Binos need to start bagging league points

Oct 29 2008

STIRLING Albion were the first name out of the hat when the draw for the third round of the Homecoming Scottish Cup was made at Hampden on Monday morning.

The Binos landed a home tie against First Division Partick Thistle, when they might have been hoping for a kinder pairing as they bid to reach the last 32, when the SPL clubs – and those who finished in the top four in Division One last season – join in.

Albion will at least have home advantage for the November 29 clash and Thistle were beaten on their last visit to Forthbank in February when a goal from on-loan Falkirk defender Brian Allison was enough to give Allan Moore’s men all three points.

Thistle gained revenge in April when a last-gasp goal at Firhill condemned Stirling to relegation and the Jags also won when the clubs last crossed paths in the Scottish Cup in January 2006 at Forthbank.

On that occasion, an early Paul Ritchie goal was enough to give the Maryhill club all three points.

Certainly, Albion couldn’t have been handed a much tougher fixture at this stage of the tournament, which features several non-league teams including Edinburgh City, Cove Rangers, Wick Academy and Inverurie Locos, as well as Dundee Junior outfit Lochee United – who were given a home clash with Ayr United.

Having reached the fourth round last year Stirling’s reward was a money-spinning trip to Celtic Park, where Albion performed well before eventually losing 3-0, and the Binos will be desperate to be in the hat again at the end of the month.

But the league is the immediate priority, with key November fixtures against Stranraer, Alloa, Arbroath and Peterhead on the radar following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Ayr United.

Chris Aitken gave the Honest Men the lead but John O’Neill equalised with a stunning strike early in the second half. Ayr then had Ryan Stevenson sent off and the visitors had chances to claim a win but were forced to settle for a sixth draw of the season.

Frustrated boss Moore said: “It seems to take a rollicking every week at half-time to get us going. Too many draws last season are the reason we’re in this division and if we can’t break the habit we won’t be able to get out of it this year. We need to start winning.”

Albion have managed only two victories so far – against Alloa and Arbroath – but have suffered just one defeat since going down 1-0 to Stranraer in mid-August.

Derek Ferguson brings his troops north on Saturday as Stirling aim to gain revenge for that defeat and three others in the league two seasons ago when Albion couldn’t beat the Blues despite going on to gain promotion while Stranraer were relegated.

The South of Scotland club have had some well documented financial problems but won at East Fife in their last away outing and will be awkward opponents, despite going down 2-0 at home to Raith Rovers at the weekend.

Stirling head into the Stranraer clash six points adrift of the play-offs and badly need a run of wins to keep pace with the leading quartet of Brechin, Raith, Ayr and East Fife.

They could easily have more points at this stage but need to sharpen up at both ends of the park. Too many chances have been squandered while a record of just one shut-out is disappointing. The margins in football are slim and Stirling are proving hard to beat – but that won’t be enough to sustain a promotion challenge.

Albion’s next three matches are against teams below them in the table and seven points would appear a minimum requirement as they aim to close the gap on fourth-placed East Fife, who beat Arbroath 3-2 on Saturday despite playing most of the second half with nine men.

Scottish Cup third-round draw: Stirling Albion v Partick Thistle; Forfar Athletic v Stranraer; Lochee United v Ayr United; Forres Mechanics or Keith v Dalbeattie Star; Inverurie Loco Works v Civil Service Strollers or Vale of Leithen; Elgin City v Annan Athletic or Spartans; East Stirling v Livingston

Edinburgh City or Wick Academy v Brechin City; Albion Rovers v Queen's Park; East Fife v Arbroath; Peterhead v Morton; Clyde v Montrose; Airdrie United v Cove Rangers; Raith Rovers v Alloa; Clachnacuddin v Stenhousemuir; Ross County v Dumbarton.