Stirling 4 Napier 1st 0

Vintage performance leaves Edinburgh side stunned

Stirling booked their place in the knockout stages of the BUCS cup with a commanding victory over an Edinburgh side sitting two divisions above. It had looked likely that the game would be called off due to heavy rain throughout the week but the surface withstood the weather to provide a skidding surface perfect for passing football.

Stirling settled into the game with Napier getting the better of the early exchanges despite not threatening the home side’s goal. Maintaining a defensive approach to the Napier threat, Stirling frustrated their opposition threatening themselves on the counter attack. The first chance came for Stirling as MacDougall controlled a long ball forward. Taking the ball on the bounce a rifled shot almost caught out the suspect goalkeeper but he managed to gather the ball at the second attempt.

The Stirling students were soaking up pressure well with the laundryman Ross Chapman having virtually nothing to do. Stirling were playing brilliant possession football with few wasteful passes and showing superb desire win the ball back at every opportunity. The left side was being particularly productive with Curtiss Wilson’s energetic runs providing a great outlet for the Stirling side. The central midfield pairing of Barker and Boyle were combining to great effect, nullifying the threat of the three Napier midfielders and looking like they had played together for years.

The breakthrough finally came from a Stirling counter, and it was deserved on the balance of play. A great ball down the left-hand side was picked up by the lively Betreen, who was brushing of a Ledley King-type reputation to take part. With a swift touch inside, Betreen spotted the run of Barker on the edge of the area. Keeping his composure, Barker swept the ball with his instep into to the top left-hand corner to put the home side into the lead. With confidence visibly growing in the Stirling players, they began to spray the ball around with the Napier students shaken by the terrific football being played.

The only threat was coming through the centre for Napier; however they could not find a way through the spine of a team putting in their best performance for a considerable time. The combination of Barker and Boyle in the middle, and Cooper and Mahoney at the back meant time and again the Edinburgh side were denied a way through. This brick wall gave the fullbacks of Crawford and Wilson licence to bomb forward which they graciously accepted, supporting the duo of freshers on either wing. Putting tremendous shifts out wide for the good of the team, Quinn and Lynch showed the commitment which has epitomised the spirit of this team throughout this season so far.

Wilson almost added a second before half-time with a dazzling run reminiscent of Ashley Cole for Chelsea. While it is not known if he has the same sort of personal life, he drove across the park past two defenders before switching the play to the left. Having continued his run to the back post, Wilson climbed high above the left-back to connect with the cross and was unfortunate to see it clip the post and go wide. Claims that he has been around close friend Glendinning too long so has lost his goal scoring instinct were vigorously denied, although comments made off the record may cause controversy.

Having clearly expected a comfortable victory over a supposedly weaker side, Napier could not find a way to deal with an assured performance by the Stirling 3^rd team, but they almost snuck level on the stroke of half-time. A rare moment of indecision meant Mahoney was left in two minds. After taking a touch towards his own goal which let in the striker, it was left to Chapman to perfectly time a lunge and connect with the ball. After a man of the match performance in his last outing, Chapman once again showed the quality he has in his locker giving Coach Craig a welcome headache and showing the depth the squad has.

Half-time words were of encouragement and coming out 5 minutes before the Napier side showed the desire Stirling had to continue their effort and performance for another 45 minutes. It wasn’t long before this attitude came to fruition as Stirling went two ahead. Awarded a free-kick around 25 yards out, calls for a different taker went unheeded by Craig and Barker stepped up. Proving his critics wrong, Barker struck a superlative effort which wrong-footed the keeper and whistled into the net. After a suspect chicken celebration Stirling continued their good work with Betreen and MacDougall running themselves into the ground for the cause.

It wasn’t long before another goal arrived and it was that man Barker who got his third of the game. Following an effort at goal which was spilled out by the keeper, the ball was slotted home to bring out the chicken once again and also comparisons with Barker’s idol Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan. Napier tried in vain to find a way back into the game but they were rebuffed at each time of asking. Communication was key between the back 5 and any threats were immediately snuffed out by the stubborn defence.

Chapman managed to keep the clean sheet the defence strived for intact with a tremendous save late in the game. A long-range strike took an awkward deflection which could have been costly. However Chapman managed to block the ball with a strong left hand, the ball bouncing into the 6 yard box. With the striker bearing down on the ball, Chapman managed to claw the ball away to safety keeping the clean sheet intact.

Countering effectively as they had done all game led to substitute Euan McCall getting in on the action. Having replaced the tired but excellent Betreen, he made a great run in behind the shattered defence. Barker pinged a trademark ball towards MacDougall, who let the ball run past, he claims, into the path of McCall. Holding off the defender well he slotted the ball home calmly at the near post to put Stirling four up and cruising. Jamie Mclean and Connor Wells were introduced in the closing stages for Quinn and Barker. The taking off of Barker for an ovation could hardly be questioned, however with a support of around 20-odd people the noise was hardly deafening.

With the Edinburgh students visibly shaken by what was happening, they could not find a killer instinct to threaten the Stirling side who were keeping the ball excellently. Stevie Boyle was playing superbly, winning tackle after tackle, whilst also keeping the ball efficiently. Covering for his teammates for the full 90 minutes, Boyle put in a man of the match performance that made the decision not to include him in the previous year’s squad a highly embarrassing one for SUFC legend Greg Ure.

Seeing out the rest of the match superbly, apart from a last gasp free kick brillantly palmed out by Mahoney, Stirling celebrated a tremendous result which made it a long journey home for the Edinburgh players. With the match being taped for an Napier student project, they served up a horror show for their viewers while a feel-good movie was created for the Stirling team who have now qualified for the next round, and deservedly so n this outstanding performance. A trip to Fife in the Scottish Cup third round beckons on Saturday for a team sure to be flying on the back of a great result.

Stirling: Chapman, Crawford, Cooper, Mahoney, Wilson, Lynch, Barker (Wells), Boyle, Quinn (McLean), MacDougall, Betreen (McCall) Subs: McCulloch, Bews

Man of the Match (Referee) Stevie Boyle (Players): Will Barker