Men's 1s Football Team Get a Taste of Premier North

The St Andrews men's football team's first-ever match in the Premier North League ended in a 5-0 defeat away at Stirling. Those inclined to despair, however, may wish to look up last year's result first.

When the two sides met last season, Stirling won 8-1. By that measure, there has been marked improvement.

I spoke to first-team captain Ethan Mullens after the game. He was clear that the scoreline did not tell the whole story. St Andrews created chances of their own and competed with the reigning champions for long spells. What decided it was five silly mistakes, which Stirling, as one of the best clubs in the country, capitalised on.

Mullens discussed how, in Tier 1, teams are not as ruthless, but Premier North is played at a different level. Mistakes that might go unpunished elsewhere are punished.

If anything, Mullens thinks Wednesday’s match did the team some good. It showed the squad that they can compete in this division and that “they ought not to be afraid of anyone.” Losing 5-0 and coming away more confident is a strange feeling to report, but it reflects the team’s healthy outlook.

As for the season, Mullens does not pretend otherwise: “Survival is the main goal.” This is the best division in UK university football, full of universities that take their sport very seriously and have a far larger pool of students to choose from. St Andrews is the smallest university in the league by some margin.

What stood out most from the conversation was how he expects them to do it. There is no star player in this side. No one the rest of the team waits on to bail them out. Instead, Mullens was keen to stress that everyone in the squad has a large role to play, starters and substitutes alike. As someone who has spent a lot of his university football career on the bench, that is exactly what you want to hear from a captain.

Next Wednesday, Birmingham come to St Andrews for the men's 1s' first home game of the season, fresh from beating Loughborough. Birmingham will have hopes of a title challenge and will no doubt see a trip up north as three points. Mullens is not convinced that will be the case.

He is very optimistic. The team has a week to sort out the mistakes from Stirling, a home crowd behind them, and the chance to dent a title contender's ambitions early on. It should be a proper occasion and the best standard of men’s football ever played at the University.

October weather may not help with the turnout, but anyone with a free Wednesday afternoon should head down to the Athletic Union pitches.

Elsewhere, the club is in very good shape. The women's 1s, who have been the standard-bearers of St Andrews football for years now, have already beaten last season's champions, Northumbria, 3-2. The women’s club has also increased to four teams instead of three this year.

St Andrews is considered one of the top 10 footballing universities in the UK, a testament to the programme. Only a few years ago, the men's side was a mid-table Tier 2A team. Now it faces the best teams in the country on a weekly basis.

Photo taken from BUCS website