The University of Stirling men’s first team advanced to the semi-finals of the Queens Park Shield, beating the University of Edinburgh 6-2 in a ruthless performance.

A brace each for Cameron McKinley and Ben Maciver-Redwood, alongside goals for Ciaran McAninch and Buronbek Mirzasamilov secured a strong victory for Stirling in their first of two matches on Wednesday.

It took only two minutes for Stirling to take the lead. Maciver-Redwood raced in to challenge the Edinburgh goalkeeper, winning the ball and tapping into an empty goal.

One quickly became two through McAninch. Mirzasamilov found McAninch on the left of the box, where his close control allowed him to cut onto his left foot and fire into the far corner.

Edinburgh found themselves back into the game after a deflected tackle landed perfectly at the striker’s feet to finish.

Maciver-Redwood quickly restored the host’s two-goal lead though, heading in at the near post after a flashed cross into the box.

After firing over from close range, Mirzasamilov added a fourth goal in emphatic fashion. Taking control of the ball on the right, he found space to strike powerfully into the top right corner.

Stirling added a fifth almost immediately in the second half. Maciver-Redwood played McKinley in behind, where the striker cooly chipped over an onrushing goalkeeper.

The visitors answered back in no time though as a rebound found the right back, who curled into the far corner with help from the crossbar.

This goal didn’t stop Stirling from controlling proceedings, having multiple chances to add a sixth goal. Mirzasamilov did excellently to cross for Maciver-Redwood but his shot was blocked, eventually falling to Marcus Lavery whose strike was blocked bravely by the Edinburgh defence.

Persistence from McKinley and Maciver-Redwood was key as Stirling found their sixth goal with four minutes left. The strikers kept the ball alive long enough for James Russell to drive into the box, cutting back for McKinley to score.

Chris Geddes’ team will now wait to find out their semi-final opponents as they look to lift the Queens Park Shield for a second successive season.

University of Stirling: Davila, Lavery, Service (Heal 74), Morris (Aslanoglu 54), Scally, Russell, Mirzasamilov, McAninch, Docherty, Maciver-Redwood, McKinley.