Stirling Albion.... 0 Peterhead.... 0

Oct 1 2008 by Donald Morton, Stirling Observer Wednesday

THERE is always satisfaction to be taken from a shut-out but it is hard not to feel that this was two points dropped by Stirling.

Allan Moore’s men enjoyed more possession, created some good openings and had two goals disallowed. It wasn’t total domination but they should have won.

Peterhead have made an impressive start to the season and maintain a five-point advantage over the Binos, but they offered little threat and will be glad to have returned north with a point.

This was a fifth match without defeat for Stirling but they slipped to sixth place as a consequence of results elsewhere. That was hard to take but there was some comfort from a first clean sheet since April and the feeling that Albion are becoming harder to beat.

Undermine

In a tight league, too many draws could undermine their challenge but a victory over Queen’s Park at Hampden on Saturday would allow Moore and his players to go into the international break with a reasonable first quarter behind them.

The two wins so far have come against struggling Arbroath and Alloa but the margins in Division Two are tiny. Albion played well in defeat to current leaders Brechin on the opening day and have since drawn with East Fife, Ayr, Raith and now Peterhead.

Stirling perhaps lack a ruthless streak and don’t win enough of those 50-50 games. On Saturday, they played some neat football but ultimately couldn’t break down a Peterhead side who remain unbeaten away from home under Neale Cooper in 2008-09.

Moore opted to name the same team that had drawn 1-1 with Raith the previous week, with fit-again Martin Grehan on the bench for a meeting with a Peterhead team who had taken seven points out of nine on the road and who had thrashed Stranraer 4-0 at Balmoor prior to their visit to Forthbank.

Albion were the better team in the first half – Blue Toon striker Martin Bavidge later admitted his side were fortunate to be level at the interval – but they didn’t create a huge number of chances.

In 18 minutes Andy Graham slipped a nice pass into David McKenna, who rifled a low shot past Polish keeper Michal Kula. Unfortunately, the former St Mirren man had drifted fractionally offside and was denied his second goal of the season.

Another ex-Saints player, Mark Docherty, forced Kula to flip his free-kick over the top then keeper had a fortunate escape when he spilled a cross and Craig Molloy – on loan from, you’ve guessed it, St Mirren – saw his net-bound effort hit a defender.

For a team who had scored in every league game this season, Peterhead looked strangely lacking in threat, although Martin Bavidge might have done better than direct a header too close to Myles Hogarth as the interval approached.

Most of the meaningful action in the second half came in the closing 15 minutes when Stirling had enough pressure to have eked out a winner.

Grehan thought he had scored his first Albion goal when he headed in a terrific John O’Neill cross but referee Steven McLean – a replacement for scheduled official Thomas Robertson - ruled that the ex-Motherwell hitman had impeded full-back David Donald.

Frantic

In a frantic finish Ian Harty played in Molloy but his volley was blocked by Kula then substitute Liam Corr just failed to get on the end of a cross from fellow sub Chris Hamilton.

There was the odd scare at the other end and Graeme Sharp looked lively on the left when he came on but the visitors were happy with a draw after losing twice to last-gasp goals when the clubs crossed paths two seasons ago.

It wasn’t an outcome that hugely suited Stirling but a spate of draws at the start of 2006-07 failed to prevent promotion come the end of that campaign. No-one would be unhappy with another top-four finish this time around.

Stirling Albion: Hogarth, Graham, Lowing, Lawrie, Forsyth, O’Neill (Corr 78), Taggart (Hamilton 72), Molloy, Harty, McKenna (Grehan 63), Docherty. Subs not used: Murphy, Christie.

Peterhead: Kula, Donald, Fleming (Sharp 55), Skinner, McDonald, McVitie, Moore, Gunn, Bavidge, Anderson, McKay (Ross 72). Subs not used: Mann, Cowie, Jarvie.

Referee: Steven McLean