Reds blast Ayr at the double

Jan 21 2009 by Our Correspondent, Stirling Observer Wednesday

ANOTHER Saturday, another title hopeful cut down to size at Forthbank. Last week Albion saw off leaders Raith, this time second-placed Ayr were the victims.

Allan Moore’s men have now played the top two a total of five times this season and haven’t lost. It’s their record against the teams in the bottom half that prevents them being championship contenders, meaning the forthcoming trip to Stranraer will be much more difficult than it might appear.

There was a case of déjà vu about all of this. As against Raith, Stirling got themselves in front and defended stoutly amid worsening weather. They even carved out the victory despite playing for 18 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of Ross Forsyth for what ref Neil Watters deemed a two-footed tackle.

The Albion skipper certainly won the ball and got there ahead of ex-team-mate Chris Aitken but it was a bit of a lunge and the full-back gave the official the chance to make a decision. Unfortunately, the man in black opted for the severest punishment and Forsyth will now miss the trip to Stair Park.

That is a blow but there is a bit of steel that was missing from this Stirling side earlier in the campaign. A third shut-out of 2008/09 can only have helped build confidence further and a look at the table offers genuine encouragement.

Albion seem to have been cemented in sixth place forever but now sit a point behind Peterhead and three adrift of East Fife. It would be wrong to peer too far into the distance – but let’s do it anyway. Stirling’s final away games this term are at the aforementioned duo. Dates with destiny, perhaps.

A lot could change before then. A few weeks ago the only play-off on the agenda looked to be the relegation version. Battered 3-0 by Queen’s Park, hope was in short supply but Moore has revived the club’s season by guiding them to three successive victories and the team look much more solid.

Albion went into this fixture with a rare unchanged XI against an Ayr team who had won six of their previous seven Division Two games, most recently at Brechin on December 30, and who had forced tomorrow night’s Scottish Cup replay with Kilmarnock thanks to Alex Williams’ last-gasp leveller at Somerset Park.

Gaffer Brian Reid made one change to that side, with Paul Weaver in for the suspended Dean Keenan in midfield. Williams was again a substitute but made little impact when introduced for the last half hour and was lucky to escape punishment for clattering Scott Christie when the keeper clearly had the ball.

Two earlier draws between the teams – 2-2 at Forthbank and 1-1 at Somerset – suggested a tight affair and there wasn’t much in it during a first half of few clear-cut chances, although Albion looked the more likely.

Martin Grehan had an early header saved by Stephen Grindlay and smacked another shot narrowly over, but his time would come. Christie had a quiet first half but there was a scare when Ayr top scorer Bryan Prunty went down in the box as he tried to go past Stewart Devine, but his penalty appeal was dismissed.

The same player claimed another spot kick in the second half. It looked a dive at the time but TV replays hinted he was nudged by Sean Roycroft. If it was break, then Albion certainly deserved it.

Moore praised his team’s work ethic, and no wonder. Stirling really wanted this win and opened the door to it in 55 minutes when John O’Neill’s precise pass released Grehan beyond the Ayr backline and he strode on to beat Grindlay with a low shot which the keeper could only help into the net.

It was the ex-Motherwell man’s fourth goal of the season and his first since a 4-3 defeat at Alloa on November 8 but the statistics fail to do justice to a talented player who has formed a lively partnership with David McKenna.

McKenna had a major hand in the second goal, which came 15 minutes from time and soon after Forsyth had walked.

The former St Mirren hitman held the ball up brilliantly before feeding it to substitute Ryan McCord. The on-loan Dundee United teenager turned defender Murray Henderson and curled a superb shot in off the far post. It was the 19-year-old’s first senior goal and was one of the highlights of the season so far.

“I was blowing the ball over the line when it hit the post,” joked Moore. “It was a great strike and what made it so impressive was the amount of ground Ryan covered to get up the park in the first place.”

Willie Easton came close to a late consolation but Ayr’s best chances had already come and gone. At 0-0, Ryan Stevenson should have scored after Prunty teed him up but the midfielder’s shot was blocked, with Christie out of his goal.

The same player brought out an acrobatic save from the Albion No 1 with a 35-yard piledriver midway through the second half but McCord’s intervention sealed the points. Now the Stair Park bogey must be laid to rest.

Stirling Albion: Christie, Graham, Forsyth, Gibb, Roycroft, O’Neill, Hamilton (McCord 71), Murphy, McKenna (Boyle 88), Grehan, Devine. Subs (not used): Corr, Lawrie, Hogarth.

Ayr United: Grindlay, Dempsie (Williams 59), McGowan, Walker, Campbell (Henderson 46), Stevenson, Weaver (Connolly 64), Aitken, Prunty, Gormley, Easton. Subs (not used): Agnew, Stewart.

Referee: Neil Watters