St Andrews hit for six by Stirling students

St Andrews United faced the daunting task of playing a Lowland League team in the East of Scotland Cup with another small squad.

Jack Rollo was suspended and Jake Grady wasn’t quite ready to return following a period of injury, so manager Barry Cockburn gave home debuts to veterans Steven Stewart and Scott Meikle.

Unfortunately, Saints conceded a penalty in the third minute of the match when the ball struck a defender on the arm and Conor Doan fired the resulting spot kick high into the net past Kyle Moran.

The University enjoyed a lot of success down the right throughout the opening stages of the game and their good play led to another goal in the 19th minute.

A good low cross from Berry flashed across the face of the goal and James Stokes tapped the ball into the net from close range.

A Evan Stanfield free kick shaved the post but any hopes of a United comeback were dashed leading up to half time.

Calum Rae notched a quick-fire double following quick counter attacks and Saints went into the break 4-0 down.

The home side began the second period shooting down the slope with a view to keeping the score respectable yet Berry converted a cross in the 47th minute to make the score 5-0.

The United players really struggled to keep Stirling's speedy attacks at bay thereafter and it came as no surprise when Stokes added a sixth goal just after the hour mark by calmly hitting a low shot into net.