Derby Men’s 1st XI 2-0 Stirling Men’s 1st XI: Comfortable victory ensures cup progression
Words by George Coombes
Pictures by Rob Sills
Derby Men’s 1st XI progressed into the quarter-final of the cup with a comfortable 2-0 win over Stirling Men’s 1st XI.
In-form Tomas Junek bagged a brace to follow up last week’s hat-trick as John McGrath’s men performed professionally to advance in the competition.
The hosts started lively and almost took the lead after three minutes but Adam Prusa fired just wide when he found space inside the 18-yard box.
Derby continued their pressure and just ten minutes later, they scored the opener following a sloppy mistake at the back by the visitors. Prusa’s fine first-time pass was weighted perfectly into the path of Junek who slotted the ball across the goalkeeper to capitalise on the defensive error.
The away side rarely threatened in the first half other than one strike that forced an impressive save from Vlada Lehky, who ensured his side would be going into the break with the one-goal advantage.
After firing marginally over the crossbar moments before the interval, Junek netted his second of the afternoon just three minutes into the second period as his low effort went straight through the opposing goalkeeper to hand Derby a two-goal lead.
McGrath’s men managed the game impressively, limiting the visitors to very few attempts at goal, however Lehky had to be alert to keep out a tame volley late on to keep his clean sheet intact.
Adam Prusa was denied by a fabulous save in the closing stages to prevent the third, meaning the hosts had to settle for just the two as they eased into the next round.
