Stirling Albion extended their unbeaten league run to 12 matches with an emphatic
5-0 victory over local rivals Alloa Athletic. The victory was made sweeter for the home fans with the sight of many Alloa fans leaving after only 35 minutes when the Binos swept into a four goal lead. However, the Alloa cause was not helped with the sending off of Malcolm after only 4 minutes when, after missing the ball, he compounded his mistake when he brought down Shields denying a goal scoring opportunity. To make matters even worse, Aitken’s right foot free kick beat the defensive wall and Creer to put the Binos into the lead.
The Binos doubled their lead in 10 minutes when a Shields cross fell to Taggart who blasted home from 8 yards. The diminutive winger almost got his second a minute later but his first time shot went wide.
Taggart was causing the Alloa defence no end of problems and it was no surprise he was involved in the third goal when his cross to Bell saw the midfielder’s right foot shot whistle past Creer. 3-0 up with only 16 minutes on the clock and the home fans were looking for revenge for the 7-0 drubbing a few seasons ago. An event the Alloa fans have commemorated with a special banner which was on display in the East Stand. Taggart again popped up when he beat a defender on the half way line and strode forward but his right foot shot curled away from Creer’s left hand upright.
Whilst play, up to this point, had been mainly directed towards Creer, Hogarth was called into action after 25 minutes but Payo’s weak effort didn’t cause him any problems. Shields almost got on the score sheet when his left foot shot went inches past.
The Binos score their fourth after 35 minutes when Tomana finished off a move involving Taggart and Forsyth with a right foot shot from the edge of the 18 yard box.
This goal proved too much for a group of Alloa fans who made their way to the exits, collecting their 7-0 banner on the way.
There was no further scoring in the half though the Binos’ excellent performance was tarnished slightly with Tomana’s booking just before the end of the half.
Alloa made a change at half time when they brought on Sloan for Payo but this made little difference to the pattern of the game as the Binos continued to dominate but without the same goal scoring threat as the first half. However, Sloan did make Hogarth turn the ball past the post following an Alloa free kick.
With the game wrapped up, the Binos made a change on the hour mark when Devine came on for Forsyth. A few minutes later Shields made it 5-0 when he finished off a move involving himself and Wilson, who had earlier replaced Tomana, though it took a second effort after Creer had saved Shields’ first effort.
Shields was then replaced by Cashmore in a move more to keep Shields fresh for next week’s match. At this stage, Alloa’s main aim seemed to keep the score respectable but Aitken should have blown this plan out of the water when he blasted the ball over from 6 yards after Cramb had latched on to a loose ball.
As the match entered it’s final stages, Allan Moore urged his players on from the dug out but there was no further scoring. The home players left the field to a well deserved round of applause.
There were no failures in today’s performance but a similar performance will be required next week when the Binos entertain Morton in what will be the Second Division’s match of the day. With all four teams at the top winning today, a gap is now beginning to open up but no team can afford to be complacent in the race for promotion.
In addition to the booking for Tomana, Shields also found his way into the referee’s book when he was judged to have dived though every fan in the home stand was convinced it was a penalty to the Binos.