Binos need to bounce back

Dec 26 2008 by Donald Morton, Stirling Observer Friday

BINOS NEED TO BOUNCE BACK

STIRLING Albion will attempt to get their season back on track tomorrow (Saturday) when they travel to Gayfield to take on Arbroath.

The Binos crashed to a 3-0 home defeat to Queen’s Park on Saturday, ending a 15-match unbeaten sequence against the Spiders, to fall six points behind Peterhead and East Fife in the race for the play-offs.

Indeed, Allan Moore’s men are now just two points ahead of second-bottom Alloa, who head to Forthbank for a vital local derby on January 3. Albion will be at home to Raith the following weekend and Ayr United on January 17.

Stirling have a poor recent record against Arbroath, with just two wins in the last 17 meetings between the teams, who have already crossed paths three times this season.

Arbroath won the first clash 3-2 in the League Cup at Gayfield but Stirling gained revenge with a 2-1 victory at the same venue at the end of August, before John McGlashan’s men earned a 2-0 success at Forthbank last month.

That result sparked a Red Lichties revival and their four-game winning run in Division Two only ended at the weekend, when leaders Raith Rovers scored in injury time to claim a 2-1 win at Stark’s Park.

Moore will need to make at least one change from the team so soundly beaten by Queen’s Park as midfielder Craig Molloy has returned to St Mirren at the end of his loan deal. John O’Neill or Liam Corr are likely to take his place, with Nathan Taggart struggling because of injury and illness.

Albion received a boost when both Andy Graham and Ross Forsyth managed to take part in some of the training session on Tuesday night but tomorrow’s game may come too soon for the defensive duo.

The squad will train again this morning (Boxing Day) ahead of the trip to Gayfield, where Arbroath hammered Peterhead 4-0 in their last outing.

Binos number two John O’Neill said: “We need to bounce back after Saturday. It was so disappointing and I really don’t know where that performance came from because I thought we played well against Partick Thistle and East Fife.

“When nine or 10 players are below par you are going to struggle. It looked as if we had turned the corner when we won at East Fife so Queen’s Park was a massive setback but we have to put that defeat behind us because we have important games coming up that could shape our season.

“Perhaps it was a bit of a wake-up call that we need to knuckle down from the start of every game.

“It might have been different if I had not missed the penalty (at 1-0) but we were so poor that I’m not sure if it would have affected the outcome.

“It’s not the first one I’ve missed but it’s certainly the first one for a long time. I felt confident and I thought I struck it well enough but just leaned back a bit and obviously it has hit the bar and gone over.”

Scoring the first goal continues to be a problem for Albion, who have only managed to hit the front four times in 17 league games, while only two shut-outs suggest they must tighten up at the back to make progress.

Stirling have been stuck in sixth place for much of the campaign but will slip to at least seventh if they lose tomorrow, as Arbroath are only a point behind the Binos, having recovered from a terrible run of results.

Four years ago tomorrow Albion faced Arbroath and slumped to a 3-0 home defeat in what was their final game of 2004. The last match of 2005 produced a terrific 3-0 win at Partick Thistle but 2006 concluded with a setback at Stranraer and 2007 signed off with an unlucky loss at Dunfermline.

Stirling will hope a difficult 2008, which has produced seven victories, at least goes out on a high in the North-East.