Stirling Albion maintained their unbeaten league record courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Dumbarton at a blustery Strathclyde Homes Stadium. However, with Dumbarton having lost their 3 previous home league matches, more could have been expected from this game. However, the loss of top scorer Scott McLean proved to be an obstacle which the team could not overcome and it took an error by the Dumbarton defence to gift the Albion an equaliser although, to be fair, a draw was probably the correct result as neither team created many clear cut chances.

The match got off to a blistering start when a cross from O’Brien was just too far in front of Glancy. Then a dangerous cross from Nugent was cleared by Russell. Dumbarton replied with a McGroarty shot which went inches over. The Albion responded with Glancy setting up Devine whose right foot shot went about a foot over the bar.

The match then settled into a grim midfield battle and, once again, Ferguson showed up well with his strong running and intelligent use of the ball. The Dumbarton forwards were constantly being caught offside as the Albion defence showed why it has conceded the fewest number of goals in the division.

Dumbarton took the lead on the half hour mark when a cross from the left was met by Annand. His header was saved by Hogarth but Russell followed up to slot home from close range. A few minutes later, they almost doubled their lead when a Rodgers shot hit the post. Just before half time, Devine was booked for something only the referee could explain. The incident involved Russell who had not endeared himself to the large band of Albion fans with his antics whenever he was tackled.

The Albion kicked off at the start of the second half and, within 30 seconds, were level. A dreadful pass back was intercepted by Glancy who rounded the keeper and stroked the ball into the empty goals. The match became a bit livelier although, as in the first half, neither team made many goalscoring opportunities. Both managers then started to make substitutions to try and change things in their favour. Firstly, Moore brought on Wilson in place of Hay to provide more attacking options whilst his counterpart, Fairley, took of Boyle and brought on Donald. Prior to this, Brittain became the first Dumbarton player to be booked for a foul on Wilson.

The sponsors Man of the Match, Russell, then tried to set up Annand but the striker failed to connect properly with the cross and the ball went past for a goal kick. Cummings was then taken off and Gethins took his place. Russell, unsurprisingly, was booked for remarks made to the far side linesman after the ball had been deemed to have gone out of play. A minute later, Nugent was booked for a foul on the aforesaid Russell as the match threatened to get out of hand. Two more substitutions were made with Annand being replaced by ex-Bino, Dunn, and James Allan replacing David O’Brien.

Going into the final 10 minutes, the Albion pressed for the winner but, all too often, the final pass let them down. A good build up involving Devine and Gethins ended with a weak shot from Glancy. In injury time, Rodgers was booked for a foul on Devine. From the ensuing free kick, the ball went for a corner which Dumbarton were unable to capitalise on. The match finished 1-1.

The result shows that the Albion rely very heavily upon, not only the goal scoring threat from McLean, but also his ability to hold the ball. The team worked very hard to make up for his loss and the defence, despite one or two errors, again played well. If anyone had said before the season started that the team would have been sitting in second position approaching the end of the first quarter of the season, the fans would gladly have accepted that. Having been at the top, until today, expectations have maybe been raised too high and we will have to accept that we will not win every game. Next week the Albion take on an Ayr team which, although it is in the bottom half of the division, will certainly provide us with a hard match. Let’s hope the Albion fans turn out in force. In American Football, head coaches talk about the fans being the twelfth man. Next week, the Albion fans could become the team’s twelfth man.