The 2013 Division 2 Amateur League season ended in dramatic fashion at a packed Bradwood Park, as a last minute penalty won the game and ultimately clinched the title for the traveling Modbury Jets.

A large crowd of visiting Modbury supporters begun to build on the far side of the pitch in the lead up to kick off. Conditions at Bradwood Park were near perfect for football, with the sun out on what was a wet pitch. Stirling had nothing to play for as promotion hopes were dashed the previous week but to their credit they were determined to fight for the win and ultimately have a say in which team would take the title and be promoted. The Aces had to slightly reshuffle their line-up from the previous week, as playmaker Josh Lushington was forced to miss the clash due to work commitments. This then pushed Daniel Wilby up front and put Ryan Gore onto the right side of midfield.

In the opening minutes Stirling came out hardest and quickly took the lead within five minutes from a long ball which was flicked on by Wilby to Adam Gore at the back post, who volleyed the ball into the net from close range. The Jets looked to be in shock after the Aces took the early lead which also helped silence the vocal Modbury crowd. The goal then lifted the Jets as they needed nothing less than a win to take the title. The added intensity created a number physical challenges and put more pressure of the back four of Simon Dawe, Josh Goldsworthy, James Laughton and Jean-Pierre Bastouil. Modbury then equalised part way through the half, with a move down the right hand side as a low cross was calmly slotted past a stranded Danny Prince. Following the goal, Coach Alan Evans made a tactical change by switching R. Gore and Bastouil for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately goal scorer A. Gore limped from the field and was replaced by Martin Nitschke after friendly fire in the box from the Gore brothers. The Aces were on the back foot for the remainder of the half as both teams put in a number of late challenges which would have been punished by another referee on another day. The teams went into the break locked at 1-1.

After the break the both teams begun the half at a similar pace as playmakers Matt Hawthorn and Tim Cookes started pulling the strings in the center of the midfield. Stirling then took the lead after some good build up play allowed Sean Lang to pick up the ball and dribble to the edge of the box. His tame shot ended up landing in the muddy goal mouth right in front of the keeper and subsequently went through his legs as the ball skidded through. The Stirling and travelling Cougar crowd celebrated as Modbury once again trailed. However Modbury again hit back 15 minutes later after a dubious off side decision in which the referee and linesman discussed the decision for some time before awarding the goal to the visitors.  Not long after Lang was unlucky not to put Stirling ahead from a free header in the six yard box, which ended up straight in the keeper’s arms. This was Lang’s last involvement as he was replaced by Richard Dawes up front. The game was being stretched as Modbury were looking for a winning goal, while Stirling were hitting on the counter. Banter between the Cougar’s and Jets supporters continued throughout the game giving the game a great atmosphere. In the dying seconds of the game as a Modbury player fell in the box and was awarded a penalty. With the league title hanging on this kick, the Modbury opponent calmly curled the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Seconds after the restart the final whistle blew and the Jets players and fans celebrated. Stirling left the field disappointed having believed they earned at least a draw and were unlucky to go down 3-2.

Stirling will be aiming to come back stronger next season and return back to the premier division in 2015. Stirling District Football Club’s senior presentation night will be held on the 27^th of September at the clubrooms. Stirling Districts Twilight competition starts on the 15^th and 16^th of October. For senior and junior team submissions please contact stirlingfc@gmail.com, or stirlingfcjunior@gmail.com.

Stirling Districts title hopes look dashed after only taking one point from two games within the space of five days.

A rescheduled match against the Adelaide Pumas was played at Grange on Tuesday evening with Coach Alan Evans expecting nothing less than a win. This however was not the case, with the match ending in a three all draw.

Stirling started the game on the front foot and continued to press in the opening 20 minutes, putting large amounts of pressure on the Pumas defence. This hard work was undone by a Pumas counter attack, which resulted in a free header into an open net. This however was quickly cancelled out as some good combination play on the left hand side from Adam and Ryan Gore, lead to R Gore’s cross being deflected into the top corner of the net. With Stirling’s defence looking increasingly shaky a second goal for the Pumas followed after the ball was not properly cleared. Stirling went into half time break at 2-2 thanks to a sublime volley from A Gore, after a pin point cross from a Matt Hawthorn free kick.

Mid-way through the second half the Pumas went ahead for a third time, this time via an unlucky own goal. Once again Stirling had to play catch up again and were unlucky not to level the scores after an incorrect offside call was awarded after the ball hit the back of the net. However with less than ten minutes remaining Sean Lang picked up the ball just inside the box and drove his shot past the keeper and into the roof of the net to levels the scores. Evans expected a much improved performance in the following match against the Vipers.

Stirling started the game against the Vipers with one of their strongest line-ups of the season and were looking to take all three points to remain near the top of the table. The game was played in two half’s, with the opening half dominated by the Vipers as they attacked downhill with the wind. The new defensive line up of Simon Dawe, Chris Winters, Ryan Gore and James Laughton soaked up large amounts of pressure as the home side looked for a way through. The Vipers persistence paid off half way through the half as a defensive error caused the ball to fall to the Vipers striker, who opportunistically took one touch and fired a shot over keeper Steve Jansen from 30 yards out. Going into the break Stirling knew they had to keep persisting in the second half knowing they were well in the game and would have the wind at their backs.

The second half was all Stirling with penetrating runs down both wings from Michael Henn and Adam Gore. The Vipers were able to absorb the constant bombardment from Stirling as they looked to play on the counter attack.  Whilst Tim Cookes and Matt Hawthorn were pulling the strings in the midfield Sean Lang and Josh Lushington came close to levelling the score on a few occasions but to no avail. As the half wore on an injured Winters was replaced by Martin Nitschke as the tackles begun to fly in with an number of Vipers players coming off second best. With 20 minutes remaining A Gore received his first caution of the game after a miss timed challenge. Minutes later he received his marching orders after a dubious second yellow card. This caused a change in formation as Stirling still pushed for an equaliser. With every persistent attack, the threat of a counter attack from the Vipers remained a constant threat. Daniel Wilby replaced Henn in the closing stages and was soon launching one of his trademark long throws into the box which was inches away from being put into the net. A draw would have been a fair result as Stirling put in one of its better performances for quite some time, however that’s football. Stirling need to bounce back next week against the Red Blue Eagles at home.

Stirling Districts made the long journey south to take on the Southern Breakers but failed to bring home all three points in a disappointing affair. Stirling started off the game well with intricate passing moves in the middle of the park from the likes of Josh Lushington and Gary Thwaites. Attacking runs down the wings from Ed Vann and Michael Henn put pressure on the home side and as a result created a number of chances for strikers, Sean Lang and Matt Fairhead.

The Breakers gained ascendency as the half wore on and were unlucky not to score on a number of occasions after defensive lapses from the back four of Matt Norris, Simon Dawe, Ivan Clark and Martin Nitschke. However Danny Prince came to the rescue as he pulled off a top class save by tipping a deflected ball onto the cross bar from a Southern Breakers cross. Late in the half Clark went for a stroll down the left wing, beating a number of players only to have his cross deflect out for a goal kick after smashing into the upright.

After the break the game ebbed and flowed with chances few and far between until Stirling’s discipline went right out the window.  This resulted in a number of cautions which ultimately led to the sending off of Henn, with still half an hour to play. Immediately coach Alan Evans replaced Vann with Ryan Gore, still with the intention of taking all three points to keep Stirling at the pointy end of the league table.

As Stirling lifted in intensity, it appeared as though they no longer had a one man disadvantage, however gaps were left as they pushed on to find a winner. The Breakers took advantage of this as they got behind the defensive line and crossed the ball in, resulting in an easy tap in. Daniel Wilby entered the fray to add more pace to the attack as he replaced the tiring Lang.  Stirling continued to put pressure on the Breakers defensive line and almost leveled from a set piece, with a header from Gore which sailed just wide of the post. With less than ten minutes remaining, Gore received a long throw from Clarke, turned the defender and with the aid of a deflection put the ball past the keeper to level the score. Stirling was unlucky not to take all the points in the end however the one all draw was a fair result. Stirling will need to put in a much better display against Gleeson at home next week to get their season back on track.