Stirling Albion:- Hogarth, Hay, Forsyth, McNally, Roycroft, Aitken, Bell, Tomana, Cramb, Shields and Taggart.
Subs:- Devine for Roycroft, Cashmore for Cramb and Malseed for Taggart. Wilson and Christie (both unused)

Stirling Albion progressed to the 2nd round of the Tennents Scottish Cup when they defeated East Stirling by 2 goals to nil. The reward, if you can call it that, is a trip to Meadowbank Stadium to meet non league Edinburgh City. Those fans who are old enough to remember Meadowbank Thistle will testify that the athletics stadium is far from an ideal football venue.

Todays match could hardly be called a classic but the bitterly cold wind which blew the length of the park together with a heavy pitch following the rain of the past 2 weeks had much to do with that. However, a full strength Binos side took full advantage of the wind in the first half to score the 2 goals which ensured their passage to the next round. Despite having the wind at their backs in the second half, the Shire didn’t really trouble Myles Hogarth although they did manage to strike the woodwork on two occasions.

The first goal came after 17 minutes when Cramb managed to score at the second attempt from a Forsyth free kick. The second came in the 26th minute when Shields crashed the ball into the roof of the net following Bell’s cut back from the bye line.

In between, Cramb should have got his own second but managed to shoot over from 5 yards out.

The only blemish for the Binos was a booking for McNally for kicking the ball away after Aitken had been penalised for a foul. It is the type of action which is seen week after week and generally ignored by referees. However, Welshman Mr John decided to show the yellow card.

Next week sees the Binos back to league business as they make the long trip to Peterhead. Although Peterhead are in the bottom half of the table, they have a reasonable home record and the Binos have never found Balmoor an easy place to get a result. They will also be without the services of Shields who starts a 2 match ban. Saying that, if the players play to their full potential, a victory to keep the pressure on Morton is a strong possibility.