The University of Stirling men’s football team concluded their title-winning BUCS League campaign, losing an entertaining clash to Heriot-Watt 4-3 at Gannochy.
Goals from Ciaran McAninch and Ben Maciver-Redwood, alongside an own goal, were not enough for a rotated Stirling side to finish their season with all three points.
Reflecting on the game and the season as a whole, Head Coach Chris Geddes said:
“I thought we played ok considering the ammount of changes we made but credit to Heriot-Watt, they punished our slack play.
“All credit to my players though for the BUCS campaign. The level of consistency has been excellent ans the title is thoroughly deserved.”
Heriot-Watt began the match strongly and took a deserved lead after 6 minutes. A quick one-two between Connor Preston and Cammy Murray saw Murray break into the box to finish cooly.
Murray would then cut in from the left wing and hit the post four minutes later as the visitors continued to threaten.
Stirling would find the perfect response to this threat after 16 minutes though as they levelled the game. Thomas Vonk controlled the ball well and floated a cross to the back post for McAninch to volley home.
The hosts began to control possession but Heriot-Watt were always a threat on the counter. Murray again found space to fire a powerful shot towards the top right corner but Jay Maxwell Davila saved acrobatically.
Heriot-Watt found their goal after half an hour though as Barney Stewart headed home from close range to regain the lead.
The lead became more comfortable just two minutes later as Preston raced clear and finished emphatically past Davila.
Second-half substitutions gave Stirling a stronger attacking presence which gave them a route back into the game. McAninch broke into the box and found space to square the ball for Cameron McKinley, only for a Heriot-Watt defender to fire into his own net.
This setback did not deter the visitors as they restored their two-goal lead. Murray stepped up to strike a free kick into the far corner, with the power being too much for Davila to get a strong enough hand to the ball.
Maciver-Redwood headed home to half the deficit again but Heriot-Watt held out for the final minutes to claim a well-earned victory.
Despite the disappointing result, Geddes’ side can look back on another impressive season of BUCS football. The reigning champions won eight out of ten league games to secure a remarkable fourth successive title.
Featured image credit: Jonathan Boomer