Stirling arrived in Edinburgh fresh from a 1-1 draw the previous Wednesday and were looking to build on their 100% record in Saturday football. Dalkeith proved to be tough opposition and the students will not be too disappointed at taking a draw from a tough fixture.
After a lethargic, quiet warm-up Stirling took this to onto the pitch and got off to a sluggish start. The bobbly surface didn’t help to settle Stirling nerves and Dalkeith had the better of the early exchanges and were perhaps unfortunate not go ahead.
Causing the Stirling side problems in the air, Dalkeith began their game plan of firing long balls into the Stirling penalty box and this worked to an extent with a few free headers going unpunished. After this shaky start Stirling began to find their feet and create chances of their own. A short pass was intercepted by Crawford down the Stirling right, allowing a driving run into the box to take place. With a variety of options available, the ball was played across the 6 yard box and with Bews, gaining his first start in the green of Stirling, waiting to slot it in, the Dalkeith goalkeeper got a strong hand on the ball to turn it away and the home side escaped.
Stirling were being put under a period of sustained pressure but were repelling the attacks efficiently, having adapted to the long ball tactics well. The most clear-cut chance of the first half came from Stirling however. Stevie Clark, brushing off recent speculation linking him with the vacant Hibs job, sprayed a wonderful ball in-between fullback and centre half spotting the run of Crawford who couldn’t hit the target with the diving header. Sure to impress any visiting Easter Road personnel, Clark was putting in an energetic performance combining well with Barker to cope with the midfield three of Dalkeith.
Stirling came out for the second half with the belief they could take the game to their opposition. This didn’t come to fruition as they were forced back for the majority of the second half relying on quick counters and the excellent hold up play of MacDougall and Bews. After Dalkeith created a few chances in quick succession, which were well saved by the ever-impressive Harkness, Coach Craig brought on Euan McCall to replace Bews adding a different aspect to the Stirling attack.
This proved an inspired change as Stirling gained an invaluable one goal lead. The inspiring Mahoney played a terrific ball out to Crawford, who then fizzed a diagonal ball into the path of McCall. After challenging with the goalkeeper, McCall was left with simple task of slotting home from close in. Stirling took this opportunity to keep up the pressure on the counter and remain responsible defensively.
With Dalkeith continuing to create chances, Stirling went to a 4-5-1 formation with MacLean replacing the tiring MacDougall. With added bite in the centre of the park, Stirling allowed the home side to have the majority of possession in front of them and only allowing half-chances to get an equaliser. Popular Charles Owusu made his first appearance for the third team replacing Ryan Lynch, who showed his potential one again with tremendous shift out on the left, as Stirling tried to see the game out to the end. Full-backs Flanagan and Henderson were supporting their centre half’s well but couldn’t get that much sought after clean sheet, conceding a penalty with 5 minutes left. Indecision between Flanagan and Harkness allowed the Dalkeith skipper to nick in and was bundled over. Stepping up himself the Dalkeith levelled the scores which, while slightly harsh on the stubborn back four, was probably deserved over the course of the game.
The final few minutes passed without incident and the two sides will meet once again next Saturday at the University campus. After being a goal up the students will be disappointed to lose a late goal, but on reflection it was perhaps the correct result with Dalkeith having the majority of the chances. Stirling will look forward to the replay, feeling they can perform much better and move into the third round of the prestigious competition.
Stirling: Harness, Flanagan, Cooper, Mahoney, Henderson, Crawford, Barker, Clark, Lynch (Owusu), Bews (McCall), MacDougall (McLean)
Man of the Match: Ross Harkness
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