Stirling Albion
Second-half showing gives Mackay real hope Binos can salvage promotion dream
Stirling Albion manager Dave Mackay insists an improved second-half showing has given his side hope for the return leg of the League One play-off semi-final at Peterhead tomorrow.
The Binos lost the first leg 1-0 to a Mason Robertson goal at Forthbank on Wednesday and could have been two or three goals down before rallying after the interval.
Albion have been promoted on their two previous appearances in the play-offs in 2006/07 and 2013/14 but must win at Balmoor this weekend if they are to have any chance of making it a hat-trick.
Stirling enjoyed a 4-2 success in the North East back in August but have now lost four times on the trot to Jim McInally’s in-form side and are without a victory in eight attempts since beating Elgin 2-0 in a midweek match at Borough Briggs towards the end of March.
Mackay admits his side were well off the pace in the first half but believes the spirit they showed in the second period bodes well for the return leg.
He said: “We asked the players at halftime if they wanted their season to go out with a whimper and they certainly had a go in the second half. We got into some great positions and on another night we could have scored a couple of goals.
“The second half gives us belief that the tie isn’t over. We have scored seven goals in two games up there so I expect us to have a real go at them. We’ve got to believe we can do it. They were the better team in the first half but not to the extent that we were in the second half, although they had a couple of chances towards the end.
“Peterhead play a lot of long balls and so would we if we had Rory McAllister and Russell McLean because they are good in the air and they can run as well.
“They caused us problems, especially from set-plays. We talked about that before the game but we didn’t defend properly for the goal and we were punished for not picking up.”
Midfielder Liam Caddis was handed his first start since the 2-1 defeat at Stenhousemuir on January 2, with both Willie Robertson and Andy Black among the substitutes.
Mackay added: “I thought Liam was excellent in the second half. He is calm and composed on the ball and his passing is excellent. It was his first 90 minutes for a long time and he did really well. We changed the system a bit at half-time and Willie came on and gave us a bit of drive.
“Obviously, we’d rather be leading but we know that we have to go up there and beat them and I don’t see why we can’t. They looked tired towards the end and I think we are a fit team so we’ll go up and have a real go for the full 90 minutes.
“Kevin Moon is a doubt because his hamstring tightened up and that’s why he had to come off and Lee Hamilton has a foot problem he has been struggling with for a few weeks, so we’ll see how he is before Saturday.”