Binos hope to bounce back

Aug 29 2012 by David Ogilvie, Stirling Observer Wednesday

YOUNG striker Bradley Coyne faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines at Forthbank.

On Monday, the 19-year-old, who joined from Forfar in the summer, attended an appointment with one of the top knee consultants in Scotland.

The surgeon’s preliminary assessment needs to be confirmed by a scan but it now appears likely the damage is worse than first feared.

The teenager suffered the injury against Annan on the opening day of the Third Division campaign.

An Albion spokesman said: “The club will do everything possible to support Bradley make a full recovery and the thoughts and best wishes of everyone are with him – sentiments we are sure will be echoed by every supporter.”

On Saturday, they face Queen’s Park as they bid to bounce back from successive

defeats to Elgin City and Clyde.

Greig McDonald’s men kicked off their campaign by thumping Annan 5-1 at Forthbank but stumbled

3-1 at current leaders Elgin and were beaten by a Kevin Watt goal at the weekend as the Bully Wee took advantage of another poor performance to claim all three points.

The Binos are in need of a boost against Gardner Speirs’ team going into the international break as they face away games at East Stirling and Berwick after that, with their next Forthbank fixture against Rangers on October 6.

McDonald made four changes to the team beaten by Elgin but was again left frustrated as a more experienced line-up failed to impress against Jim Duffy’s team.

Steven Weir came close to a debut goal after signing from Moreland Zebras in Australia until the end of the year and Scott Davidson was denied a late equaliser by the crossbar but McDonald admitted: “Our goalkeeper didn’t have much to do and we created a few chances but we can’t kid ourselves – that simply wasn’t good enough.

“I don’t know if there is a subconscious thing, because we have come down from the Second Division

and maybe some of them thought it was going to be easier than what it is, but that is two reality checks in a row and I hope this one hits home. The supporters deserve a reaction against Queen’s Park on Saturday.

“We are a good side but we were trying to play football in the wrong areas. We want them to pass the ball but there is a time and a place for that. I hold my hands up because I maybe got something wrong in terms of the formation but that will change for next week.

“I put experienced guys into the team against Clyde but we didn’t get to the level we need to be at. There is only so much we can do for them – some of the guys need to have a look in the mirror and make sure that at the very minimum they are winning the battle against their opposite number because we are not doing that at the moment.

“We didn’t get anything from the game and the most we would have deserved would have been a point. We showed what we are capable of against Annan but we need to show that even if we are not playing well we can get something from games.

“We are only three games into the season and we have a good bunch of players who will get it right.

“I thought Steven Weir did well on his debut and was unlucky not to score – he showed great pace and got in behind the defence. The problem was that we didn’t get enough service to him and Scott Davidson, and at the other and we were not hard enough to beat.”

Albion have a good record against Queen’s Park, with nine wins, two draws and just three defeats in the 14 previous meetings at Forthbank. The teams last met on a Monday night at the end of the 2008/09 season when Stirling won 4-0 – the game had been postponed on the Saturday due to a waterlogged pitch.

Striker Coyne will again miss out due to a knee injury and player assistant-boss Shaun Fagan is also sidelined as Stirling look to get their season back on track against a Queen’s Park team who h ave so far beaten East Stirling, drawn with Montrose and lost to Peterhead.

lAdmission prices for Saturday’s home game against Queen’s Park are £10 for adults, £7 for

seniors/students and £5 for children under 17. Vouchers will again be handed out at the turnstiles,

as happened against Annan and Clyde, and fans holding most vouchers will have the best chance of securing a ticket for the match against Rangers at Forthbank on Saturday ,October 6.

l The half-time draw prize of £165 at Saturday’s match between Stirling and Clyde remains unclaimed. If you have winning ticket number 01401 please contact the club on 01786 450399.

l Albion were in Stirlingshire Cup first-round action last night (Tuesday) against Alloa at Recreation Park. The winners are due to travel to Dumbarton in the semi-finals.