WE NEED TO IN ON PLAY-OFFS
Forthbank results letting team down
Stirling Albion are gearing up for a home double header against Stenhousemuir and Cove Rangers – weather permitting.
The Warriors are due to visit Forthbank for a local derby tomorrow and the League 2 leaders roll into town on Tuesday night for a rearranged fixture.
But the match against Stenhousemuir could be in some doubt after the recent and prolonged heavy rainfall and the forecast today (Friday) is particularly poor.
It’s a huge week for the Binos, who go to bottom club Brechin City next
Saturday, as they chase a top-four finish. Kevin Rutkiewicz’s side are three points outside the play-offs after winning 4-1 at Cowdenbeath, which was their fifth successive away victory.
Stirling’s home form has been less impressive – they are without a win since beating Annan in November – and they face tough tests against a much-improved Stenhousemuir side and Paul Hartley’s Cove team, who are six points clear at the top of Ladbrokes League 2.
Binos boss Rutkiewicz (pictured) said: “We’re going into the game on a pretty good run and we’re scoring goals so the players are confident. It’s going to be fast and furious being a derby match and we’re looking forward to it. I think there are probably six teams going for two places in the play-offs and Stenhousemuir are one of them – they have recruited well and have had some good results recently.
“Hopefully the game will be on – the pitch took a battering against Queen’s Park a fortnight ago and it’s had a lot of traffic on it this season with Stirling University also playing. I feel for the groundsman because he is swimming against the tide at times.
“The conditions were difficult at Cowdenbeath but we dealt with them well and the pitch held up well. We kept the same team to the one that lost to Queen’s Park because I thought we played well for most of that game and couldn’t really justify dropping anyone.
“I tend not to change a winning team so we have a decision to make now as to whether we do anything different. We have a few options and we have two games in quick succession with Cove on Tuesday. It’s a big week for us and there is the chance to get ourselves into the top four.”
He added: “The support we had at Cowdenbeath was fantastic and we are desperate to give the fans something to shout about at Forthbank. We know our home form has not been good enough but the performances haven’t been too bad and we haven’t had the rub of the green.”
The sides drew 1-1 at Forthbank in September when Sean Heaver scored a late leveller and Albion were 2-0 winners at Ochilview in December thanks to goals from Dylan Mackin and David Wilson.