver Antonio to have a pot-shot at goal and the ball deflected off a City defender and over the line.

In the second half, Spartans played good flowing passing football and Edinburgh City struggled throughout all of the 45 minutes to keep the score down. It was almost one-way traffic with Craig Hunter showing what a good player he is in a well-coached team set-up. He did his job on the right very well indeed, laying off lovely passes in to the strikers whenever the opportunity arose. Antoni took the margin to 3-0 shortly after the restart, sending a glancing header from Steven Devine past luckless City keeper, Brian McNeil.

In a rare breakout from defending their goal, City mounted a good attacking move and Spartans goalie, Sam Gibson, had to come quickly off his line to deny Craig McIntosh. At the other end, it was virtually shooting-in practice for Spartans and they duly went 4-0 in front when a glorious passing move started in their own half of the pitch by Peter Haugen ripped open the City defence leaving Preston to finish off brilliantly with a low shot past McNeil. That was the best goal of the game and it involved many of the Spartans team in the build-up. Hunter set up the fifth goal with a lovely weighted pass inside for Devine to outpace the outrushing keeper to win the ball before going on to knock the ball in to the empty net to make it 5-0 for Spartans.

It was painful to watch as Spartans threatened to run amok against the tiring Edinburgh City players. Goal number six, the last of the one-side game, came from a Hunter corner that City did not deal with and Michael Watson got in on the goal-scoring act with a thumping shot in to the roof of the net to make the final score 6-0. Tynecastle FC’s Alastair Wilkie was the master of ceremonies at the presentation of awards, with East of Scotland Executive Member, Alasdair Matheson (Heriot-Watt University) handing over the medals and the beautiful trophy to the delight of the ecstatic Spartans squad and their fans on the sidelines.
 

In truth, it was not a pleasant Sunday afternoon at Riccarton. I wonder if I will ever see a change in the culture of minor-grade football in Scotland, where aggressive attitudes are replaced by total concentration and commitment by players to play good passing football all over the pitch. This final at Riccarton was another example of good young footballers spoiling what could have been a great final to watch. The tanked-up aggression of young players is the wrong attitude to have at a cup final which people pay good money to see – not to listen to cursing and swearing and watch players with a totally negative attitude to the game. That type of play and mentality is part of the culture in Scotland and that is why we are a ‘third world’ football nation. But, from what I see in my travels, it will never change, from the very highest levels to the very bottom of the  pile. Will we ever realise that football is the greatest team sport in the world, played properly – I think not! And was the sending off in 40 seconds something of a world record, I don’t know, but who would want to claim a record such as that in any case? Only in Scotland, dare I say!

Spartans FC – Sam Gibson, Robbie Forsyth, Peter Haugen, Paul Weir, Michael Watson, Oliver Antoni, Craig Hunter, Michael Kennedy, Struan Preston, Cameron McLeod, Steven Dev ine, Scott Downie, Ross Lewis, Kyle Fee, Keir McNab.

Edinburgh City – Brian McNeil, David McIntosh, Neil Guthrie, Craig McIntosh, Chris Cowan, Scott McFarland, Stuart Rae, Colin Morris, Danny Baxter, Steve Stewart, Mike Hetherton, Ryan Pollock, Tony McGowan, Brian Anderson, Chris Riordan, Ronald Dow.

Referee – Alan Hogg.