U20s hit Cowdenbeath for six
Our U20 side thrashed Cowdenbeath 6-2 in the SPFL Development League East on Wednesday night.
Justin Watson, Alberto Vezza and Reg McLaren all scored twice for Andy Todd’s side at Kelty’s New Central Park, where the Binos were 3-0 up at half-time.
Report by Andrew MacDonald
Andy Todd’s team lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and were assisted by three first-team players in the shape of Cammy Binnie, Scott Davidson and Connor McMullan – who is still eligible to play for this age group.
The young Binos got off to a flyer three minutes in through winger Justin Watson, who fired the ball past the Cowdenbeath keeper after some clever dribbling from George Stanger. Watson nearly doubled up immediately as he pounced on a defensive error, only to see his chipped effort clear the goal.
Stirling were playing some really neat stuff, passing the ball about with ease as Stanger and Watson tested the opposition keeper from distance. The hosts tested Cammy Binnie for the first time on 20 minutes, as they worked an opening from the left to prompt a smart save at his near post.
Alberto Vezza doubled our lead two minutes later as striker Reg McLaren stole the ball off a Cowdenbeath defender on halfway, and did well to work himself some space on the edge of the box before Vezza hit home his rebounded shot.
The young Binos continued to press forward, searching for a goal which would kill the game. They got it five minutes before the break, as the impressive Watson played a beautiful over-the-top ball to Vezza, who held off his marker and stroked the ball past the goalie to score his fourth of the season.
Stirling started the second half as they did the first, Watson was the man involved again, pouncing on a defensive error to dibble towards the Cowdenbeath goal and curve the ball into the right side of the net on 51 minutes.
Reg McLaren made it 5-0 four minutes later, from Kyle Banner’s knock-down after a corner. The young Binos were running riot!
Cowden had a rare five-minute spell of possession just after the hour mark, culminating in a tidy curled goal into Cammy Binnie’s top-right corner.
Stirling responded in style with 18 minutes to play, scoring their sixth through McLaren, who doubled up after Watson expertly dribbled his way past two defenders before passing the ball to the striker to curl into the net. This meant McLaren, Vezza and Watson had all hit doubles.
The young Binos looked to make it seven during the last 10 minutes, with a few of their efforts coming close. But it was the hosts who scored the last goal of the game, as the Cowdenbeath striker did well to make space for himself in the box, before dinking the ball into the corner.
A dominant performance from our U20 side, who register their third win of the season.
SAFC team
1 Cammy Binnie
2 Callum MacDonald (Declyn Cumming 78)
3 Ryan Lockie
4 Kyle Banner
5 Scott Davidson
6 George Stanger (Dillon Young 78)
7 Luke Martin
8 Connor McMullan
9 Reg McLaren
10 Justin Watson
11 Alberto Vezza
