The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Lichties survive ‘wee scare’ to march on
Arbroath avoid wrath of boss with three first-half goals after going behind
Arbroath manager Dick Campbell was relieved to see his side come from behind to overcome their Lowland League opponents and progress to the next round of the Scottish Cup.
Former Brechin striker Chris Geddes gave the visitors a shock 18th-minute lead with a curling effort that soared well beyond the reach of Ricky Gomes.
But a quickfire response from the Lichties, who scored twice in as many minutes through a Colin Hamilton header and a deflected Bobby Linn volley, eased tension in the home ranks.
Stirling’s hopes of getting back into the game were dented three minutes before the interval when skipper Kyle Faulds was dismissed for a dangerous tackle and little more than 60 seconds later Steven Doris extended Arbroath’s lead.
The Lichties dominated possession in the second half but couldn’t breach a well-organised Stirling defence.
Campbell said: “The objective was to get through to the next round of the cup and we did that. We got a wee scare when they scored what was a good goal.
“I was getting a bit angry at that point and fortunately my players upped their tempo to the level I would have expected them to have started the game at. I think they might have been terrified to come in to see me at half-time.
“But they scored three good goals and we can now look forward to the next round. I love the Scottish Cup and it’s a chance for the club to maybe pick up a bit of money.”
Stirling boss Shelly Kerr feels her players should be proud of their efforts.
She said: “The sending off killed it for us. We had started really well, scored a great goal and in spells showed we are capable of playing good football. It would have been interesting to have seen the outcome had we kept 11 players on the pitch.
“The boys reacted well after the sending off but it’s just a shame we conceded so early.”