KEEPER SPOT ON TO KEEP DREAM ALIVE
Title push on course after penalty save
Modest spot-kick hero Blair Currie put his last-minute heroics at Stranraer down to luck – and admitted he would’ve preferred a quieter afternoon at a rain-soaked Stair Park. Stirling Albion were once again right in the fight as they fought against both the elements and a surging Blues side to take a valuable point up the road ahead of a big week in the League Two title race.
The stalemate – coupled with Dumbarton’s surprise 5-1 defeat to Albion Rovers – gave Stirling the chance to head to the top of the league in last night’s home match with Forfar before the Sons visit Forthbank this weekend.
But it was an afternoon which increasingly looked as if it was slipping after Jack Leitch’s firsthalf goal was cancelled out by Scott Robertson and the hosts awarded a penalty in the dying minutes.
Currie showed his mettle as he made the save from Jamie Walker’s penalty and said making up ground was a big boost on the afternoon.
The keeper said: “It’s just a wee bit of luck, we’ve scored last-minute goals in the last few weeks and I feared the worst when they got the penalty to be honest.
“I’d rather win the game 2-0 and not have to make a penalty save than to make one lastminute to get a point but it’s just all a wee bit of fortune for us.
“The last time we played here, he hit to my right and I went to my left so I wasn’t sure if he was going to change it, but just a guess at the end of the day.
“It’s always a hard game down here, especially when the pitch wasn’t great and when we go 1-0 up then we can look at it both ways, two points dropped or saving a penalty at the end to maybe have two points gained.
“We would’ve taken getting one point closer to Dumbarton at the start and that’s where we are now.”
Meanwhile, Stirling gaffer Darren Young recognised his side’s second half display wasn’t up to standard, but refused to blame the mudbath conditions for his side’s lacklustre showing.
The gaffer said: “It was definitely a good point for us in the end. I felt we were better in the first half, second half we never really got going and I think the quality was lacking for us, one or two wee things never really came off.
“Blair does brilliantly to save the penalty at the end for us and I’m delighted to come away with the point, especially when it’s the last minute and you have a penalty given against you.
“The conditions and the pitch were the same for both teams. It cut up at the end and got a bit soft, you can maybe say they coped with it better than we did but fair play to them, they’ll be gutted that they’re only coming away with one point instead of three but we’re delighted with what we got.
STRANRAER ............................................. 1 STIRLING ALBION .................................. 1
It was yet more late drama for Stirling Albion as goalkeeper Blair Currie made himself the hero at a sodden Stair Park to earn the Binos a battling point in the title race.
The goalkeeper made a fine stop from a 90th minute penalty after a second half where Stranraer had looked likely to inflict the Binos’ second defeat of the season in Wigtownshire.
Torrential rain in the build-up had ensured the Stair Park surface was heavy even before kick-off and it made for a spectacle that was high on endeavour, but low on quality.
The first half-chance in a poor opening 45 minutes came when Grant hung a deep cross from the right side, with Blair Currie in the Binos’ goal forced to scramble the ball over the top.
Kieran Moore then enjoyed a good opening when the ball fell to him at the edge of the Stranraer box and he cracked a shot which stung the palms of Connelly.
Stranraer were next to try their luck when Sean Mcintosh scooped over from 18 yards after Stirling failed to clear their lines from a cross into the area.
Josh Walker then spurned a good chance for the home side when he headed straight at the Binos keeper after a cross was half blocked into his path.
But it was Stirling who went in front courtesy of a quality strike on 41 minutes.
It was last week’s hero Jack Leitch who was at it again, picking up the ball in midfield before planting an excellent low strike beyond Connelly from 30 yards.
The home side picked up the pressure after half-time, with on-loan Kilmarnock forward Aaron Brown curling into the hands of Currie after cutting in from the left.
Danny Denholm – probably the Binos’ most threatening player on the afternoon – then spurned a chance to double the lead when he was denied one-on-one by Connelly after being played in by Carrick.
The pitch began to resemble a battlefield as the impact of the conditions took their toll – but Stranraer struck a heavy blow with an equaliser on 73 minutes.
Good work on the Blues’ right from Walker saw him dig out a cross and Scott Robertson was the first to attack it from a few yards out to head beyond Currie.
The goal gave the home side a real lift and it was a case of holding on for the increasingly under-fire Binos.
They were given a massive reprieve when Walker slipped over when ready to pull the trigger clean through on goal.
But the constant wave of pressure was to tell when the Binos conceded a penalty in added time.
A corner was floated to the back post and Stirling skipper Paul Mclean needlessly shoved home defender Kyle Girvan, with ref Jordan Curran having the perfect view to award the spot-kick.
But in a season of late twists and turns, the Binos produced another decisive one in their title tilt – with Currie leaping to his right to produce a fabulous one-handed save from Walker’s penalty.
It was a brilliant stop and one that keeps Stirling’s chances of hitting the front alive ahead of a massive week.
Stranraer – Connelly, Ecrepont, Ross (Watt 87’), Girvan, Mcintosh, Robertson, Gallagher, Ngandu (Forrest 70’), Grant, Brown,walker.
Subs not used – O’connor, Brady, Malcolm, Duffy.
Stirling Albion – Currie, Mcgeachie, Mclean, Cummins, Davidson, Carrick, Leitch (Banner 71’), Denholm (Dunsmore 68’), Moore, Duffy, Thomson (Spence 83’).
Subs not used – Weir, Clark, Hamilton, Cooper.
Referee – Jordan Curran.