Students save their season

EDINBURGH University FC had a double cause for celebration when their 1-1 away draw with Strathclyde University saved them from relegation and also qualified them for this season's British Universities Trophy, writes KEITH ANDERSON.

It was a tense game which Edinburgh dominated but they could not find the cutting edge in front of goal which their build-up play deserved.

After a goalless first half Edinburgh fell behind within two minutes of the restart when Mark Tait in the Edinburgh goal conceded a penalty from which Strathclyde opened the scoring.

Edinburgh head coach Douglas Samuel then brought on substitute Ryan McIntosh and he immediately had an impact along with fellow substitute Michael Hazeldine. The pair brought a fresh dynamism to the team and caused the Strathclyde defence problems. Midway through the second half Lee Deans headed home an inch-perfect cross from McIntosh to secure the point that Edinburgh needed to retain their position in the top flight.

"The game probably summed up our season so far," said Samuel. "We played some good football without achieving an end product. As a result we found ourselves on the back foot although from a developmental point of view it will stand us in good stead because we had five students who started who are in their first year at Uni."