Napier Men’s football played their part in the 2025 Varsity showdown against Queen Margaret University on Wednesday, winning their match on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the 90 minutes prior. Hamish Rankine reports from Meggetland.
Queen Margaret got themselves ahead in each half, but Napier managed to equalise twice to take it to a penalty shootout.
Napier kicked the match off at a sunny Meggetland Sports Complex as they looked to earn another point for the year’s varsity competition, but it was Queen Margaret who would notch the first goal of the afternoon…
In the eighth minute, the away side played a ball through Napier’s defence which left their #10 to round the keeper and fire away towards an empty net. Napier came close to blocking the effort on the line, but the ball agonisingly trundled into the goal for the visitor’s opener.
Napier started to threaten after conceding early on and levelled the match around the twenty-minute mark after a goal-kick bounced through the entire field. Napier’s Gabriel Santos collected the loose ball before he drove towards goal and unleashed a shot into the bottom right corner of the Queen Margaret goal.
Queen Margaret had a chance to take the lead in the 35th after winning a penalty, but their #10’s spot kick was off target as it bounced off of the left post and back into play.
Napier missed a few chances before half-time and had to substitute goalkeepers after an injury hampered their man between the sticks.
Napier made some more changes after a short halftime break, but again conceded early on into the second half.
Queen Margaret missed a great chance just four minutes into the second half after an open goal went un-punished. The away side kept at it though and fed a ball through to their striker two minutes later, who fired into the bottom right corner from inside the area.
Napier’s leveller came in unorthodox fashion after they won a free kick just past the halfway line around twenty minutes into the second half. Euan Shandley launched the ball into Queen Margaret’s area, and their goalkeeper came out to collect. The keeper misjudged the flight of the free-kick however, and the ball deflected into his own net to level the game once again.
Napier had a strong finish to the match, but they failed to convert from a series of free kicks and corners before the final whistle blew. With things all square at 2-2, a penalty shootout awaited.
Napier took first and found the net. Queen Margaret went blow-for-blow, with neither side missing until Napier’s third. Queen Margaret’s keeper did well to dive down to his right to deny Thomas Mendez effort, but the referee judged the keeper to have moved off his line early. Mendez emphatically dispatched his second attempt and the shootout went on.
With a set of quality of penalties so far, the shootout went to sudden death. Napier scored their first of this stage and all eyes went to the next Queen Margaret player in line – who had to score to keep his side in the match. Their #3 stepped up to take, but Napier’s substitute keeper, Jack Roy, chose correctly and denied the deciding penalty with a diving effort to his right.
The result marks the final match in Napier colours for some of the team, who will go on to graduate in the coming months. The win also contributes to Napier’s dominant varsity victory over Queen Margaret University, with Napier retaining the cup after winning 8-2 overall.
Matchday gallery (Images – Hamish Rankine)
Penalty shoot-out gallery (Images – Hamish Rankine)
