For the second pre-season match having previously lost to near neighbours Heaton Stannington, Newcastle Benfield welcomed Stirling University to Sam Smith’s Park. There were many changes from last season with only six named players from last season.
The game got off to a sensational start with Benfield being two goals up in the first seven minutes. The first goal came in the fifth minute when a Benfield free kick was put into the Stirling penalty area with goalkeeper Ben Fry dropping the ball and Kyle Errington volleying the ball home to make it 1-0 to Newcastle Benfield.
The home supporters didn’t have to wait long for the second goal of the game as it came two minutes later and again it went to Newcastle Benfield, with Ben Dibb-Fuller volleying the ball home, giving the Stirling keeper no chance of saving it, making it 2-0.
Despite being two goals down, the visitors kept going forward and it took two brilliant saves from Benfield’s trialist goalkeeper in the nineteenth minute to deny a first goal for the visitors. Then play was then even for the next ten minutes, before another goal was scored and this time it went to Stirling.
An attack down the Benfield right wing saw the cross into the Benfield penalty area fall to the feet of Cameron McKinley, who drove the ball home giving the Benfield keeper not a hope of saving, making the score 2-1 which it was at halftime.
As in the first half it was Newcastle Benfield who got an early goal, a long pass from Cameron Gascoigne found Paul Brayson who showed good control before playing the ball to Ryan McGorrigan he saw his shot parried by the Stirling keeper Ben Fry but the ball fell by the way of Connor Walker, who confidently drove the ball home to make the score 3-1 to Benfield.
Play then remained pretty even for the next ten minutes, before the next goal arrived and it went to the visitors; good strong play by Ciaran McAninch saw him beat two Benfield defenders before shooting at goal to see his well struck shot bringing another fine save out of the Benfield keeper, but unfortunately due to the power of the shot he could not hold onto the ball and parried it into the feet of Bironbek Mirza Salina, making it 3-2.
The half hour had just passed when a three man move saw good play by Eddie Thomas almost get a fourth goal for the home team after he played in McGorrigan with his low cross finding Sam Reid who hit a low drive which was well saved by Stirling’s keeper. Forty-two minutes had elapsed when a cross field pass from Dennis Knight found Brayson, who played in a Benfield trialist who hit a shot on target to see his shot parried by the Stirling goalkeeper, unfortunately for the goalkeeper the ball rebounded back into the feet of Paul Brayson, who put the ball into the empty net, making the score 4-2 which was the final score.