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

Morton:- McGurn, Weatherson, McGregor, Harding, Greacen, McLaughlin, Millar, Stevenson, Finlayson, McGowan and McAllister.
Subs:- Lilley for Finlayson, Templeman for McGowan and Russell for Harding.
Walker and Gonet (both unused)

Stirling Albion moved to within 3 points of Morton when they defeated the league leaders in a thrilling encounter at Forthbank Stadium. The match was billed as Match of the Day in the Second Division and the match itself lived up to this billing in front of a crowd of over 2000, the biggest of the season so far at Forthbank, which resulted in the kick off being delayed for a few minutes.
The Binos line up, unsurprisingly, was unchanged from the team which demolished Alloa, whilst Morton, following their late come back against Peterhead, showed one change with Finlayson coming in for Lilley as Jim McInally opted to go for pace up front.
The early pressure came from Morton but the only real effort they had to show for it was a Greacen header. There was almost a repeat of the Binos’ early goal against Alloa when Cramb latched on to a through ball and, after missing his first attempt, his second effort seemed to come off a defender’s hand but the referee didn’t award a penalty.
Bell then had an effort which went inches over following some good work by Tomana. At the other end, Roycroft brought Finlayson down just outside the 18 yard box on the left hand side, but Hogarth managed to beat away Stevenson’s cross cum shot.
Just after the half hour mark, McGurn gathered a Shields’ shot at the second attempt. Weatherson then had a 25 yard free kick which went about a foot over the bar. As half time approached, Shields was booked for a clash with Greacen though it did look to be accidental. This resulted in 2 minutes of time being added on but neither team managed to find the back of the net and they went into the break level at 0-0.
Neither team made any changes during the interval but the Binos didn’t take long before making the break through when Shields was quickest to react, when his first effort from a free kick on the left was blocked by McGurn, to knock the ball into the net. 1-0 to the Binos.
The Binos doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Cramb slipped the ball to Taggart who poked it past McGurn for his second senior goal. However, mindful that Morton had scored 2 goals in the last 2 minutes the week before, the home players knew that they couldn’t afford to sit back on their lead.
Stevenson then had the miss of the match when he put the ball over the bar from less than 6 yards after both Forsyth and Hay had failed to clear properly.
With 8 minutes left, Morton pulled a goal back when Millar was on hand to score from close range following a free kick. This led to a nervy last few minutes for the home fans which was made even worse when Shields was sent off in the 90th minute for a second yellow card for a foul on Stevenson. It also transpires that he was given a 2nd red card for foul and abusive language as he left the field though I didn’t see the referee show a card.

The Binos managed to hold out for the 4 minutes of time added on by the referee to record a well deserved victory and the delight on the manager’s face was clear to everyone as the players left the field.
This result makes the position at the top of the league very interesting, especially as 3rd placed Ayr were beaten. Unfortunately, the league now takes a break as next week sees the 1st round of the Scottish Cup and a trip to Falkirk to take on 3rd Division East Stirling. After that, the Binos have 2 away matches, at Forfar and Peterhead, when they will, presumably, be without the services of Shields. This will be a blow but there are enough good players in the squad to overcome this handicap.
As well as Shields’ dismissal, Bell was booked for dissent whilst Tomana was booked for bringing down Stevenson in full flight which resulted in Morton’s goal. For the visitors, Weatherson was booked for a late tackle on Taggart and McLaughlin was booked for a foul on Tomana.
One of the most pleasing aspects of today was the size of the home crowd. Over 1000 Albion fans turned out and I am sure that those who have not seen the team for some time would have been pleasantly surprised by the entertaining way the team played. Let’s hope that they turn up for the next home match which, unfortunately, is 5 weks away. Hopefully, everyone will have finished their Christmas shopping by then.
Today’s result calls for a small celebration and I think I will do this with a bottle of McGuigan Shiraz. My excuse for buying this is that McGuigan is my wife’s maiden name. Unfortunately, there is no family connection with the winery