In a tight cup final between Spartans and Tynecastle BC, it required a piece of brilliance from Jonathan Jarron to separate the two teams, as Spartans ran out winners in a tense match at New Countess Park.

Nicholas Reid was the first to create a chance of note in the 12^th minute when a series of deflections helped the ball land at his feet inside the box, but his first-time effort sailed over the bar.

Reid was in the centre of the action again a few minutes later as he fed the ball through to Jack Crombie, he raced onto the through ball with only Aaron Heap in the Tynecastle goals to beat, but the goalkeeper came out on top on this occasion, reaching the ball just before it could be fired at goal.

Jack Gammie was the first player to test the reflexes of Niall McFadden in Spartans goal with a good free-kick in the 16^th minute, it looked destined for the top corner, but Gammie was equal to the effort and prevented both a goal and a corner.

Reid then set up a chance for Lorcan Gray on 19 minutes. Reid fired a ball across the box and Gray was arriving late into the box to meet it, however, the pace on the ball seemed to work against him as he scuffed his effort and saw it trickle wide of the goal.

Reece Mason was next to try his luck for Spartans, who were well on top at this stage, when he struck a curling effort from the edge of the box, but Heap was able to stretch just far enough to tip the ball over the bar for a corner, which came to nothing.

In the 23^rd minute Spartans produced an incisive passing move which saw Gray and Jarron interchanging passes, before sliding in Reid who had a great chance to open the scoring, but dragged his effort wide of the post.

The pressure from Spartans only continued and they came close to scoring a few minutes before half-time, as Reid, once again at the heart of the attack, nipped his way around the defence and managed to place his shot past the keeper, but Aaron Matheson was on hand to deny him on the goal-line.

Tynecastle had a chance to grab a goal just before the interval, as Jack Carr showed brilliant strength to see off a defender in the box and get a shot away, unfortunately for him though, that shot was off target. 

Jack Crombie was the first player to try his luck two minutes into the second-half, although his long-range effort was fairly ambitious and it flew over the bar without truly worrying Aaron Heap.

Joseph Evenden then produced a great bit of skill to get beyond the full-back and whip in a teasing cross into the penalty area, but nobody for Spartans was alert enough to capitalise on it.

Tynecastle captain Kieran Ngwenya, who helped to drive his team on throughout the game, looked like he had played in Scott Hunter down the wing, but it was only after he managed to get his shot away that the offside flag was raised.

Both teams struggled to create anything clear-cut in the second-half, with both defences having stand-out games, but Evenden managed to produce a testing shot from a tight angle in the 52^nd minute, however Heap was once again equal to the effort and kept the game goalless.

Considering how the game was going, it looked as if either a moment of brilliance or a horror mistake would open the scoring, and with fifteen minutes remaining it was the former. A number of Spartans players stood over a 25-yard free kick, but it was Jonathan Jarron, who later claimed to rarely take free-kicks, who tried his luck. He was right to, as his effort flied into the roof of the net and well beyond the Tynie goalkeeper’s reach. It was a strike worthy of winning any game, at any level.

Drama was to follow though in the final minute. Tynecastle created by their best chance of the match, as Ivan Alapiki looked to have surely scored with a header right at the death, but McFadden, who had little action all game, produced a heroic reflex save from point-blank range to keep the effort out. The danger wasn’t over, as Dean Murray raced onto the rebound and smacked his effort off the post and out for a goal-kick, letting Spartans breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Incredible drama right at the end, as Spartans survived a late, late scare to become South East Region Cup champions.