Binos face fixture pile-up

Jan 30 2013 by David Ogilvie, Stirling Observer

Stirling Albion face the prospect of playing a quarter of the season in the space of a month after the weekend trip to Berwick Rangers became the latest game to be postponed.

The Borderers were quietly confident of the match going ahead on Friday but a dump of snow saw it called off after a 10am inspection on Saturday, when Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Montrose was the only Third Division fixture to beat the weather.

Ally McCoist’s men were due at Forthbank this weekend but that game has already been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 26 at 7.45pm due to Rangers’ William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round clash with Dundee United at Tannadice.

Tickets for that match will be on sale inside the ground at the match against East Stirlingshire on Tuesday, February 5.

Prices are £13 adults, £10 seniors, £7 U17s. These tickets are for home supporters only. Rangers’ allocation will be dealt with by the Ibrox club.

With Albion’s last home game against Annan on January 19 postponed due to a frozen pitch, it means a third Saturday in a row without action for Greig McDonald’s men, who face East Stirlingshire at Forthbank in their next outing .

That evening is likely to see recent signings defender Jamie Bishop from Forfar and keeper David Crawford from Montrose pitched into the fray but Gary Thom is suspended for the first of what will be a hectic period for the struggling Binos.

Boss McDonald is hoping to add to his squad before a potential spell of nine games in 33 days. East Stirling and Montrose visit Forthbank early next month before a trip to Peterhead is followed by a home double header against Clyde and Rangers.

At least one further fixture is likely to be slotted in for February and March begins with a long haul to Elgin, with another rearranged match likely on Tuesday March 5, and a home game against second-bottom East Stirling on March 9.

The Binos have fulfilled only 19 of their 36 games to date, which means virtually half the season will be shoe-horned into a three-month spell from the Shire clash on February 5 to the final-day trip to Clyde on May 4.

The promotion play-offs were the target back in August but the reality is the main aim now is to avoid ending the campaign as the worst team in the country.

Meanwhile, Stirling Albion are in line for their live TV debut after ESPN selected the match against Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday March 23, kick-off at noon.

The club have featured on extended highlight shows in the past – notably when they knocked Hibernian out of the Scottish Cup in 1998/99 – and the record-breaking 20-0 win over Selkirk in 1984 was caught by the cameras but live transmission would be a first.

However, their debut could yet be delayed as the Ibrox encounter falls on an international weekend .

SFL rules allow clubs to request a postponement if they have three or more players called up – something that is a possibility for Northern Ireland duo Andy Little and Dean Shiels while Lee Wallace has been capped for Scotland in the past.