Binos left twiddling their thumbs
The frustrating start to 2023 for Stirling Albion continued at the weekend as the weather intervened to put the kibosh on their fixture for the second week in a row.
The Binos were set to travel through to New Dundas Park to take on Bonnyrigg Rose after facing frustration at a late calloff for their previous game at Dumbarton.
But heavy rainfall overnight put the match in doubt - and a 10.30am pitch inspection in Midlothian confirmed that Albion would once again be heading into cold storage for another week.
It means the sudden arrival of a fixture pile-up for the Binos, with no more free weekends to fit in postponed games – as is the case with this weekend’s rearranged home match with Forfar – meaning a pair of midweek trips to be arranged.
However, it wasn’t all bad news for the Forthbank men on Saturday as title rivals Dumbarton slipped up 2-1 in Angus against Forfar, a warning for the challenge to be posed by Ray Mckinnon’s resurgent Loons at the weekend.
Forfar have won four of their last five league games and are recovering back into their status as a side tipped to compete at the top end of the table in pre-season after enjoying a poor start which left them rooted near the bottom for much of the season.
They now sit in fifth place and just one point off the final play-off spot, with three points separating fourth-placed East Fife and Stranraer in ninth.
The Loons boast one of the division’s top goalkeepers in Marc Mccallum who has already racked up six clean sheets this season, while forward Ben Armour has seen an uptick in his form also with his league goal tally sitting at six.
The result means that Stirling remain four points behind the Sons at the League Two summit, but now enjoy a game in hand on their rivals.
This week offers a chance for the Binos to make up some ground, with Dumbarton away at Kilmarnock in Scottish Cup action and boss Darren Young will be hoping to finally launch his new signings Flynn Duffy and Greig Spence, alongside returning winger Kai Fotheringham.