Musselburgh 0 Stirling 4

Depleted squad move into the next round

Stirling moved into the next round of the East of Scotland cup with a comfortable win by the seaside. Playing a team that had given Stirling’s second team a tough game two weeks previous, Stirling were braced for a defensive performance against a so-called ‘superior’ team. However Stirling showed their class to run out comfortable winners even though they had only 11 players available and Coach Tommy Craig being forced to 

make an appearance in the final 15 minutes.

On a blustery afternoon Stirling, once again, arrived with little time for a warm up but showed no signs of a slow start as they held possession well early on. The first chance came from a quick gamble by Matty McLachlan to leave him through on the keeper. Fortunately for the home defence the striker snatched his shot across goal.

Stirling continued the pressure with their opponent’s content to fire long balls towards the commanding centre half pairing of the chirpy Ryan Mahoney and Fraser Gillespie. The duo dealt easily with the threat, Mahoney even throwing some tricks in against the attacking players. Right back Graeme Crawford almost set up a goal but the ball was blocked when cut back from the by-line.

What the...

They were rewarded for their dominance with the opening goal as Connor Wells doubled his tally for the season. Enterprising play by Owen Smith to keep the ball in allowed Ryan McCue to get to the by-line. Showing no signs of last week’s knockout punch, the curly haired full-back found Wells unmarked and he powered the header past the ‘keeper.

The remainder of the half was scrappy as Stirling’s tempo began to drop and they were giving away easy possession to their opponents. Musselburgh couldn’t make anything of this drop in form though, threatening only through their striker ‘Chico’ but Stirling defended well against the greedy forward. McLachlan and Smith had a couple of half chances but were unable to take them; a sign of things to come for McLachlan.

Stirling came out for the second half confident and, after a slight spell of Musselburgh possession which still failed to test Fraser Meechan with a shot at goal, Stirling doubled their lead and ended the game as a contest.

'Model'

Smith managed to get his first two goals for the club which crushed the home side’s hope of a comeback. Picking the ball up down the left, Smith got past his defender, who had just came on, in the corner before jinking inside past another defender. His shot had too much power for the goalkeeper and he could only palm into the net.

He took the score to three only a couple of minutes later as a ball in from fresher Richard MacDonald down the right was cleared by the unfortunate fullback straight to Smith at the edge of the area and he drilled a sweet strike into the bottom corner to end the Musselburgh challenge.

Stirling were sitting back and with the home side running out of ideas, they took their foot off the pedal and began to lose sloppy possession. They did manage to add to their lead however as McLachlan got on the score sheet. MacDonald played a neat ball in behind the defender and McLaughlin rifled a shot past the stationary keeper although this was not the main moment of his match.

This arrived with twenty minutes left as miss of the season grabbed hold of an early contender. Superb play from Jamie MacLean through the middle, which was a feature of the game, beating two men neatly and getting to the by-line set up the chance. His dinked cross left McLachlan two yards out and he managed to blaze over on the bounce ruining his good performance previously.

On the pull as usual

He conveniently suffered a hamstring injury soon after, which brought about a sight no football fan wants to see. The sight of Craig getting ready to come on at the sideline strikes fear into his own teammates and Stirling immediately when defensive as a four goal comeback seemed a distinct possibility.

In shocking scenes Craig nearly scored, which may have led to Mikey MacDougall going AWOL on a permanent basis. A cut back from Smith after over-running the chance for his hat-trick left the ball 6 yards out. A good connection gave it a chance but the keeper’s legs kept the ball from being burst and all football games being cancelled until further notice.

The game fizzled out to a conclusion and leaves Stirling with a trip to Premier Division league leaders Bluebell in late November. Stirling will take heart from a good win with a depleted squad and bring this into Wednesdays game at home to Heriot Watt 3’s; a cup game they have to win.

Referee’s, and most important, MoM; Graeme Crawford (Although I have no idea why)

Combined decision MoM: Owen Smith

Stirling: Meechan, Crawford, Gillespie, Mahoney, McCue, MacDonald, Wells, MacLean, Lynch, Smith, McLachlan (Craig)

Camelon Albion 0 Stirling 4

Stirling bounce back to kick start their league campaign

Stirling returned to winning ways, giving a much-needed boost to the squad after 3 straight defeats. The university side put on a brave display in the face of some underhand tactics by their opponents.

Return of a icon.

Stirling made a few changes to the previous week with Ross Chapman, Owen Smith and Mikey MacDougall all returning to starting berths. There was also a return for SUFC icon Chris Betreen who threw on the number 9 shirt one more time.

With the pitch provided by the home side looking more suited to a rugby game, Stirling had to be careful from the off to maintain possession as to not allow any mistakes on the tricky surface.

There were no signs of this though as Stirling pressed early on. Ryan Quinn was heavily involved as he escaped from under the girlfriend's thumb to drive through the heart of Camelon’s midfield time and again. Unfortunately the final ball couldn't quite beat a stubborn Camelon back five.

Undeterred by the student’s fine start, Camelon pinned their opponents back with a barrage of throw-ins and corners which were defended well by the men in white. Chapman pulled off a fine save to keep the scores level, diving across to his left to parry a shot from 18 yards.

Freshers has began his SUFC career well

This sparked Stirling into life and they took the lead with fresher Michael Tuohy getting his second of the season. After a driving run from Smith the ball made its way to Betreen. Unselfishly he spurned the shot a goal to leave Tuohy with an empty net to trickle the ball into. It’s been an impressive start to the fresher’s time in the 3^rd team and, with games, this will surely continue.

The remainder of the half was an even affair with Stirling perhaps on top through their better use of the ball. Betreen was unfortunate not to score as the Camelon number one made a couple of good stops. At the very end of the half he could have doubled the lead but the shot was skewed wide after intricate play down the 

right by MacDougall and Graeme Crawford.

The second half was more comfortable occasion for the away team as they doubled their lead early on in the second half. A whipped corner at the front post arrived at Ryan Mahoney’s feet in the box. He fired towards goal through a crowd of bodies and the dubious goals committee has ruled, inexplicably, in his favour as he broke his duck for the season.

Camelon were threatening through their slightly rotund, but pacey, striker and he slipped his strike-partner thorough on goal to give a glimmer of hope to the home side after going two goals down. The ball beat Chapman but went wide of the far post giving Stirling a major let-off. The shaky moments continued as a cross to the front post was misjudged by an off balance Mahoney, and the resultant header was clawed away by a surprised Chapman.

The nature of the game changed on the referee’s decision in the build-up to Stirling’s third goal. Smith caught the ball just before the touchline and the resultant play led to Betreen being in behind the Camelon defence. Typically he remained calm and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to keep his remarkable scoring record for the third team going.

Camelon lost their heads at this point and began to take it out on anyone who wasn't a member of the home side, the referee receiving he majority of the abuse. Every 50/50 became a chance to try and hurt a Stirling player as they couldn't accept their oppositions passing play.

Floored

Ryan McCue was to feel the brunt of the opponent’s frustration as he was struck off the ball in a cowardly act, seen by the home sideline but not punished by removing the player from the park. Returning to the ages of violence on the park is a poor reflection on the state of the game at this level and changes should be made to allow football to be the focus of everyone’s attention.

Stirling added a fourth near the end with the scrappiest goal of the season so far. A corner was returned into the area and, after getting stuck under substitute McLachlan’s feet, was scooped towards goal by Betreen and turned home by Crawford to get to seven for the season.

The game was played out with arguments between the Camelon side and the referee dominating proceedings and Stirling saw the game out to take a much needed three points. The clean sheet was a bonus for a side who have conceded too many goals recently and this will stand them in good stead for next week’s cup tie.

Stirling: Chapman, Crawford, Gillespie, Mahoney, McCue, Lynch (Rathore), Smith, Tuohy (Wells), Quinn, MacDougall (McLachlan), Betreen

Stirling 8 Edinburgh 4’s 0

Dominant win over title rivals

Coming off the back of a disappointing defeat at the weekend, Stirling faced a tough test against a team that came down from the league above last year. The home side never gave the visitors a sniff in an over-powering display that sees them sit atop the table with six points out of six.

Stirling wasted no time in taking the lead after the awarded an indirect free kick due to a passback. After encroachment on the first effort, Darren Dalrymple fired home at the near post to give Stirling the perfect start.

Loan move to France paying off

Stirling were spraying the ball around well, rarely putting the ball in the air as Edinburgh struggled to get into the game. The movement from Dalrymple and his strike partner John McCallum was excellent, giving an option at all times for the ball carrier.

Stirling’s two central midfielders, Stevie Boyle and fresher Craig Fergusson, were battling brilliantly against their counterparts, nicking the ball back crucially time and again to set up counter attacks. It was Fergusson who was to double Stirling’s lead with a wonderfully executed chip from the edge of the area, leaving the keeper stranded and Stirling two goals up.

Not satisfied with the lead Stirling continued to press forward against a shell-shocked visiting side and made it three when Ryan Lynch got on the score sheet. A wonderfully crafted ball from Owen Smith was bravely won at the near post by McCallum, giving Lynch the simple task of tapping home with the goalkeeper stranded.

The goal of the game arrived after half an hour as Dalrymple added a second to his collection. After patient possession the ball was switched to Graeme Crawford at right back. Ferguson made an intelligent run in-between the defence and picked up the pass in behind. Whipping the ball across the box first time, Dalrymple was unmarked at the back post and slotted past an increasingly dejected Edinburgh number one.

Quiet day for McCulloch

Kieran McCulloch made his first start of the season in goal but was rarely tested, but for a few wayward shots from distance. Stirling were to make it five before half-time as Crawford scored from the spot after a dubious call by the referee; giving a penalty for shirt tugging which could have went either way.

Determined not to concede and also send a message out to their league 4A opponents, Stirling continued to work hard to maintain their high standard of performance. Goal number six arrived five minutes into the second half as Crawford got his second. A cleared corner was returned out to Ryan McCue and his ball was inch perfect, and Crawford could hardly miss due to the quality of delivery.

With their opponents down and out Stirling made some change with Ian Bailey and Michael Tuohy replacing Smith and Boyle respectively. Tuohy picked up where the skipper had left off, picking up the ball and keeping it efficiently in what was an impressive debut in Stirling green.

Stirling were putting on a fine display and could have added more to their lead if it wasn't for some last second decisions going astray. McCallum got the goal his play deserved as the scoreboard clicked over to seven with half an hour to go. Great play down the left ended with Dalrymple’s square ball finding his strike partner who caressed the ball home with his left foot.

Debut 'goal' for Gemmell

Peter Gemmell was next to make his debut and nearly scored with his first touch as he couldn't quite squeeze a strike away from a tight angle. The only real moment of danger for Stirling arrived when a nice turn inside the area left McCulloch exposed but the striker fired into the side netting.

Stirling’s final goal of the day was debateable to say the least. Great running from Gemmell left him through on goal. After avoiding the defender’s challenge, he rounded the goalkeeper only to be tripped as he looked to finish. The ball was cleared more than a yard from the line but the goal was given; more to save the capital side’s defender from a red card than a genuine error by the referee.

Stirling saw the game out to a close, still pushing forward but unable to add to their massive margin of victory. The final whistle went with a clean sheet intact, which was more than deserved by the central defensive pairing of Fraser Gillespie and Marc Redmond; who formed a solid pairing despite it being their first game together.

The home side more than deserved their win and a few more goals could have rewarded the number of fine performances produced by the men in green. With the capital outfit expected to be Stirling’s main title contenders, a rethink may have to happen as Stirling have a superb chance of achieving promotion that has just eluded them over the past few years.

Man of the match: Darren Dalrymple/John McCallum

Stirling: McCulloch, Crawford, Gillespie, Redmond, McCue, Lynch (Gemmell), Boyle (Tuohy), Fergusson, Smith (Bailey), McCallum, Dalrymple                      Subs: Chapman, MacDougall