Match report

Match report

Stirling United travelled to Woodside on a blustery late winter Saturday afternoon to take on the ladder leaders. In the last few weeks Stirling have shown some of their potential and now with more players available, they went into the game with confidence.

On the other side, with the 2021 league deservedly wrapped up, Woodside might have come into the game with little to gain but as usual they came out strongly looking to keep their near perfect season record intact.

Both sides had chances early on, and despite the wind, the skills of both teams were on display, with accurate passing and ball control making the game a pleasure to watch. Whilst Woodside may have had a little more of the play overall, it was Stirling with the first gilt edged opportunity to score after a penalty was awarded. Henry Monaghan’s strike was however superbly saved by the Woodside keeper to deny the lead to Stirling.

Towards the end of the half, a second penalty was awarded to Stirling and this time Araby Phelan calmly slotted it away to give Stirling the lead at half time.

Woodside came out after the break with renewed determination, and it wasn’t long before Lachlan Mowbray found himself free in the box and drilled it past the diving Lachlan Stein. Both teams continued to have chances, with shots going wide or over the top at both ends.

With only 12 minutes left, a corner from Woodside allowed Jett Tonkin to score to give Woodside the lead, and only 3 minutes later, a defensive mix up saw Mowbray run into an open goal and effectively seal the game.

Stirling fought it out to the end, with Phelan scoring his second with a delightful chip over the keeper to see the result 3-2 at the end of a hard fought contest between the top and bottom sides which demonstrated the closeness of the competition.