McLeod is spot-on for Spartans

Spartans striker Keith McLeod interrupted his honeymoon to appear as a second-half substitute and scored from the penalty spot to earn the Ainslie Park outfit a 1-1 draw with a strong Falkirk side in last night's pre-season friendly.

"My wife and I spent a few days in Portugal returning yesterday morning and we are off to Majorca tomorrow so this was my opportunity to play some minutes of football," smiled McLeod.

Falkirk fielded six players who featured in their squad at the weekend when they drew 0-0 with English Premiership club, Bolton Wanderers, including Scotland under-21 internationalist Chris Mitchell and goalscorer with many clubs, Kenny Deuchar.

Falkirk took the lead in the 36th minute when a Mitchell free-kick from 30 yards bounced off the chest of Spartans goalkeeper Chris Flockhart and Carl Finnigan headed home the rebound.

Spartans introduced several subs at half-time, including McLeod, and the high tempo of the game suited the home side who had chances to equalise as they pressurised the Falkirk defence. Spartans' attacking policy was rewarded eight minutes from time when Jorge Vinnelli was brought down in a clumsy challenge from Kieran Duffie and McLeod smashed the spot kick behind Barclay.

Chris Townsley, Spartans' recent recruit from Alloa Athletic, almost snatched a win in the final minute when his header from a Hoskins corner rebounded from the crossbar.

"That was our third game in four days and there has been a steady improvement," said Spartans joint manager Mike Lawson.

In the only other fixture, Preston Athletic's Kevin Haynes notched a hat-trick as they beat Ormiston 3-2.