Peebles Rovers 0

Stirling Uni 1

Neil Hobson at Whitestone Park

THE feeling of frustration continues for Ger Rossi and Peebles Rovers, as Stirling University made off with the three points following a tough and tense encounter at Whitestone Park last Saturday.

A sublime 25 yard strike on 15 minutes from David McCaughie was all it took for Alan Taylor’s team as Peebles’s tough start to the season continues.

The hosts were not without their moments however as Lee Zavaroni and Donovan Ndiweni both saw chances halted by ‘keeper, Sam MacLean.

Peebles boss Ger Rossi must be experiencing déjà vu on a massive scale, as fine goalkeeping and an inability to put away chances saw Peebles Rovers consigned to their fourth defeat of the season. It’s become something of a recurring theme for this Rovers squad, an issue that continues furthermore with the continued absence of Alan McMath, with the striker side-lined for at least another month after aggravating his knee injury following his return against Hutchison Vale in the Alex Jack Cup semi-final.

Perhaps the most infuriating aspect is the fact that Peebles started the match so well. Saul Schulz-Keith played in Scott Inglis with a magnificent through ball that sent the striker racing through on goal, only to see his run halted by a well-timed tackle from Joseph Greg.

Peebles had generally played some nice football and were gradually stamping their authority on the game. But, ironically, that’s when the Rovers conceded the first goal. McCaughie picked up the ball and glided forward from midfield, presumably looking to supply the ammunition to his team-mates up front, he struck the ball sweetly from 25 yards only to see his effort sail into the top right corner on 15 minutes past a helpless McGinley.

This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue, and Peebles had to respond to what was a devastating uppercut.

What could have been a spell of red and white dominance was swiftly undone thanks to McCaughie’s mesmerising strike, and the students began to hit back. The destruction of the footballing tranquillity that Peebles were enjoying in that first quarter of an hour was avenged in the second half as the Whitestone side reasserted their control.

Peebles went close several times in that second 45, with right-back James Dodds denied his own wonder goal after he struck the ball with thunderous power from just outside the area, destined only to sting MacLean’s palms.

The brutal assault continued promptly, as only a few minutes later, MacLean was called into action again to push away another powerful strike, this time from Lee Zavaroni.

Hopes were raised for a brief moment, especially after wide man Donovan Ndiweni beat the keeper with a header, only to see Joseph Greg pop up again to rescue Stirling with a goal-line clearance.

This plethora of chances just kept coming with a Ndiweni effort cleared off the line for a second time, there were also strong claims that a David Lindsay header had crossed the line following a Zavaroni corner, but referee Paul Hanlon gave nothing but a stern shake of his head.

This added to what was rapidly developing into a miserable list of missed chances for what was undoubtedly a strong Peebles team.

But, eventually, Peebles just couldn’t beat Sam MacLean and were forced to watch another team vanish down the road with the elusive three points

Manager Rossi said: “It’s tough, I think the only thing missing from our game these past few months have been goals.

“It’s really frustrating, but we had a strong claim for a goal that wasn’t given and hopefully this is just a thing we can get out of the road early in the season.”