By John Turnbull at Forthbank Stadium
University of Stirling denied Gala Fairydean Rovers a late comeback on Saturday as the students
picked up a 3-1 win at Forthbank.
Early goals from Jamie Penker and Jason Jarvis had Stirling in a commanding lead, and the students
were well in control until the closing stages.
Gala’s hard work was rewarded when Zander Murray’s goal gave the visitors some hope but
substitute Scott McArthur settled Stirling’s nerves with a late strike.
Pressing game
Head coach Chris Geddes said: “A great win, and I thought we deserved it. First half we were
outstanding, we pressed Gala so much, they wanted to pass it around but they couldn’t get out and
we got two good goals.
“By playing the game on Wednesday and then the type of first half we did we were always going to
tire a bit and Gala came into it, but Ben Fry never had one save to make in the whole game, so credit
to the back three.
“We just had to take our chances when they came. We have so much ability in the team that if we
can match teams with the physicality and keep it tight then we know we have quality that can get us
goals and thankfully we did.
The Uni were looking for their second win of the week following a 2-0 win over Strathclyde
University on Wednesday, but this time the students made no mistake of starting the game slowly.
With just 11 minutes played Stirling had the lead as Jarvis whipped a corner to the front post for
Penker, who got round the defender and flicked his header in at the near post.
Only three minutes later the host’s doubled their lead. The creator of the first grabbed his third goal
in three games as Jarvis cut onto his right and curled an effort into the far corner.
Fightback
A second half fightback from Rovers seemed inevitable and after putting Stirling under pressure
without testing Fry, the away side found a route back into the game.
With five minutes left on the clock Stirling were undone. A deep corner fell kindly for Murray who
had the simple job of poking the ball in at the back post to reduce the deficit.
But just as Gala looked as if they might grab an equaliser McArthur was on to relieve the pressure as
he collected the ball on the edge of the box and fired a low strike into the far corner to secure
another three points.
University of Stirling: Fry, McGale, Doan, Lavery, Berry, Davidson (Russell 90’), Stokes, Jarvis
(McArthur 75’), McGill, Penker (Kennedy 87’), McKinley
Gala Fairydean Rovers: Spratt, Darge, C. Hall, Jordan, Rodger, L. Hall, Berry, Chalmers, Murray,
Aitchison, Healy