We won’t get away with any more mistakes
Mackay warning ahead of trip to Elgin
Stirling Albion are aiming to end a damaging December on a high when they travel to Borough Briggs to play Elgin City on Saturday.
Dave Mackay’s men have lost to Berwick Rangers, Peterhead and Montrose this month with their sole point coming in a 1-1 draw with Annan Athletic.
Saturday’s 1-0 loss to leaders Montrose saw the Binos slip to fourth place in the table and they are now 10 points off the title pace ahead of the festive away-day double against Elgin on Saturday and local rivals Stenhousemuir at Ochilview on Tuesday.
Elgin, now managed by former Stirling striker Gavin Price, have also picked up just one point from 12 this month and went down 4-1 to Stenhousemuir on Saturday.
It was 2-2 when the sides met at Forthbank in September and that was also the score at Borough Briggs in April, with the Moray men fighting back from 2-0 down on both occasions.
A mistake by goalkeeper Cammy Binnie allowed Gary Fraser to grab the only goal for Stewart Petrie’s team at the weekend as Albion’s poor home form continued.
Mackay felt his side were the better team in the first half against Montrose but admits they struggled to trouble League Two’s best defence after falling behind.
He said: “Cammy has made a mistake for the goal and that has cost us. There was nothing between the teams before that and I actually thought we were the better team up until that point but we are killing ourselves with silly errors at the moment.
“We were definitely the better team in the first half – they had a 10-minute spell where they had a bit of pressure.
“Unfortunately, we made wrong decisions in the final third at crucial times, we are not getting shots away and when it is on to shoot we are trying a pass instead.
“I don’t think the wind was a huge advantage but we got into good positions. Neil McLaughlin has one where he can’t sort his feet out and Callumn Morrison has a chance that he has to hit.
“The goal knocked the stuffing out of us and it took us until towards the end of the game to have a go at that them, which is disappointing, but you
can’tfaulttheeffortandworkrate.Thecommitment was definitely there but when you concede a goal in the manner we did it is going to affect the team.
“Montrose are a solid side. They are organised and they are top for a reason. They all know their positions well. It looks like a huge gap at the minute but there are plenty points to play for and we just need something to go our way. We concede a goal so late against Annan last week and then concede a poor one against Montrose.
“We have looked more solid recently because we were conceding two goals a game at the beginning of the season but we are not scoring and that is the problem at the minute.
“We know how good the guys up there are and we are just going through a patch where it’s not going for us.”
Stirling topped the table for most of the season until being knocked off the summit in midNovember but now face a battle simply to retain their top-four berth.
Mackay added:“It’s been a very disappointing last six weeks or so, there’s no doubt about it. After the first quarter we had taken 22 points out of 27 and I think that’s five out of the last 21 which is not good enough – that’s relegation form rather than chasing teams at the top of the league.
“We need to sort it out – if players become available that are good enough then absolutely we will be interested. Cammy Thomson will be out for three or four weeks with a hamstring injury which will probably take him up to the end of his loan from St Johnstone.
“I thought he did well at Annan and he is someone that gives us a bit energy and pace. It was an innocuous one at training and unfortunately he tweaked his hamstring.
“Every game for us at the minute is absolutely huge because of the run we find ourselves on but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to dig in and sort it. We will be doing everything we can to start pushing back up the table.”
Meanwhile, Mackay confirmed that defender Lee Hamilton is expected to make a swift return to action despite being carried off with a nastylooking injury against Montrose.
He said:“Lee’s back just totally seized up but I don’t imagine he will be out for too long. They thought it was serious at the time.
“He landed on his neck and he didn’t have any feeling below his waist for a couple of minutes but he is walking about now thankfully.”