Spartans hold off Stirling

Spartans took the lead early in this League Cup clash when an in-direct free kick was awarded inside the Stirling box and Dean Hoskins fired the ball high into the net.

Stirling got level just before the interval when a corner was whipped in and Jack Nixon’s powerful header rocketed in the back of the net.

Stirling’s Chris Geddes had a great chance when he got on the end of a delicate chipped ball but his shot from point-blank range went just wide. Spartans went ahead when Omar Kader went on a great run in the box and Nixon fouled him, Hoskins stepped up to score the penalty kick. Within a minute Stirling had again levelled the game through Danny Denholm’s perfectly-placed shot.

Spartans sealed the victory with 15 minutes remaining when Jack Beesley broke the offside trap and he squared to Donal Henretty who scored.

Spartans: Flockhart, Manson, Hoskins, Sivewright, MacKinnon, Malin (Beesley 30), Kader, Grant, Anderson, Macleod, Henretty. Subs Fusco, McTurk, Beesley, Finnie, Seeley.

Stirling: Walker, Binnes, McKee, Nixon, Atkins, Robertson, Corr (Sludden 85), Pearson, Geddes, Mason, Denholm. Subs: Sludden, Jacobs, McWhitter, McCulloch.