Stenhousemuir v Stirling Albion

Written by RedWeb

Saturday, 17 April 2010

Stenhousemuir 1 (Iain Diack) Stirling Albion 3 (Andy Graham, Ross Forsyth, Iain Russell) Stirling Albion Scott Christie Andy Graham Ross Forsyth Andy Gibson Jonathan Page Scott Robertson Nathan Taggart Chris Aitken Michael Mullen Iain Russell David O'Brien   Subs: Derek Colquhoun on for 11 David McKenna on for 9 Paul Murphy (Unused) Myles Hogarth (GK) Stenhousemuir Chris McCluskey Scott Gibb Steven Thomson Chris McLeod Jordan Smith Craig Molloy Pat Scullion Iain Thomson Scott Dalziel Iain Diack Kevin Motion    Subs: Paul Quinn on for 10 Andrew Brand (Unused) William Lyle (Unused) Robert Love (Unused) Scott Bennett (GK) Scottish League Division Two Saturday 17th April, 2010   Ochilview Park Attendance: 783 With games running out fast the Beanos today squared up against Stennie with nothing less than victory likely to keep our slim title hopes alive. However, with so many games played in such a short period of time the Stirling players would once again need to dig deep into their reserves of energy against a Warriors team struggling to avoid the relegation play-offs. The first game played between the teams on the Ochilview plastic was a see-saw affair in which second half goals from David O'Brien and Martin Grehan secured a come from behind win. In this latest encounter team lines announced before kick-off made it look like it was going to be "same again" from Wednesday night. However, with Brian Allison struggling with an injury the on-loan Falkirk man was forced to pull out at the very last minutes and so Andy Gibson took his place. This late change saw Stirling go with a 3-5-2 formation in which late replacement Andy Gibson played in centre midfield. With the sun shinning but the wind swirling and light rain falling the match started with the Beanos kicking towards their travelling fans in the opening half. The home side were first to threaten when a long punt up the park found Iain Diack, who poked a shot past the out-rushing Scott Christie, only to see the ball trundle wide of goal. A free kick gave Stirling their first sight of goal and Chris Aitken's low curling effort just skimmed past Chris McCluskey's right hand post. Stennie then had a similar free kick opportunity but Kevin Motion's strike was straight into the gloves of Scott Christie. An early goal would surely invigorate tired Albion legs and that's exactly what we got. A corner kick from the Albion left was swung in by Chris Aitken and ANDY GRAHAM got in front of Chris McCluskey to nod in his sixth goal of the season. Not long after the first goal we had the first yellow card as former Albion loanee Scott Gibb was cautioned for hacking down Iain Russell. Andy Graham Nods Stirling Into a 1-0 Lead Stirling continued to shade proceedings as the match moved on. It was nearly a second for the Beanos when a Chris Aitken free kick was missed by the Stennie defence and the ball bounced to safety off Chris McCluskey's right hand post. The home side were dangerous on the counter attack and on more than one occasion balls punted up the park had the Stirling defence on the stretch. A shy found it's way to Scott Dalziel whose cross was blazed over the bar from close range by Iain Diack. Not great defending from Stirling and as I've said before we just don't look comfortable with three at the back. It was then Stirling's turn to have the opposing defence on the run and a good pass to Chris Aitken saw the midfielder cross to Iain Russell who saw a 15 yard shot blocked. Up the other end a deep cross was met at the back post by Pat Scullion who drilled his angled drive well over the bar. Not a brilliant opening half but at this stage of the season most games are tense and scrappy and this was no different. However, as the ref blew for the break the teams headed off for the half-time Chocolate Crepes with the Beanos holding a priceless one goal lead. Half-Time:  Stenhousemuir 0 Stirling Albion 1 Neither side made any changes at the lemons and so with the wind picking up the match restarted. Slow start to the second period and the first incident worthy of the RedWeb pencil was a speculative Andy Gibson shot which dipped wide of Chris McCluskey's left hand post. Stenhousemuir though were beginning to look more up for the battle after a fairly tepid first half effort. A quick break ended with Steven Thomson crossing for Iain Diack to head over under pressure from Andy Graham. Play then swung to the other end where Chris Aitken tried his luck from distance but his first time dink was well wide of the target. The second yellow of the day arrived when Pat Scullion was booked for clattering into Scott Robertson. The home side could sense there was something for them in the match and a deep cross from Craig Molloy was fired goalwards by Iain Diack and Nathan Taggart did well to block the ball behind. Stirling were perhaps beginning to show the effects of their hectic schedule and it wasn't too much of a surprise when Stennie levelled the scores. A neat move ended with Scott Gibb cutting the ball back into the danger area and after a couple of ricochets it fell perfectly for IAIN DIACK to nod past Scott Christie. There were loud appeals on the pitch and terraces for offside but to be fair I couldn't say whether these shouts had any merit. Stirling tried their best to hit back straight away and Chris McCluskey was forced to palm an Iain Russell strike behind for a corner kick. With things not going to plan Allan Moore decided it was time for a change. David O'Brien has put in a power of work over the last week and it showed as his play was distinctly lacklustre. Therefore it wasn't a shock to see him pulled. Possibly was a shock to see big Derek Colquhoun enter the fray but after his goal in midweek he would surely have an extra skip in step. The home storm looked to have blown itself out and Stirling were now the ones pressing for a winner.  A ball up the park was well won by Iain Russell who held off a defender before drilling a low shot across the face of goal. Both sides then opted to make changes. For the Beanos Michael Mullen made way for David McKenna while for Stennie it was goalscorer Iain Diack who was hooked in favour of Paul Quinn. With the game into its final 10 minutes the visitors were pushing hard for a much needed winning goal. Much to the delight of the large travelling support the game did indeed then swing in Stirling's favour. A driving run from Andy Gibson ended with a ball being played into the box where it fell for skipper ROSS FORSYTH to bundle a shot into the Stennie net. Not the cleanest of strikes from Ross but it could yet prove one of the most important goals of our season. In celebrating his goal Ross was yellow carded for bearing his torso to the assembled throng. Iain Russell Seals The Victory In two of their last three games the Albion have had scoring blitzes which have put the match beyond the opposition. Well, we were at it again today. Perhaps not in quite as spectacular a fashion as against Arbroath or Brechin but it was equally effective. Only a couple of minutes after retaking the lead a quick third sealed the points for Stirling. A Chris Aitken corner was headed goalwards by Jonathan Page and IAIN RUSSELL was on hand to hook in his fourth Stirling goal in six matches. The Morton man has proven to be an inspirational signing by Allan Moore and once again he showed his worth by scoring for the fourth match in succession. This late double blast knocked the stuffing out of the home side and Stirling cruised through the closing five minutes without alarm. Therefore when the referee blew for time it was another excellent three points for the Albion's leg weary players. With news filtering though that leaders Alloa had lost, the title is now back in Stirling hands with four games to go. Must be said that Allan Moore and his players deserve a huge pat on the back for their efforts over the last week. To ask a part-time team to play four games in eight days is an incredibly tough ask and to record three wins and a draw was a tremendous effort. No real stand outs today as it was more of an all round team display with no failures. Next up for Stirling is a double header against Clyde. With a play-off place secured the Beanos can now give their all in an attempt to nick the title from Alloa. However, with three of our final four games away from home it will be a tough ask. Clyde may be bottom but have been in decent form of late and Tuesday's visit to Broadwood will be another battle.

 

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