Binos and Berwick in Forthbank stalemate
Plenty of effort but the game remains scoreless
Stirling Albion ...0 B’wick Rangers..0 Stirling Albion and Berwick Rangers played out a goalless draw in difficult conditions as the first quarter of the Ladbrokes League 2 campaign concluded.
Following the 2-0 win at Cowdenbeath on October 1, this was the first time in 12 months that the Binos had managed back-to-back clean sheets in the league and they are certainly looking harder to beat since caretaker boss Martyn Corrigan replaced Stuart McLaren.
Albion enjoyed more of the possession and created more of the openings but, in truth, neither goalkeeper was over worked and a draw wasn’t an unreasonable outcome.
Berwick remain unbeaten away from home this season but finished the game with 10 men after full- back Kevin McKinlay, who moved to Shielfield from Forthbank in the summer, saw red in stoppage time following an altercation with his team-mate Brian Martin.
Referee Mike Taylor had earlier upset both teams by turning down strong penalty claims.
Midway through the second half, Sean Dickson appeared to take out McKinlay after slipping on the sodden surface then in the last minute home striker Blair Henderson seemed to be barged in the back.
Stirling showed two changes from the previous outing at Cowdenbeath. Bryan Hodge returned from injury, after several weeks out with a groin problem, in place James Fowler, who played as a trialist that afternoon.
Scott Davidson was included instead of Ross Smith, who had failed a fitness test.
Berwick, who headed north on the back of a 1-1 draw with Clyde, listed ex-Binos McKinlay and Greg Hurst in their starting XI, with Lee Hamilton on the bench.
It was the first meeting between the teams since March, when Berwick won 1-0 at Shielfield thanks to a first-minute goal from Henderson.
He was the Borderers’ top scorer in 2015-16 and still tops the Albion scoring charts with five goals this term despite being among the substitutes of late.
Steven Thomson tested Chris Smith with a decent effort early on but, on a pitch made slippery by earlier
heavy rain, Stirling hit back and Marc McKenzie saw a goal-bound header blocked and Ross McMillan nodded over from another set-piece.
A cross flashed across goal early in the second half didn’t find any takers then Jordyn Sheerin fired a 30-yarder just wide for the visitors but it was hard to see where a goal was coming from.
There was bags of effort from both teams but the final ball was lacking.
Stirling looked relatively secure in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with right-back Ross McGeachie probably their best player. Strong and aggressive, he has been one of the reasons why the side who still have the second-worst defensive record in League 2 suddenly look a more robust proposition.
The result leaves Stirling seventh in the table, with nine points from nine games, while Berwick have dropped out of the play-off places despite having conceded fewest goals in the division.