END ON A HIGH
Rutkiewicz calls on Binos to finish 2018 with home win
Stirling Albion’s recent good run of form came to a shuddering halt last week at Peterhead.
But they will be desperate to put it right when they welcome Cowdenbeath to Forthbank on Saturday.
McBookie.com make Kevin Rutkiewicz’s side odds-on favourites for the League Two clash at 4/5, with the Blue Brazil 27/10 and the draw 12/5.
Albion lost 1-0 to Cowdenbeath in the reverse fixture in Fife and the same scoreline this week in Albion’s favour is 7/1 with a 2-0 victory 17/2.
In the Lowland League, Stirling University make the short journey to the Falkirk Stadium to meet East Stirlingshire.
The students are 17/10 outsiders with hosts Shire oddson at 4/5 and the draw 4/1.
Stirling Albion boss Kevin Rutkiewicz has urged his players to bounce back from their Peterhead pain and sink Cowdenbeath at Forthbank to finish 2018 on a high note.
The Binos lost 4-1 to the League Two title favourites last weekend and saw their five-match unbeaten run come to an end. But a first home match since the start of December offers Rutkiewicz’s men a chance to get back on track quickly against sixth-placed Blue Brazil, who are four points above their Forthbank hosts ahead of tomorrow’s clash.
“We played some decent stuff at Peterhead and got into loads of good positions but we didn’t take our chances and the goals we lost were very poor — there was almost an acceptance and we need to do better than that,” reflected the Stirling boss (right). “The great thing about football is that there is always another game and we are looking forward to getting back to Forthbank because it’s been a while.
“Football is about winning games and that is what we will be trying to do on Saturday. It’s been a frustrating year for the club and we want to end it on a positive note.”
It would be a surprise if Stirling didn’t add to their squad in January but Rutkiewicz insists it’s important to get the right players and won’t rush in.
He said: “We have to do is decide about Calum Ferrie and Ronan Hughes, who are our two loan players whose contracts run out this month.
“The key thing is that any new players we bring in are fully committed to us. I have been watching a lot of games recently to see what is out there but we don’t have a big warchest.” tournament conditions. On arrival in Australia this week, he told waiting reporters: “I still have some pain in my hip but I need to play matches and see how it feels when I am able to play three, four, five matches in a row and take it from there.
“Last year when I came here it was tough, I was struggling quite a lot.
“It definitely feels a bit better than it did coming here last year. I’m in a better place than I was a few months ago.”
He added: “I would just like to get through the tournaments and feel like I am able to compete and not be restricted by my hip.”