Stirling Districts reserves side got back to winning ways with a well-deserved 2 – 0 victory against Old Ignations in Round 12 of the SA Amateur Soccer League.
Poor pitch conditions at Bradwood Park forced Stirling to play all three grades at the league headquarters in Grange. The with a strong squad on hand, including the return of Richard Dawes and Craig Fraser from injury, along with Ryan Gore from prolonged work commitments, meant Coach Steve Spencer expected a win. Stirling begun the game positively with a number of attacking moves down the left hand side from Philippe Bastouil and attacking players Fraser and Gore, but the final ball was often lacking. The back four of Nic Schultz, Josh Goldsworthy, Paul Teteris and James Laughton were relatively untroubled in the first half, cleaning up everything that came their way.
Veteran Gary Thwaites was vocally dominant in the midfield and found plenty of time and space on the ball to distribute to wide areas. The breakthrough came straight after Schultz and Gore swapped positions 30 minutes into the game. Some good hold up play from Martin Moran, saw him beat two players before passing to Schutlz who slotted the ball home from an acute angle. Stirling’s biggest threat in the half was set pieces, with Old Ignations having a number of tall players getting heads on the ball first.
After the break Stirling gained control again and continued to play possession football. Pressure began to mount on Old Ignations defence as attacking players such as Moran ran at the defence and forced them to concede numerous set pieces. On the third set piece Stirling were reward as a well weighed ball found Moran’s head which was directed into the corner. Fraser ran himself ragged up front and was substituted for a well deserve rest. Late on in the game Simon Lovell, Alex Lang and Hugh Hopton were introduced to provide fresh legs. However Stirling lost composure late on, which meant its passing game disappeared and put a lot of pressure on the defence as Old Ignations pilled on the pressure making keeper Josh Clifford make some crucial saves. The defence and namely Goldsworthy were brick walls and nullified all attacking moves to help give the side a much needed victory.