SWPL: Battling Stirling University claim first ever point from Glasgow City

Stirling University's Danijela Rae battles with Glasgow City's Sam Kerr

Glasgow City missed out on the chance to return to the top of the SWPL as they were held to a goalless draw by Stirling University.

Despite a barrage of chances, Scott Booth's side could not find a way past the home team.

It was Stirling University's first ever point against City, who are targeting an 11th straight league title.

Hibernian remain top by one point, with both they and City having now played the same number of games.

Any time City drop points it is generally seen as a major shock. Only Celtic had previously managed to deny them three points this season, while Stirling had suffered a crushing 7-0 defeat to the champions on day one of the season.

Stirling had to ride their luck in the early stages when Brogan Hay lifted her shot over the bar with the goal gaping.

Hay would fire over again before Hayley Lauder shot wide, while Jo Love forced a low save from Stirling goalkeeper Chloe Logan as the one-way traffic continued.

City were dominating without really looking like scoring. That changed in the second half, with Logan showing brilliant reflexes to deny Katie McCabe, then Megan Foley skimmed the bar with a long range shot a minute later.

City's head coach Booth made four changes on the hour mark in a bid to turn the screw on the home side, and Noelle Murray made her presence felt with a curling shot saved at the far post.

And she should have broken the deadlock on 72 minutes when a downward header landed in her path six yards from goal, but she blasted over the bar.

Stirling University's Danijela Rae (grounded) challenges Glasgow City's Sam Kerr

It was relentless pressure now, and Stirling were having to throw bodies on the line to stay on level terms.

Leanne Crichton's shot deflected off McCabe and almost caught out goalkeeper Logan, but she was able to save.

Then Leanne Ross curled a free-kick just wide of the top right hand corner.

As the game reached time added on and with City seemingly out of ideas, suddenly Stirling had a chance to win it when City goalkeeper Erin Clachers was adjudged to have handled outside the box.

Rachel Donaldson fired the free-kick over the bar, but it could not dampen the celebrations at full-time.

Stirling University assistant coach Michael Tuohy: "It's a culmination of everything that we've been trying to work on, everything we've tried to emphasise to the girls - that hard work, focus, attitude, and how you respond to things going against you can really count big against any team. If you put those things together, and to an individual tonight they all did, they were excellent.

"I think you've seen the result of hard work over months and years before me.

"We've had a good season so far. There's still more that we want if we're being greedy or ambitious depending on what way you look at it. We believe so much in these girls, we believe how far they can go and we've put plans in place to keep progressing. But it's really good when they can see that in the results and they see that their effort has been rewarded, so that's very pleasing from our perspective."