Keith gets a high five but Spartans ace wanted more

SPARTANS player Keith McLeod notched five goals against Selkirk at the weekend – including a seven-minute hat-trick in the first half – in a dazzling half-hour spell.

"I was looking for more goals and was disappointed to go off," said McLeod, who was substituted with 20 minutes of the game remaining.

"However, I had taken a knock on the base of my heel in the first half and my hamstrings were beginning to tighten. The last time I scored five goals in a game was when I was still at primary school and I'm now going on 32 in the summer.

"Funnily enough, I was looking at the match programme before the game and saw that, in the East of Scotland League goalscoring charts, I had twelve goals while the top scorer, Wayne McIntosh of Lothian Thistle, had 23 goals. I was well down the pecking order with another five players above me so I was determined to score a couple of goals although I never expected to manage five. I felt really good before the game and it turned out to be just one of these days when everything clicked and happened for me. I could easily have had more because there were at least two dubious offside decisions against me. Maybe the assistant referee felt sorry for Selkirk." McLeod's five-goal haul consisted of two right-foot shots, two left-foot efforts and a header. "My favourite was probably the last one when I ran up the stand-side area of the park, cut inside and past two of their players, along the edge of the penalty box and struck in a left-foot shot. I should probably have passed the ball but I felt confident.

"Although I managed to score five goals, in general, we played really well all over the park."

McLeod has made 243 appearances for Spartans since joining them from Civil Service Strollers in 2002 and has now scored an incredible 175 goals.

"I tried to sign him when I was manager of Whitehill Welfare," said Spartans joint manager Mike Lawson. "When at his best he has always been capable of playing in the SFL and he has had chances but he is self-employed and football to Keith is a hobby and all about enjoyment.

"Keith has played the majority of games every season and he is one of the first names on the team-sheet. Keith is not just a poacher – he is an all-round striker who brings other players into games and gets involved in build-ups. His presence creates space and opportunities for others in the team. In fact, sometimes it is hard to get him to stay up the park.

"His first touch can be variable but on Saturday everything stuck to him.

"It was just one of these games where everything clicked and, although we got a bit of stick for taking him off before he had a chance to get a double hat-trick, we have to think about our next game against Lothian Thistle."