Stirling University footballers beat Craigroyston

Nov 20 2009 by Donald Morton, Stirling Observer Friday

CRAIGROYSTON 1

STIRLING UNIVERSITY 2

Central Taxis East of ScotlandFirst Division

STIRLING’S students consolidated their position at the top of the East of Scotland FirstDivision on Saturday with a 2-1 victory in Edinburgh.

The hard-fought win takes the university five points clear of their nearest rivals and maintains the push for promotion, writes Euan Black.

Stirling welcomed Kieran Stallard into the squad on loan from Falkirk while his Bairns team-mate Craig McLeish returned from injury to take a place on the bench. It was a patchy start to the game as the long grass and strong wind made it difficult for both teams to pass the ball.

But the game came to life after the students won a corner on 15 minutes. Graham Anderson got away from his man at the front post and met Lee Nichol’s pin-point cross with a bullet header to put the visitors one up

The students nearly doubled their lead minutes later with captain Anderson again involved. Some smart link-up play between the midfield and forward line resulted in the ball being laid back to Anderson, who, from the edge of the penalty box, rifled an effort which missed the target by inches.

Stirling continued to dominate the first half and were two ahead before long. Jacob Arnold-Smith slipped through his strike partner Euan Black with a clever reverse pass and the forward poked the ball past the advancing goalkeeper.

Having played so well during the first 45 minutes, the students found themselves in a promising position at half-time. But there must have been some harsh words in the home side’s dressing room as the game swung into Craigroyston’s favour after the break.

With half an hour left, they halved the deficit when Stirling cheaply conceded possession near the corner flag. The ball was delivered into the box and Craigroyston’s impressive winger Steven Manson was on hand to finish well.

From then on Stirling looked vulnerable and they had goalkeeper Sam Filler to thank for keeping them in front. Manson again found himself with plenty of space in the box but the former Middlesbrough keeper rushed out bravely to smother the ball.

There was a late penalty scare for the students when Craigroyston sub Sean Martin went down in the box after a corner but instead of pointing to the spot the referee flashed a yellow card for diving.

While the students might feel as if they should have performed better, their captain Graham Anderson was adamant getting all three points was what counted.

He said: “It is an incredibly hard place to go and get a result. Craigroyston always make it difficult for us and we knew at half-time, even with a two goal lead, that the game was far from over. We are just glad to come away with another win which leaves us in a great position.”

Stirling: Filler, McCullagh, Atkins, Byrne, Dingwall, Anderson, Topp (Stallard), Nichol, Dewar (Bolam), Arnold-Smith, Black (Keller). Subs not used: McCulloch, McLeish.

The students are on cup duty tomorrow (Saturday) facing Premier Division side Tynecastle in the South Challenge Cup. Kick-off is 1.30pm at the Gannochy Sports Centre, with free entry and a home support is always welcome.