Report by Scott McPherson

On an extremely cold, snowy day it took both teams a while to warm to the game as they sized each other up. The early stages were very tight as defences were on top. This stalemate and defensive dominance was summed up as Stoneywood’s big centre half Colin Smith punted the ball out the artificial turf and over the adjacent Supermarket Roof.

However, the game’s first goals turned the match into an entertaining spectacle. The ball dropped behind the RGU defence for Stoneywood’s Graeme Wilson who hit a powerful volley with the outside of his right foot which squirmed through the raised hands of ‘keeper Ryan Waugh who could not prevent the away side taking the lead.

It didn’t take the students long to equalise as the game became stretched. Fraser Low used his wand of a left foot to deliver a free kick from the right directly onto the foot of his unmarked teammate Patterson who could hardly fail to find the net from a couple of yards at the far post.

The game opened up as the ball went end to end as both teams started to show their direct attacking intent. RGU were driven forward by their thoroughly impressive midfielder Ian Campbell who caused Stoneywood problem after problem with his sheer directness. Although it was luck that gave the hosts the lead not quality. Gianpierro Francsi swung a tame left foot effort from 18 yards which was going comfortably wide until it hit the body of defender Scott Slesser which diverted the ball past the stranded goalkeeper Alex Henderson who was diving the opposite way.

This setback for Stoneywood could have seen their heads drop but they never stopped to feel sorry for themselves. They went on the attack and just before half-time they should have been on level terms. The RGU number 1 spilled a low drive from Graeme Wilson which fell kindly to his strike partner Martin Foy who from 6 yards could only hit the post.

Whatever the Stoneywood manager said to his players at half-time it worked. They started the second half far brighter and it didn’t take them long to equalise. A driven corner from the influential Graeme Wilson was met by the head of Christie who got in front of his man at the near post to bullet a header in to level the game at 2-2.

If RGU were going to win the game it would be thanks to their number 8 Campbell who came close a number of times, most notably dragging a shot inches wide from the edge of the box and beating a couple of players. However, Stoneywood were looking the more dangerous side and their number 8 Stuart McGuigan hit the bar from just inside the box with ten minutes to go.

Great running from Martin Foy to keep the ball in, go past a defender and then pull it back to McGuigan created another chance. Foy could have won the game when 2 minutes from time he picked the ball up just inside the opposition’s half, he ghosted past a defender like he wasn’t there and went on to curl a shot from twenty yards which went a whisker wide of the target with the ‘keeper routed to the spot.

Both sides made substitutions to try and achieve the win in regulation time but without reward putting the game into extra time.

Extra time started as the snow returned but this didn’t perturb the students as they broke the deadlock after 3 minutes when an in swinging corner by Fraser Low was bundled into the net by Priestly.

Stoneywood continued to press and were unlucky when a shot by Wilson came back off the bar with Waugh well beaten.

RGU secured a great win with 10 minutes to play when a cross by Mollison was headed in by the hard working Campbell.