Sport / Spurs seal league title after thrilling play-off
LERWICK Spurs have won the Ocean Kinetics Premier League for a third time in five years after an exhilarating play-off win over Whitedale on Monday night.
The milkbags incredibly scored almost straight from Whitedale’s kick-off at Fraser Park, with Lewis Barclay giving them the lead inside the first minute of the game.
And Lewis Harkness doubled that advantage with a simply stunning strike into the top right corner from distance, to leave Whitedale floundering.
But they dragged themselves back off the canvas and began to look dangerous through their triple threat of Gary and Bobby Scott, and Greg Tulloch.
A knockdown in the Spurs box resulted in Ewan Inkster scrambling the ball home to reduce the deficit.
And almost immediately after, Whitedale remarkably levelled after a Tulloch cross seemed to rebound off the post and Spurs keeper Paul Grant before ending up in the back of the net.
The sides went in at the break still locked at 2-2, and with the daunting prospect of penalties if the game ended level after 90 minutes.
Whitedale started the better of the two teams in the second period, but Spurs were always a threat on the counter – particularly with the strength and power of Paul Molloy, who dragged his team up the pitch.
Forward Sam Maver was also a constant threat, although he was guilty too of missing a number of chances in both halves.
However he persisted and made amends for those misses, driving into the box and drilling the ball into the bottom corner to put Spurs back ahead at 3-2.
The final blow was dealt to Whitedale by Molloy, who rounded keeper Adrian Morrison and slotted the ball into the side netting from a tight angle to make it 4-2.
Whitedale huffed and puffed but were unable to find a way past Grant to set up a grandstand finish.
The final act before the final whistle was a second yellow card for Harkness, but it did not matter for Spurs who celebrated at the sound of the full-time whistle.
This latest success continues Spurs’ golden streak in the league, with the town team now lifting the trophy eight times in the last 13 years.
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