Scottish Sun Lowland League Whitehill Welfare 1
Stirling University FC 2

Striker Chris Geddes bagged a brace as Stirling University returned home from Midlothian with a well-deserved victory which sees the students climb to fifth in the Lowland League.

An early strike and a second half penalty took the prolific frontman’s tally to 13 league goals and 19 in all competitions.

Head Coach Shelley Kerr had returned Geddes to lead the line, whilst Owen Kelly was asked to perform in the middle of the park instead of his more familiar forward position as a result of injuries to central midfielders George Leigh and Gary Crooks.

An unfamiliar set-up perhaps, but a familiar sight occurred after just six minutes as Geddes capitalised on a short back pass, rounding Welfare keeper Bryan Young to score in-off the near post.

Stirling continued to dominate for the next 25 minutes, with Lewis Bonar missing three gilt-edged chances to put the game beyond the reach of the home side.

After a difficult half hour, the home side began to get a foothold in the game and Aaron Somerville looked certain to equalise one-on-one with Ryan Marshall, but his low shot went past the right-hand post.

The second half started with Whitehill in determined fashion and they were handed a golden opportunity to score on 57 minutes. Home veteran Wayne McIntosh took a tumble in the box and, after consultation with his assistant, referee Barry Reid pointed to the spot having judged MSc Sports Management student Matt Sheridan, to have inadvertently pushed the striker. McIntosh made no mistake from the spot-kick to level the score.

Despite this adversity, the students rallied and eight minutes later gained a penalty of their own. Good work by Geddes inside the Whitehill box allowed space for man-of-the-match Kyle Faulds to rifle a shot at goal only for it to be blocked by the arm of on-rushing defender Ryan McKenzie, who earned an early bath after a second yellow card.

Up stepped Geddes from 12 yards and after patiently waiting for the commotion to pass, coolly slotted home.

In a frantic finish, Stirling managed to miss two open goals whilst the home side made nothing of numerous free kicks, ensuring maximum points went to Stirling.

Stirling starts its BUCS Championship defence with a Quarter-Final against the University of Exeter on Wednesday (25 February), kick-off 3.15pm at the University Sports Centre. The team then returns to Lowland League action on Saturday (28 February) with a home match against second-placed Gretna 2008 FC at Forthbank Stadium, 3pm kick-off.

Stirling University FC: Marshall, Burns, Sheridan, Cuff, Drummond, Kessie, Faulds, Williams-Mitchell (Kellock), Kelly (McAfferty), Geddes, Bonar (Gillen). Unused subs: Macdonald, Hughes.

Follow the latest fixtures and results at www.stir.ac.uk/footballclub