By Graham Fleming at Forthbank Stadium

University of Stirling were undone by East Stirlingshire who took their chances to edge out a
classic away win against the students.
David Churchill opened the scoring for the visitors when he netted following a set piece, and
Dean Watson poked home following a rebound in the second period to seal the three points.
Head coach Chris Geddes said: “There wasn’t much in the game, I think we gave as good as
we got at times. It’s a disappointing night after we put so much into the game.
“It was an even game, I’m not going to say that we deserved to win or The Shire deserved to
win, if it was a draw that would have been a fair result for me. The difference was that they took their chances and we never.”
The Uni came into this encounter full of confidence after winning their last three games on
Lowland League duty and hoped to continue that form heading into this game against promotion
hopefuls Shire.
Despite the energy and spirit that the uni showed in the game, it was a day when The Shire
looked solid in defence with a good shape and took their chances when they presented
themselves.
The first half mostly belonged to the students as they kept the ball well and passed it from side to side to find an opening.
The first chance for the home side fell to James Stokes as he beat his man after being set on
his way by Penker, he cut inside and fired a near post shot which was saved.
The resulting corner presented another great opportunity as James Berry flashed a perfect ball
across goal but there weren’t any takers.
Despite the opportunities falling for the home side, it would be The Shire who would score
shortly after, despite being against the run of play.
A long free kick was fired into the area, which Tyler Fulton was allowed to chest down and bat
towards goal, the rebound fell to David Churchill who eventually turned it home to score the first goal of the match on 26 minutes.
The goal would boost the visitor’s spirits as they took control of the ball for the remainder of the first half – despite not creating anything clear cut.
East Stirlingshire rode the confidence of the first half goal into the second period as they came out firing on all cylinders following the break, which resulted in the final goal of the game.
A thundering strike from distance from Jamie Hamilton forced the best out of goalkeeper Ben
Fry, however it proved to be not enough as the rebound wasn’t followed in by the Uni defence
which allowed Dean Watson sight at goal to prod home.
The second goal seemed to finish off the home side as The Shire didn’t look to be troubled too
greatly until the final whistle when they were able to celebrate a hard earned 3 points against a Uni side which battled away until the end.

Stirling University: Fry, Downie, Hutchinson, Taylor, Burrows, Doan, Berry, (Rae) Davidson,
(Jarvis) Stokes, Penker, McGale. (Kennedy)