Stephen Reid

Our final William Hill League 2 match of this season at NDP takes place this Saturday (26th April) when “The Rose” welcome The Spartans.

Nothing less than a win is required, and all eyes will also be looking to Meadowbank where Forfar Athletic travel to meet Edinburgh City.

The Rosey Posey some hope of avoiding the relegation play off with an excellent win at The Alpha Projects Stadium @Stair Park when we defeated Forfar Athletic 0-2.

It was a performance full of desire and character with the team on the front foot from the very start.

“The Rose” created several chances and went ahead just short of the half hour mark when Kieran McGachie was fouled just inside the 18-yard box and the Referee pointed to the penalty spot.

Captain of the day Neil Martyniuk stepped up and cooly converted the spot kick.

Forfar came out in the second half with more purpose, but the Bonnyrigg defence was resolute and limited “The Loons” to very few opportunities.

On the 70th minute mark “The Rose” doubled the lead when Cammy Ross headed in a cross from Player of the Match Aaron Arnott.

This was a much-needed boost for everyone connected to the club and will hoping that this result can be the springboard to a positive end of the season.

The Spartans defeated Clyde 2-0 at Ainslie Park to maintain their hopes of a promotion play-off position.

The Spartans are currently 5th in the table and gained all 3 points with two second half goals from Russell and Dishington.

Manager Jonny Stewart thoughts on this match

Hello and welcome back to NDP for another huge game.

Both teams will be desperate for 3 points for different reasons so it should be a cracker.

Spartans are a good side with a lot of good players so we know it will be a tough game.

However, we were excellent last week and it was by far the best performance since I came back to the club.

The boys must take confidence from that and believe we can get another 3 points again today.

We know it’s out of our hands, but we just need to take care of ourselves.

Hopefully there’s another big crowd today which get right behind the team.

Mon the rose

In the previous meeting between the sides The Spartans came out on top 3-1 at Ainslie Park

Just as Rose looked to making a positive start to the game, Spartans struck following a corner as Calum Booth lashed a powerful long-range strike past Andy McNeil to give the home side the lead.

Spartans got off to the perfect start in the second half, Jamie Dishington finding the net just under ten minutes after the restart.

Murray Aiken, who was a shining light for Rose on the day, picking up the sponsors Player of the Match Award, volleyed brilliantly past Blair Carswell to drag Rose back within one with ten minutes to play.

Rose were unable to build upon that Aiken goal in the last few moments of the game, with Mark Stowe powering his shot past McNeil with two minutes left of the ninety to make sure of the points for the hosts.

Bonnyrigg Rose (last 5 league results)

19/04/25 = Forfar Athletic 0-2 Bonnyrigg Rose
12/04/25 = Bonnyrigg Rose 0-2 East Fife
05/04/25 = Peterhead 5-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
29/03/25 = Bonnyrigg Rose 0-1 Elgin City
22/03/25 = Clyde FC 3-1 Bonnyrigg Rose

The Spartans (last 5 league results)

19/04/25 = The Spartans 2-0 Clyde
12/04/25 = Peterhead 1-0 The Spartans
05/04/25 = The Spartans 2-1 Stranraer
29/03/25 = East Fife 4-2 The Spartans
22/03/25 = The Spartans 1-2 Elgin City

Bonnyrigg Rose v The Spartans (h2h league results this season)

01/03/25 = The Spartans 3-1 Bonnyrigg Rose
21/01/25 = Bonnyrigg Rose 2-2 The Spartans
10/08/24 = The Spartans 2-0 Bonnyrigg Rose

Referee Daniel Graves
AR1James McCluskey
AR2Chris McLaughlin

**We complete our William Hill League2 season v Stranraer (Eco Gen Stadium @ Stair Park) Saturday 3rd May Kick Off 3pm**