Stirling University won the Queen’s Park Shield on Wednesday after defeating Edinburgh Napier 2-1 at the Oriam Sports Complex. Hamish Rankine reports.
Goals from Stirling that came either side of the half-time interval gave them a two-goal lead, but a late Napier screamer led to a nervy ending to the final match of the season.
Having emphatically dispatched Heriot Watt two weeks earlier, Napier looked to end their season on a high after having already clinched the Conference Cup in March. Their opponents would provide a tough contest though, with the Stirling 1’s having won the top league of Scottish university football for the last four years running.
Stirling got the final underway and took little time in starting some dangerous looking attacks. Napier keeper Harris Miller was tested a few times within the opening ten minutes, but some good saves followed by some well defended corners kept the game goalless after a commanding start from Stirling.
Stirling kept their efforts up and found the net in the 20th minute after a heavy-touch turned into an impromptu through-ball. Stirling’s number 9, Finn Moffett, was the quickest to react, which left the striker to smartly round the Napier keeper before slotting into an empty net from the edge of the six-yard box. Stirling’s dominant start had paid off.
Napier attacked straight from the restart, but their shouts for a penalty seconds later were dismissed by the afternoon’s referee. As the half progressed, Napier won more of the ball and slowly started to make inroads into their attacking third, but Stirling always remained a threat with their fluid style of football down the right wing. Napier continued to defend well, and some more interventions from Miller in goals alongside a crucial goal-line clearance from Matthew Sankey ensured the one-goal deficit remained going into half time.
Stirling had another promising looking start to the second half, but Napier still defended well and went on to enjoy a good period of possession shortly after.
Napier settled in to the second half and very nearly levelled the match after a wide free-kick into the Stirling area was headed onto the crossbar in the 67th minute. Seconds later, Napier again worked the ball in the Stirling box – but Lucas Lockhart’s effort from around the penalty spot was smartly saved from Stirling’s shot stopper, Alex Sutherland. Napier were unfortunate not to capitalise on the two great chances, and Stirling would only go on to take advantage…
Napier made some changes as they looked to keep their momentum up, but Stirling’s efforts down the right flank finally paid dividends just moments after the substitutions. Jay Burns had looked dangerous down the wing all afternoon – and his strike from twenty-yards out into the far left-side of the Napier goal turned danger into Napier dismay in the 72nd minute. For all of Napier’s efforts in the second half, they found themselves two goals down with just under twenty minutes left to play.
The cards started coming out as things heated up, and Striling made a triple change in the 75th minute. Stirling missed what looked to be a sure-fire third after a three-on-one counterattack harmlessly drifted by the post for a Napier goal kick.
Napier dominated the closing stages and gave Stirling’s back line a fair bit of work to do. Stirling blocked Finlay Ness’ shot on goal in the 88th minute, but this only fell to the edge of the box. Liam Cairns was in the right place at the right time and his half-volley attempt arrowed into the top right corner of the goal for Napier’s first. With 90 seconds of regulation time to play, Napier had reduced the gap to one.
Napier continued to bombard Stirling’s defence, but the chance for an equaliser didn’t come along in the four minutes of allotted injury time. The final whistle went, and Stirling were Champions.
The match marked the final Napier outing for Jack Leslie, the President of Napier men’s Football. Jack gave his thoughts on the match and the season overall after the full-time whistle:
“Stepping into the role of President this season, I knew I had massive shoes to fill following my predecessor, Darral Cramb. After acting as Club Secretary last year, I was well aware that taking on this position would be a challenge. Being a sports club at Napier often means being the underdog — limited facilities, tight budgets, and little outside backing. But to go on and win silverware in St Andrews and reach the final of the QPS has made all the hard work by the committee, Malc, the team, and myself more than worthwhile.
Yesterday’s game was probably the toughest challenge the club has faced in a long time. From the first whistle, we were on the back foot against a strong Lowland League side — arguably the best university team in Britain.
It was a shaky start, but an all-round solid performance in the first half. The back four held firm, and Harris — the man in the sticks — kept us in the game with some crucial saves.
The second half saw some quality spells from Napier. We were unfortunate to hit the bar and not find the back of the net around the 10–15-minute mark. We had them rattled, but a moment of top-class finishing from them ultimately proved to be the winner.
Just like after the first goal, we pushed on in search of a fairytale comeback — and it looked possible when Cairns rifled it into the top bins with just under five minutes to go.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be.
Hats off to Stirling, who played some outstanding football and showed exactly why they play at the level they do. All the best to them for the rest of their season.
I’m going to miss this club and the incredible people within it. I’m looking forward to following the journey next season as the boys push for the league and defend their titles.
Finally, I want to give a huge thank you to our team manager, Malcolm Fielding, for his relentless dedication and time this season. Without him, we wouldn’t be cup winners or QPS runners-up. And to the committee — thank you for helping me run the club this year. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
