RUTKIEWICZ LOOKING FOR AN UPSET WE’RE READY TO BEAT ODDS
Binos boss relishing Clyde cup showdown
Stirling Albion are aiming to upset the odds and knock Clyde out of the William Hill Scottish Cup on Saturday when the sides meet in a third-round tie at Forthbank.
The Binos beat Strathspey Thistle 2-0 in the previous round and defeated Annan Athletic 2-0 at the weekend to take their good run to just one defeat in nine matches.
Clyde came out on top in a fourth-round replay when the teams last met in the Scottish Cup in 2016/17 and Danny Lennon’s League 1 side are favourites to progress to the potentially lucrative last 32 of the competition on January 18.
The Bully Wee won twice at Forthbank last season en route to promotion via the play-offs and have beaten Falkirk twice in League 1 this year but recently lost to Stranraer and Peterhead before a penalty shoot-out defeat to Inverness CT in the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup on Saturday.
Albion manager Kevin Rutkiewicz is relishing the prospect of a Scottish Cup clash against higher-ranked opponents on the back of an important win over Annan.
He said: “We turned over East Fife in the Challenge Cup, albeit they rested a few, but we made five or six changes ourselves that night. We’ve proved we are a good football team but Clyde will be a difficult proposition and I’m sure one or two of their players will want to get one over on us! It’s a mouthwatering tie and I’m really looking forward to it.
“I have great respect for Danny Lennon and Allan Moore and I’m looking forward to pitting my wits against them. They have a good team but we are going to give it a right good shot and hopefully we can be on the end of a positive result.”
Reflecting on the weekend win, he said: “I thought it was a really strong team performance. There was a wee stigma surrounding Stirling before I arrived about maybe being a wee bit soft but I thought we showed our battling qualities against Cove and Annan and that’s going to be crucial.
“I really want to use this result as a springboard. The Clyde cup tie will take care of itself but we need to start pushing up the league. It really hurts where we are in the table and we deserve to have more points but we have good momentum and we need to continue that.
“I’m delighted with the result but overall there is still a feeling of frustration at how this season has gone so far. I think the fans are still needing convinced a wee bit and it’s our job to get them onside – I feel we have a squad who can compete in every game.
“I don’t like to single people out but I thought Kyle Banner was outstanding. He’s a young lad who has been at Stirling since he was 13 years old and he’s a terrific example to all the young players. I hold him in high regard – he has terrific ability and he showed that.”