Fixtures pile up for Albion

Feb 18 2009 by Donald Morton, Stirling Observer Wednesday

STIRLING Albion face the prospect of a hectic March after Saturday’s match with Peterhead was called off 24 hours before kick-off due to a frozen pitch.

The milder weather came just too late to save the fixture, meaning Allan Moore’s men now have three outstanding games to play - the others are at home to Alloa and East Fife.

Dates confirmed for the games are as follows: Alloa on Tuesday, March 3, Peterhead on Tuesday, March 17 and East Fife on Saturday, March 28 – the day of Scotland’s World Cup qualifier in Amsterdam.

The re-arranged dates also means a treat for local fans with back-to-back Stirling Albion-Alloa Athletic derbies on March 3 and March 7.

It means a busy March for the Binos but that will be put on the back burner as Albion the trip to league leaders Raith Rovers short of match practice and hoping the enforced winter break – they also had last weekend off because of East Fife’s Scottish Cup tie at Aberdeen – has not disrupted their momentum.

Stirling’s 2-1 success at Brechin on January 31 was their fifth straight win and one of those victories was against Raith at Forthbank. Both clubs have managed just three matches since that meeting – Stirling have beaten Ayr, Stranraer and Brechin while Rovers edged out Stranraer then drew with Alloa and Ayr.

Assistant manager John O’Neill and Ross Forsyth are both suspended for Saturday’s trip to Kirkcaldy as the play-off race heats up. Peterhead will surely take maximum points at home to Stranraer but East Fife face a tricky trip to Alloa and Brechin are away to second-placed Ayr United.

O’Neill said: “It was disappointing that Saturday’s game was off. It is one thing having games in hand but it’s not the same as having points on the board. With Peterhead having a long way to travel I think the club had to make an early decision but by the time we trained on Saturday the pitch wasn’t too bad.

“We now have a massive game against Raith and we hope the break won’t affect the run we were on. I think we deserved to beat them at our place recently and we almost won away from home as well, so we can go there with confidence.

“Raith are a good side and they are dangerous up front but with the form we are in they might be wary of us. I’m disappointed I won’t be able to play because of suspension but we have a good squad and there are players who can come in.”

John McGlynn’s team are five points clear at the top of Division Two and enjoy a 12-point advantage over fourth-placed Stirling, albeit having played a game more than the others in the top four.

They are unbeaten at Stark’s Park in 2008/09 with eight wins and three draws but required a soft injury-time penalty to salvage a point when the clubs crossed paths in September – this after Ian Harty had missed from the spot for Stirling.

Ryan McCord, on loan from Dundee United until March 7, is in line to replace O’Neill in the middle of the park while recent signing Michael Mullen from Stranraer is likely to be on the bench. The striker should make his debut at some stage in a game that will be refereed by the experienced Steve Conroy.

The table suggests Raith are favourites but they have beaten Albion just once in the last 11 attempts – a 1-0 win in appalling conditions at Forthbank two years ago when Stirling went on to gain revenge in the play-offs.

Rovers look a good bet for the championship this time and a draw wouldn’t be a bad result for Stirling, who end the month with a home game against Arbroath.

Meanwhile, O’Neill admits he doesn’t know when winger Nathan Taggart will be fit enough to return to action. The 21-year-old winger, who scored in the 1-1 draw at Raith in September, has been out since mid-November due to a back problem.

Taggart trained with the squad at Glebe Park ahead of the recent win at Brechin and has done some running on his own but is yet to resume full training.

O’Neill added: “Nathan has made some progress but it is small steps. It’s been a difficult one because it’s his back and he has still got a bit to go. At this stage it is hard to say when he will be available.”