Andy tipped to make heads turn in Australia
Stirling Albion gaffer Darren Young praised his side for digging in and earning a hardfought pre-christmas three points in Elgin.
It was a great response from the Binos after defeat in their last outing to Stranraer before being placed into cold storage for a couple of weeks as the impact of the cold weather hit.
But they ensured there wasn’t to be a repeat of that loss against their third-placed hosts in Moray – with goals from skipper Paul Mclean and Kai Fotheringham ensuring another long road trip – their third in a row – this time proved fruitful.
Young said: “For all of the guys, they were magnificent.
“It was a great performance, a different type of performance, a great three points. These are the kind of games you need to roll up the sleeves and get stuck in and we did that from start to finish.
“I think overall we deserved the win, we created more chances and maybe we were unlucky not to get another one. It was maybe a bit of a scrappy game but we worked hard for the chances that did come to us.
“Paul is a real danger in the box, both in their box and also defending set-pieces in our box. It was a great goal – a couple of boys were trying to claim it but he said it was already over the line!
“We spoke about trying to get in behind and that’s exactly how we get the [second] goal. Dale (Carrick) does brilliantly in the middle of the park and a great ping through, Kai could have maybe slipped Thommo through but with the confidence he’s got, he takes his touch and finishes across the keeper.”
Ross Draper’s sending off for hauling back Carrick as he rampaged through on goal seemed to put the Binos on easy street for the closing half hour of the game – until Albion were penalised and Russell Dingwall scored from the spot to ensure a nervy finish.
But Young insisted he had full confidence in his troops in securing the result – and in keeping League Two top scorer Kane Hester quiet.
The manager added: “We were in complete control until the penalty, the referee said it was a sliding tackle
Andy Murray could be set to make an impact at next months Australian open, according to his coach Ivan Lendl.
Lendl claims that the Dunblane tennis icon is fit enough to mount a challenge for the season’s first Grand Slam after an intensive training camp in Florida.
After a recent pre-season training program in Boca Raton, Lendl was left quietly confident over Sir Andy’s chances of claiming titles this after he had had the shot but personally I don’t think it was a penalty.
“They bring it back to 2-1 and make it edgy for a bit but we went up the park and had a few good chances to finish it off but overall, I’m really happy with the performance and what we worked on in training worked perfectly.
“They’re sitting third in the table so that tells you how good they are and we managed to keep
Hester quiet in open play, the back four was brilliant.
“There maybe wasn’t much in the first half but I think the fact we get the lead, different to
Stranraer, made a difference. We lost poor goals there and it was good to iron that out.
“It was just good to get the win.” season. Murray and Lendl are currently working together for the third time in the double Wimbledon champ’s career – including for all three of his Grand Slam titles.
In recent years, Murray has had a hard time with injury, but Lendl believes the 35-year-old is fully prepared for the Australian Open. “He’s there, he’s ready,”lendl said on The Craig Shapirotennis
Podcast.
Lendl shot down any notion of Sir Andy hanging up his racket following their training camp.
“It’s him who has to say what he’s going to do, but I worked with him for 20 days, late November until December 10th in Boca and I saw zero signs that it’s a farewell tour. I wouldn’t be there if it was,”said Lendl.
Multiple-time Grand Slam champion Lendl has been left pleased with Murray’s fitness levels ahead of the new campaign. However, he warned that Sir Andy’s chances of claiming titles will depend on how he can manage matches in the early rounds.
“It depends on how the matches go (at the Grand Slams),”lendl said on the same podcast.“you can be the fittest guy on tour and if you play the first three matches over five hours, five sets each, and then you go into the Round of 16 against a rested guy, at some point that tank is going to empty.”
Sir Andy is ranked number 49 in the world as he continues to get his career back on track following a careerthreatening hip injury.