BINOS OFF TO A FLYER
Kavanagh seals second-half comeback
Stenh’smuir 2 Stirling Al ... 3 Stirling edged a five-goal thriller at Ochilview on Saturday to get their Ladbrokes League 2 campaign off to a flying start against their local rivals.
The Binos had lost on the opening day in the past two seasons and looked on course for a hat-trick when they trailed 2-1 at the break.
But a terrific secondhalf display swung the game in their favour and Ross Kavanagh grabbed a late winner after Callumn Morrison had equalised.
Harry Paton and Mark McGuigan – either side of a Darren Smith equaliser – had scored in the first half for the Warriors but Albion responded well, to the delight of the big travelling support.
It’s only a start, of course, and Binos boss Dave Mackay was quick to point out that the first-half performance was way below par.
But there appears to be a resilience to this Stirling side and it’s now three wins in a row following Betfred Cup victories over Forfar and Brechin.
The challenge is to keep the momentum going for the upcoming trio of home matches, against Berwick Rangers and Edinburgh City in League 2, with an IRN-BRU Cup tie against Montrose in between.
Mackay had to do without Andy Little, Ross Cameron and skipper Willie Robertson but the team was along expected lines, although there was a place on the bench for U20 player Taylor Evans.
Stenhousemuir, relegated in May after an eight-year stay in League 1, have brought in 13 new players over the summer, including former Binos Chris Smith, Mark Ferry and Eddie Ferns.
Stirling won 5-4 and 2-1 here on their last visits in 2014/15 but that was a dismal season that produced only four wins and ended in inevitable relegation to the bottom tier, from where Albion are still trying to escape after finishing seventh then sixth.
They made a bright start at Ochilview but it quickly faded and Stenny, second favourites for the title behind Peterhead, deserved their interval lead.
Paton, on loan from Hearts, fired them ahead in 21 minutes with a bouncing shot after Cammy Binnie had saved from Jamie Longworth, who had found space in the box with too much ease, then Nathan Blockley rattled the bar from distance as the hosts chased a second goal.
Stirling always looked threatening enough going forward and levelled shortly after the hour when Peter MacDonald and Liam Caddis combined to play in Darren Smith, who beat namesake Chris with a composed closerange finish under the keeper at the near post.
Former Stranraer forward Mark McGuigan gave the Albion defence a torrid time in the first half and was left completely unmarked to head them back in front before David Marsh failed to turn in a low cross immediately after the interval which might have put the game out of reach.
Mackay admitted that strong words had been said at half-time and it seemed to have the desired effect as the visitors began to get the upper hand, albeit this was an open and hugely entertaining game with chances falling at both ends.
On-loan Hearts winger Morrison has been outstanding in the early part of the season and equalised in 55 minutes with his third goal of 2017/18. The 18 year-old broke clear on the right and fired in a low shot that went in off the far post.
Morrison later cracked a 25-yarder off the bar and Caddis saw a wonderful effort strike the woodwork before Kavanagh, on as a sub, rounded Smith but didn’t get enough on his shot and a defender got back to clear off the line. He had better luck seven minutes from time when he converted a Morrison corner from the left but it required an outstanding stoppage-time save from Binnie to push over a Michael Dunlop drive and the resulting corner was nodded over by keeper Chris Smith as Stirling held on.