Binos lose top of table clash
Stirling defeated for second time in four days
Stirling Albion ...... 0 Peterhead ............. 1 Stirling Albion missed the chance to move to the top of Ladbrokes League 2 as Peterhead won at Forthbank on Tuesday night.
It was Albion’s second defeat in the space of four days and they could have no complaints about the outcome.
The visitors were the better side and triumphed with more comfort than the score suggests.
Stirling ended with ten men after Andy Black saw red for a high tackle on Willie Gibson with 15-minutes left, but even with a full complement of players they posed little threat.
Rory McAllister’s 21st goal of the season just before half-time proved decisive as the Blue Toon came out on top on their first visit to the city since March 2015.
It was also revenge for Jim McInally’s side, who were beaten 4-2 by the Binos at Balmoor in August.
The midweek fixture was arranged after their scheduled encounter on Saturday November 25 was postponed due to snow – but the long journey south didn’t seem to bother the odds-on title favourites.
Binos boss Mackay made two changes from the team beaten 1-0 at Berwick on Saturday, with Sean Dickson and Peter MacDonald replacing Ross Kavanagh and Neil McLaughlin.
Andy Little, Willie Robertson and Steven Noble were again ruled out through injury.
Mackay was critical of the way his side started the game at Berwick, which saw them concede after just seven minutes.
They were again sluggish in the early stages and were fortunate not to fall behind when McAllister headed wide from a corner.
MacDonald came close with a freekick that whistled wide but Peterhead had the upper hand and when Albion failed to deal with another corner the ball was scrambled off the line.
Jack Leitch then looked set to open the scoring when he found space in the box and knocked the ball beyond Cammy Binnie only for a defender to get back and hook the ball clear.
Stirling grew into the game, albeit without creating much, only to fall behind three minutes from the break.
McAllister, who had been troubled by a back spasm, found space down the left and cut in to hit a shot from the corner of the box which took a deflection and looped up and over Binnie.
Stirling needed a response after the interval but instead Russell McLean thundered an 18 yarder just over and full-back Jason Brown smacked the crossbar with a header from Gibson’s corner as Peterhead pressed.
Darren Smith wasn’t far away when he diverted a Ewan McNeil cross wide and Dickson fizzed a low drive narrowly past the post but the home side didn’t often work keeper Greg Fleming.
Black’s reckless challenge on Gibson was perhaps a sign of Stirling’s frustration and the midfielder will now miss Saturday’s home game with bottom club Cowdenbeath.
Albion beat the Blue Brazil 3-0 at Central Park in October but their recent form, particularly at Forthbank, means this is likely to be a tougher 90-minutes.