The University of Stirling men’s first football team stretched their unbeaten run to five games, beating Newcastle University 1-0 in the BUCS league.

A Ciaran McAninch strike was enough to overcome their visitors, who were limited to few chances as Stirling defended well throughout.

Head Coach Chris Geddes said: “It was a really tough game playing another top uni side.”

“We showed quality when we needed it and probably should’ve killed the game off, but we defended well enough to get the clean sheet.”

Stirling had the better of the chances early on and nearly took the lead after five minutes. Ben Maciver-Redwood broke into the box but his shot was saved well at the near post.

McAninch then went close but had his goal a few minutes later. Good buildup from the right saw the midfielder in space, who then fired low into the right corner from the edge of the box.

Maciver-Redwood would just miss with a header on the half-hour mark as Stirling continued to press until half-time.

The second half saw Luke Morris have success down the right side. He put a number of dangerous balls into the Newcastle box but the visitors defended strongly.

Newcastle’s best chance for an equaliser came after 66 minutes. A long ball over the top saw the visitors striker in behind, but his deft chip sailed just over Jay Maxwell Davila in goal.

The visitors continued to press for a leveller with a succession of late corners but the Stirling defence was imperious in maintaining their lead.

Jack Docherty fired wide after a poor clearance which proved to be the final chance of the game.

Stirling will look to make it six unbeaten on Saturday when they travel to face Johnstone Burgh in the third round of the South Challenge Cup.

The full match gallery can be found on the George Vekic Photography website.