The University of Stirling Football Club began their defence of the BUCS Premier North title with a resounding 4-0 win against Durham.
Goals from Maciver-Redwood, Burrows, McAninch and Berry capped off a dominant display at the Gannochy.
The victory came less than 24 hours after the squad travelled to Berwick in the Lowland League, where the Uni fought back from two goals down to come away with a point.
Following the game, Head Coach Chris Geddes highlighted the importance of his squad. He said: “The boys did excellent considering the situation with the other game so happy for the boys to get the BUCS league off to a good start.
“Four goals and a clean sheet and it should have been more, but their goalie made some top saves.
“Four points from two games and all the squad being used shows the strength we have, hopefully, that continues.”
The Uni started quickly and forced the Durham goalkeeper to make a series of excellent saves in the opening stages.
After constant pressure and a series of dangerous corners, Thompson floated an excellent ball into the box from the right which was met by Maciver-Redwood, heading past the keeper for the opener.
Stirling nearly added a second when Berry smashed a free kick against the bar and Durham somehow managed to keep the ball from crossing the line in the resulting scramble.
The Uni did get the second they deserved when Burrows headed in Berry’s free kick at the back post which was probably already destined for the back of the net.
The Uni would have been disappointed to only be two up at halftime, but the result was put beyond doubt when Stokes was tripped right on the edge of the box and McAninch placed the resulting free kick into the bottom left corner.
Captain James Berry added the fourth with a cross-come-shot that left the Durham goalkeeper flapping at the ball as it found the top corner.
Stirling controlled the game from start to finish and comfortably secured three points in the BUCS season opener.
The result sees Stirling unbeaten in seven games across all competitions. Next up is Civil Service Strollers in the Lowland League at the Forthbank this Sunday. Kick-off is 3 p.m.
University of Stirling: Fry, Lavery, Burrows, Thompson, McAninch, Doan (Jarvis 45’), Berry (Russell 78’), Rae, Maciver-Redwood, Munro, Stokes (Torreggiani 74’).
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Robson
[…] a poor start against a solid Durham side, that Stirling had already beat, was enough to prevent sufficient reward for a dominant season in University […]