A shocking display by Stirling Albion saw them suffer an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to local rivals Alloa Athletic. A defeat of this magnitude can be hard to take at the best of times but, when it comes along at the hands of the team regarded by many as our biggest rivals, it is doubly hard to take. No doubt the taunts by Alloa supporters to make it 7 proved too much for some of the local support as many left long before the end. To compound matters, Stewart Devine was sent off late in the match, to ensure that changes will be made for next week’s visit to Brechin.

The one plus to come from today’s fixtures was that all top four teams lost which means that Binos remain in 3rd position, 9 points behind second and 11 points behind the leaders.

In front of a bigger than average crowd, boosted by 42 children from the Young Wasps Junior Supporters Club, the Binos kicked off in wintry sunshine with the backing of a stiffish breeze. Wilson showed early promise as he rounded Ovenstone but his cross was headed clear. The winger then had a left foot shot which rattled the junction of post and crossbar. Dunn, who had scored last week in a similar position, was unable to get his header on target.

Alloa’s Stevenson then had a right foot shot comfortably held by Hogarth. Alloa won a free kick just inside the Stirling half and Stevenson spotted Hogarth some way off his line. However, the winger’s quickly taken free kick didn’t trouble Hogarth as the keeper got back in time to hold it comfortably. At this stage Alloa were having the better of the match as the Binos’ players seemed strangely out of sorts.

A corner from the Alloa left sneaked past the defenders but Ovenstone could only head the ball over the bar. Then a Stirling corner from Wilson, assisted by the wind, had Evans in the Alloa goal under a bit of trouble under the crossbar. Canning then sent Wilson through but Jinky’s lob went over both keeper and cross bar. Perhaps a pass inside to Di Giacomo might have been the better option but you can’t fault forwards to having a shot at goal.

On the half hour mark Alloa should have taken the lead. A deep free kick from the right saw Nicolson turn the ball back across goal. However, the ball seemed to be cleared by Alloa’s Hamilton when it appeared that a goal was a certainty. However, Alloa did take the lead on the 36th minute. Brown did well on the right touchline to play the ball into Quitongo. He, in turn, played the ball across the face of the goals leaving Nicolson with an easy tap in to make it 1-0 to Alloa.

The Binos responded and Di Giacomo tried a scissor kick from a Dunn free kick. Wilson then became the first player to be booked when he ran into Ovenstone. The challenge seemed innocuous but referee Toner produced the yellow card. There was no further action and the teams went into the half time break with the visitors leading 1-0.

The Binos were first to show in the second half and MacDonald got himself into a promising position after a surging run into the penalty box. Unfortunately, his shot was easily saved by Evans. A mistake by Canning gave possession to Quitongo but Nugent had spotted the danger and was on hand to clear the danger. Hay was then booked for a foul on Stevenson.

The Binos main threat was coming from Di Giacomo and he collected a pass from MacDonald. However, as he attempted to turn inside, he was dispossessed by Townsley. Then another defensive mistake allowed Alloa to double their lead. Poor marking by Devine left Quitongo in the clear and, from a very acute angle, somehow the ball managed to evade Hogarth and end up in the back of the net. 2-0 to Alloa.

The Binos made a double substitution as they tried to pull something back and Scotland and Wilson made way for Glancy and Aitken. Alloa responded by bringing on Hill for Nicolson. In 74 minutes, Stevenson played the ball to the unmarked Quitongo but Hogarth pounced on the shot. A minute later, the result was put beyond doubt when a cross from the left found seemed to come off Nugent to the unmarked Quitongo. Hogarth made a valiant effort to get to the ball but was unable to prevent Alloa taking a 3-0 lead. In the after goal celebrations, Alloa’s Townsley found his name going into the referee’s book. Considering the number of fouls he had committed during the match, it was the least he deserved.

With just under 10 minutes left Stirling were reduced to 10 men as Devine was sent off for bringing down Hamilton after the Alloa player had collected a flick from Brown. As Devine was the last defender, he could have no argument, and his dismissal means a change in next week’s starting line up is guaranteed.

From the resultant free kick, Ovenstone’s shot was deflected past Hogarth to make it 4-0 to Alloa. As time ran out, Daly came on for Stevenson whilst a shot cum cross from Di Giacomo was touched over the bar as the Binos strived to get at least a consolation goal. However, their efforts, not surprisingly, were unsuccessful, and the referee brought proceedings to a close with the final score 4-0 in Alloa’s favour.

The team now to pick themselves up for next week’s visit to leaders Brechin. The most obvious change, but one which will not please a lot of Binos’ fans, will be to recall McNally to central defence with Chris Scotland moving to full back, a position in which he is not comfortable. Another possibility is to play McNally alongside Scotland, with Nugent and Hay filling the full back positions.

Whatever happens, the manager’s options are still limited and it will be basically up to the same set of players to lift themselves next week and, hopefully, produce a repeat of August’s 3-0 victory over the league leaders. See you all at Glebe Park.