Stirling University v Albion Rovers

[Hampden Diehard]

I like to give credit when it's due but I don't think that team deserves any praise or defence today. They were dreadful, far worse than our HL and LL opponents from last season in terms of organisation, fitness and quality, they didn't have any sort of spell where they controlled the game and I certainly can't remember any nice passing. The goal might have been a spectacle but it was a gift, and by no means an indication of Stirling's quality.

There was probably no moaning about the ref from the students because he was so lenient to them! He showed no cards despite a number of persistent foulers and a couple of two-footers which you wouldn't get away with if the referee wasn't cutting you some slack.

If there's one thing worse than a poor loser, it's a poor winner.

[pipedreamer]

I thought Stirling university were in the lowland league?....

[Mr Hardy]

Albino Rover, is a bit unfair in his description of the Uni being hopeless. OK the better team won on the day and deservedly so. But whatever you say about the Uni goal, how can it be a gift from around 35 yards out, it still took a good finish. At that point it took a brilliant goal to give Albion the upperhand again, who knows how the game could have gone had the Uni held out for 1-1 at HT.

Start of second half and the Uni were competing but the third goal went in and I thought a few heads went down on the Uni team and they were ran ragged at times. Certainly at this point Albion could and probably should have scored more.

As for the referee being lenient, you make it sound as though we are a bunch of 'Junior' cloggers certainly nothing like that, I can't recall any tackles that could have warranted even a booking, yes there was hard tackles but they were going in from both sides.

Having said that would still like to wish Albion good luck against Queens Park.

Spoke to some Albion supporters after the game, not one echoed the comments made on here by 'Albino'.

[Albino Rover]

I respect you for defending your team, Shirley, and I understand you didn't go into the game with huge expectations, but if you want to coach at senior level you have a lot of work to do.

A good manager is able to admit when his/her team didn't play well. He or she would accept that Stirling Uni really didn't look like competing at any point in the game rather than trying to dress that up as a positive display. I challenge you to single out any of your players for any praise whatsoever- I have a team sheet in front of me and am struggling to think of anything. If you're resorting to giving praise for scoring in at an open net then I suggest you loosen your clutch of those fragile straws, and instead concentrate on a constructive solution.

I'd start by working on fitness, the lack of which had your team on the back foot right from the start and led to much of the aforementioned fouling. It got worse in the second half and that was when the sliding tackles started coming in- not only comparable to but worse than most Junior teams I've seen, granted against more professional opposition, although that's no excuse.

Sorry about the Robbie Savage picture, and good luck with the degree.

[Mr Hardy]

Certainly wasn't an open goal, he still needed to clear the keeper as 20 yards is only just outside the area I suggest you take another look at the goal.

Question, since when has a sliding tackle become an automatic foul? You seem to think that this is too physical, man up.

Don't see why you have to be so pig-headed and stubborn you should have thrashed us anyway,being that your a top-end League 2 side, ok didn't get allowed to get into a passing game cause we were being outplayed, but it sounds like your expectations of us was too high, maybe you were just relieved you didn't end up on the wrong side of an upset.

But all that said shouldn't have bothered your really not worth the effort of communicating with.

[Albino Rover]

A sliding tackle where a player makes more contact with his opponent than the ball is a foul, and two-footed sliding tackle is dangerous play worthy of a yellow at least. My complaint isn't that Stirling were too physical, in fact Rovers are physically superior by far, my problem was with that sort of dirty play which you're trying to defend.

Anyway, I've diagnosed the fouling as frustration at lack of time on the ball, and it's true that that was down to a vast difference in quality, but I can understand and grant Stirling that. The big disappointment was actually that the bulk of the student outfit - who I thought might have been geared up for a big test against senior opposition - simply didn't look interested. If anything they looked peeved that they weren't spending their Sunday in their pants eating Super Noodles.

[drs]

...well not all of the starting XI are full time students at Stirling Uni - so I'm guessing it wasnt cheap pints of Blackthorn in the Union that they were thinking of.

Even with ringers they were still pish.