It was a Keiran McGachie masterclass this afternoon at Ainslie Park, as Bonnyrigg Rose ran out 2-0 victors in a commanding performance.

Becoming a fixture of this Rose side, they came flying out of the traps and were the much brighter of the two sides. From the offset, there were signs of real team unity and it seemed apparent a dominant performance was on the cards.

The tempo of the first half was set by the Rose backline, with Kerr Young, Bob Wilson and Neil Martyniuk oozing composure and commanding every move. The former used his burst of pace from time to time to drive forwards into an open Spartans midfield, but preferred to hold the ball and allow the forward men to move.

Despite all their early, and comfortable, possession, the first clear cut chance fell to the hosts. Mikey Allan found himself on the better side of Dean Brett and tried to play in the lively Scott Maxwell, but the striker failed to put his shot past Mark Weir.

From there on in, it was all about the visitors. McGachie, who drove the Spartans defence mad all afternoon, used his strength expertly well to hold, turn and win the opening corner off Adam Corbett. Another came in quick succession, with Wilson rising highest, but he couldn’t direct his header on target.

The Rose’s dominance in possession eventually paid off as they went ahead just after 20 minutes. In his first start for the club, Leo Watson was a stand-out, and linked up well with Ross Gray down the left flank. After some neat interplay, the Hearts loanee whipped a delightful cross in from the byline, which was met calmly by McGachie who lifted the ball over Spartans ‘keeper Harry Stone, to give the visitors a well-deserved lead.

He was here, there and everywhere today, although that’s no different from any other day. Moments after playing a key role in the opening goal, Ross Gray had tracked right back to commit a crunching tackle on the edge of his own box, putting an end to a promising Spartans counter-attack.

Weir was only really troubled once, with 10 minutes of the first half left. Sam Jones fired a shot from 20-yards-out, but to Weir’s delight, it had little movement and the Rose ‘keeper was able to parry it out for a corner.

The half ended as it began, with the Rose never under the cosh. Brett, who was hugging the right touchline throughout, linked up sensationally with George Hunter, causing the home defence all kind of headaches. The resulting corner was smothered by young Stone, who breathed a sigh of relief at the half-time whistle.

Dougie Samuel’s side once again had the opening chance of the half. Wilson got his feet stuck in the middle of the park, allowing Archie Meekison a free run in on goal. With only Weir to beat, the striker crumbled under pressure and skied his shot high, failing to capitalise on a great chance.

In almost a carbon copy of the first 45, following on from the Spartans chance, it was then all Rose. Scott Gray dragged a shot just wide from the right hand-side of the box after some tidy footwork from Hunter.

Ross Gray, McGachie and Maryniuk were involved in some attractive play down the left, leaving the Spartans defenders as spectators and forcing a string of continual corners, in the midst of Bonnyrigg Rose’s dominance.

Shaking things up slightly, Weir elected to showcase his pinpoint distribution, picking out McGachie and Hunter from distance, instead of working from the back. The long ball into the goal-scorer allowed the Gray brothers to press high for second balls and with just less than 20 minutes to go, the move paid off.

Scott Gray pressured the opposition from the second ball, forcing them to play it back into their own danger area. McGachie continued the chase into the box and found himself presented with the opportunity to snatch and turn the defender off the ball, before slotting home his, and the Rose’s, second of the afternoon.

For the final 20 minutes, McGachie was paired with Bradley Barrett who came on for Hunter and was impressive from the off. He combined well with Watson, who put in a stellar performance at left-wing-back, not only offering an option going forward, but filling back well in defence.

Weir was forced into action again with 15 minutes to go, Maxwell tried his luck again from 25-yards-out, but the Rose shot-stopper tipped his effort over the crossbar.

Watson and Ross Gray made way for Dean Hoskins and João Baldé, with the latter looking to make an instant impact. He delivered a sensational diagonal cross ball, which wiped out the entire Spartans defence, to Barrett who was bearing down on goal, but the Bonnyrigg local lad failed to keep his shot down.

In his final contribution before being substituted for a trialist, Scott Gray rocketed a shot from the corner of the box, into the far-left corner, but it was just inches high.

It was an as complete performance that Horn’s side have displayed this season. Back to back wins were exactly what the side were in search of, prior to their Soccer Shop Challenge Cup tie against Renfrew, which takes place next Saturday.

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