ELGIN END TO BINOS DREAM
Boss admits draw kills play-off chances
Stirling Albion badly needed a win to keep their play-off hopes alive but after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Elgin City a top-four finish now looks beyond them.
Binos boss Dave Mackay was left frustrated as his side squandered a two-goal lead at Borough Briggs to share the spoils with Elgin, whose point was also of little use, as they were leapfrogged by Montrose after their 10th game without a win.
Goals from Darren Smith – Albion’s leading scorer with 12 goals – and on-loan Hearts striker Dylan Nguene Bikey in a fourminute spell early in the second half had Stirling on course for a fifth straight away win but Jamie Reid pulled one back and Archie MacPhee hit a late leveller for Elgin.
Albion head for the capital on Saturday to play Edinburgh City before welcoming titlechasing Arbroath to Forthbank on the final day of their Ladbrokes League 2 campaign.
Mackay said: “Given that we are five points behind, the play-offs aren’t going to happen now and it’s disappointing after all the hard work we have put in to get ourselves up the table. We’ll try our best to finish with two wins and see where it leaves us but we had to beat Elgin. That would have kept things going but the result that really killed us was losing at home to Cowdenbeath the week before, when we put in a poor performance.
“We didn’t play well in the first half at Elgin and the pitch wasn’t great which didn’t help our passing. Elgin didn’t create much either until just before half-time but we came out in the second half and scored two really good goals.
“We looked comfortable at that stage but when they got one back it changed things. It was a poor goal to lose from a set-piece and it definitely gave them a lift.
“We sat too deep after that and it was a mistake from Chris Smith for their equaliser but he has been excellent for us this season.
“We had that great chance right at the end when the ball broke to Liam Caddis. He’s probably one of the players you’d have wanted in that situation but he snatched at his shot and missed the target.
“You have to be honest, though, and say we’d have stolen a couple of points if that had gone in because I felt Elgin did enough to get the draw.”
Albion fell to the foot of the table when they lost 2-0 at Edinburgh City on December 10 but have been much improved in 2017 and remain unbeaten on their travels since the end of January.
Mackay added: “We’ve come a long way since our last game there and I think the current squad have proved in the past few months they have the quality to at least be challenging for the play-offs.
“We’ll look to improve the squad over the summer and aim to push on next season. We might give one or two of the younger players a chance in the next couple of games but we are mindful that Arbroath are involved in a race for the title so we’ll not be making wholesale changes.”
Stirling welcomed back Ross McMillan and Calvin Colquhoun to the starting lineup at Borough Briggs but they continue to be plagued by injuries and midfielder Sean Dickson’s season looks over after he suffered a knee problem in training last Thursday.
Mackay explained: “It was one of those things that looked innocuous but he’s feeling it and is due to get a scan this week so hopefully it is not too serious.
“Andy Little got out of hospital last week following his head injury and he is now back in Northern Ireland recuperating.”