After a week of rain that would have befitted Noah’s time it now seems it will take a miracle of biblical proportions for Albion to extract themselves from a desperate looking position at the foot of the First Division having lost two-one in Perth to St Johnstone.

On a pitch that was heavily sanded, yet looked surprisingly playable, the Perth Saints took only five minutes to nose ahead, Andy Jackson firing home impressively. The home side would dominate the first half however Albion started the second period with greater intent and levelled through a fine Aitken drive. As news that both Dundee and Hamilton, St Johnstone’s championship rivals, were dropping points was not so much filtered through as blasted through, the Saints regained the advantage with fifteen minutes remaining, Kevin Moon sending a well placed killer blow into the corner of the net.

Given the alarming capitulation Albion displayed against Livingston last Saturday it was no great surprise to see a number of changes in Allan Moore’s starting eleven. A now familiar 4-4-1-1 formation took to the field however Albion have been unable to find any consistency in their team selection all season and the short trip to Perth would prove no different.

Injury would again deprive the Binos’ boss of Steven Bell, Marek Tomana and Colin Cramb while Jay Rodriguez, Stewart Devine, Scott Christie and Andy Graham were all sidelined too. This meant recalls into the starting eleven for Myles Hogarth, Nathan Taggart and John-Paul McBride, who would act as the foremost midfield player yet managed to make little impression on the game. Nicky Walker played on the right wing but, after an ineffective first half, was hooked in favour of Ross Harris. In defence Brian Allison, a defender in the Laurie Ellis mould signed on a month’s loan from Falkirk, gave a fine account of himself while Graeme Churchill came on late in the game and looked lively. David McKenna was again given the thankless task of playing a lone role in attack, a position to which he is not best suited yet he cannot be faulted for his phenomenal work-rate.

Indeed it was the former St Mirren striker’s tenacity that would help earn Albion their way back into the match, pressing Greg Cameron into an error on the bye-line, forcing the defender to concede a foul. As a scrum of bodies ran towards the near post as McBride lined up the free-kick, Aitken pulled away to the edge of the box and sent a low drive through a ruck of players and beneath Alan Main.

Aitken’s strike merely cancelled out a first period that will linger little in the memory of either set of fans. It could even be argued that the midfield had simply managed to even the score after his own hesitancy to challenge for a loose ball in midfield allowed Liam Craig to break forward and slide a pass to Jackson after just five minutes. Saints’ top scorer finished with the confidence of a veteran to deal Stirling a blow they would not recover from in the first half.

Craig was a particularly impressive presence at the heart of the midfield, setting up a number of St Johnstone’s best moves with typically powerful running from the heart of the pitch: neither Aitken nor Paartalu, Albion’s holding players, could match him. Twice Craig looked to test Myles Hogarth from distance but his first, powerful effort, flew straight towards the visiting custodian while the second drifted narrowly off-target.

Hogarth would the gratefully clutch a Jackson shot at his near post before half-time after Stanic had made good progress down the left; had the young striker shot anywhere else on target then he would surely have been celebrating his second goal of the afternoon.

These were really the only noteworthy efforts that the home side could muster on goal as Albion’s organised looking defence refused to bow under the pressure. At the opposite end of the field the men in red were struggling to give much account of their presence aside from Nathan Taggart. The diminutive left-winger made several piercing runs down the left hand side of the field in a first half in which he tormented Gary Irvine. With only one player to aim for in the centre there was never much likelihood Taggart’s forays would end in a goal, although they at least provided some excitement and expectation.

Aitken’s strike early in the second half animated the team, the management and the fans, who now sensed the possibility of an upset. For another quarter of an hour Stirling would look vibrant, although a lack of punch in attack would prove costly. McBride sent a shot high into the empty stand behind Alan Main’s goal while Taggart would tug a half-chance wide from the edge of the area, the best that the visitors could muster in their best spell of the match.

Predictably St Johnstone, buoyed by events elsewhere, began to steam forward again. Stirling continued to repel them until a combination of bad luck, good forward play and a little poor defending would prove to be the Binos’ undoing again. Ross Forsyth seemed to be caught under an innocuous punt up the field however as Sheerin failed to control the ball it bounced straight to Moon, deceiving Laurie Ellis. With all his momentum being carried forward Moon drove towards goal, feigning a strike that forced Allison to dive in. With options to his left the midfield player sent a powerful low shot into the bottom left hand corner of Hogarth’s net. The Albion goalkeeper seemed to get a touch on the ball but could not prevent it from slipping behind him. The season in microcosm?... it feels that way.

Moore threw on Graeme Churchill and Derek Lilley in an effort to save the game but ultimately the move to go three up-front proved too late, leaving the Albion boss potentially ruing the fact he did not make the change five minute earlier. Certainly the additional forwards caused the St Johnstone defence problems, Churchill in particular looking dangerous as he cut in from the left and sent a low shot goalward that Main did well to push away.

Given their dominance of possession it would be churlish to deny that St Johnstone deserved maximum points for their efforts however it remains a constant source of frustration that once again an unfortunate break was Stirling’s undoing. There certainly seems little scope for optimism now regarding Albion’s First Division future; next week at Broadwood truly is sink or swim.