The home side started brightly but lacked any real cutting edge up front, with Ross Clark particularly guilty of poor finishing, blasting his sides best chance over the bar.
The game could be described as a tough midfield battle and the first goal was always going to be crucial. Sadly, the visitors got it midway through the second half when a corner caused havoc in the FPC penalty box and the ball was scrambled over the line. The Motherwell side did stage a fightback, but the Sparta rearguard held firm to leave the 'Corner four points off the pace, leaving the Scottish Cup as their only remaining realistic chance of any silverwear for this season.
The heads were down in the dressing room after the match but manager Fraser was far from negative in his summation:
"To match a team of such quality with so many players missing today is a credit to how far we've come. We're now an outside bet to win the league but if I'd been offered four points from the top in March at the start of the season, I'd definitely have taken it! I have felt for a few weeks now that the current squad has been running on empty and this defeat could turn out to be a blessing in disguise as it will allow us to concentrate fully on our Scottish Cup Semi Final with Aberdeen."