Stirling Albion:- Hogarth, Hay, Forsyth, Nugent, Graham, Aitken, Wilson (Taggart 64), Tomana (Bingham 70), Cramb, Snodgrass (Cashmore 79) and O’Brien.
Unused Subs:- McNally and Christie

Forfar Athletic:- Wood, Lunan, Tierney, McNally, King, Donald (Fraser 77), Tade, Moon, Stewart, Lombardi and Coyle. Unused Subs:- Lynn, Tulloch, Lumsden and Trialist

The Binos travelled to Station Park for the last time this season full of confidence following their victory over league leaders Morton 2 weeks ago. Despite having to make changes due to suspensions, this confidence was justified as, in the previous 3 meetings this season, the Binos had scored 9 goals with none conceded. The enforced absence of Bell and Devine saw Wilson and Tomana joining Aitken and O’Brien in midfield. In addition, Cramb was restored to the starting line up, having scored in his previous 2 appearances as a substitute, at the expense of Bingham. The defence was unchanged.

The Binos kicked off in brilliant Spring sunshine but it was Forfar who had the first chance but Lombardi was unable to control the ball. A few minutes later, Tade should have done better but he pulled his right foot shot wide of the post. At this stage it looked as though Forfar were going to give the Binos a harder match than expected. However, the Binos started to exert control and, following a foul on Snodgrass at the edge of the box, the ball was played into the path of Aitken whose shot was blocked by a defender.

The Binos had strong claims for a penalty turned down by referee O’Reilly when an O’Brien cross was clearly handled by a Forfar defender. However, the referee took the view that it was not intentional. Aitken had another effort but his right foot shot was tipped over by Wood following good build up play involving O’Brien, Forysth and Tomana.

Next Cramb had a go at goal but his shot was pulled wide. Cramb did have the ball in the net on the half hour mark when he knocked home a rebound off the keeper but the stand side linesman had raised his flag before the ball had nestled in the back of the goals.

Just before half time, the Binos fans thought they had won a penalty when Snodgrass went down after rounding keeper Wood. However, the referee judged that Snodgrass had taken a dive and was booked. Looking at the incident, Snodgrass may have been better advised to have shot first time rather than trying to go round the keeper as it was this move that forced him to go wide, making the angle to shoot more difficult and this may have influenced his decision to go down.

Then, just as it looked as though both teams were going to go into the interval all square, Aitken stepped up to break the deadlock with a left foot shot which beat the keeper at his right hand post. 1-0 to the Binos.

Forfar had the early pressure in the second half but didn’t really force Hogarth to make any saves. The Binos then doubled their lead in 54 minutes when Dundee bound O’Brien latched onto a loose ball to slot it past Wood. 2-0 to the Binos and, at this stage, my little wager that the Binos would win 4-0 was beginning to look a good investment.

The Binos continued to put the pressure on but, at times, were guilty of being a bit too elaborate. The last quarter of the match saw the Binos make changes with Taggart replacing Wilson, followed by Bingham coming on for Tomana. And it was Bingham who almost set Snodgrass up for a third goal but, perhaps wary of his first half effoirt when in a similar position, this time Snoddy decided to have a first time effort but his shot was well wide.

Forfar’s only meaningful effort of the half was a long range effort by Moon but his shot was comfortably held by Hogarth. Unfortunately, my wish for a 4-0 victory didn’t come true and the match finished with a 2-0 vixtory for the Binos. This result, along with Raith only drawing with Stranraer, ensures that the Binos can’t finish worse than second, a remarkable achievement considering the club was considered as one of the candidates for relegation before the season started.
However, winning the league is still a possibility which makes a win against Cowdenbeath in Tuesday’s match a must to keep up the pressure on Morton.