BINOS TUNE UP FOR RESTART
Go-ahead for lower leagues
Stirling Albion have returned to training ahead of the proposed resumption of lower-league football on Saturday, March 20.
Football at League 1 and League 2 level had been suspended since January 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic but the green light was given last week for training and matches to resume.
Kevin Rutkiewicz’s side haven’t played since the abandoned match with Stenhousemuir on January 2 and have completed only nine league fixtures so far – five wins, three draws and one defeat.
Clubs in League 2 were scheduled to play 27 matches when the 2020/21 season kicked off in mid-October but in a statement last week, the 20 clubs in the bottom two divisions told the SPFL they want to play 22 games this season after the season resumes.
Stirling Albion chairman Stuart Brown said the club board supported the statement.
“It is remarkable and hugely praiseworthy that, given the inevitable differences of opinion that many clubs will hold, dependent on their individual circumstances, we have achieved a 20 club consensus view on the best way forward.
“It is worth highlighting that if we had failed to deliver on an alternative, the (impossible) status quo 27-game programme would have remained in place.
“We fully appreciate the challenges that lie ahead but Kevin, his backroom staff and the players are geared up and raring to tackle them and the club board will, of course, give them every possible backing to ensure they are best placed to concentrate on on-field success.”
The Binos currently occupy a play
-off place and the top four will be the minimum target for Rutkiewicz’s side who are five points behind leaders Queen’s Park.
Meanwhile, the Scottish FA confirmed at the end of last week that the Scottish Cup will restart on Tuesday, March 23 when the second round will be completed.
Stirling have a home tie against Championship promotion-chasers Raith Rovers, which was frozen off on January 9. The winners will play Betfred Cup runners-up Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena in round three on Saturday, April 3.
It was a year ago today when Stirling Albion last played in front of supporters at Forthbank.
On Tuesday, March 10, a crowd of 423 turned up for the visit of League 2 leaders Cove Rangers and it turned into night to forget for the Binos.
Kevin Rutkiewicz’s men had enjoyed a good run of form in the early part of 2020 to put themselves into contention for the play-offs.
They racked up six successive away wins before losing 3-1 at Elgin on the last day of February but results at Forthbank were patchy.
The game had been in doubt due to the wet weather but it passed a pitch inspection and went ahead on a heavy surface. The team which took to the field against Cove showed a number of changes –partly due to injury – but no-one was expecting Paul Hartley’s men to storm to a 7-1 win.
It was Albion’s biggest home defeat since they moved to Forthbank in April 1993 and left them sixth in the table, five points outside the play-offs.
Stirling had lost 1-0 to a late penalty when they faced Cove at the Balmoral Stadium in November but they were sunk under a deluge of goals 12 months ago.
It was 5-0 by half-time, with top scorer Mitch Megginson scoring twice and Fraser Fyvie, Harry Milne and Jamie Masson all on target.
Masson scored the sixth on the hour mark and it got worse for Albion when midfielder Kevin Nicoll was sent off with 11 minutes left.
Darryl Duffy pulled one back but Jordon Brown scored a seventh for Cove.
The new season kicked off behind closed doors in October and that will remain the case when the lower leagues resume a week on Saturday.