Stirling Albion maintained their 100% record with a 2-0 victory over local rivals Alloa Athletic. The hard fought victory came courtesy of goals by the dynamic duo of Scott McLean and Martin Glancy. Whilst the victory was deserved, the course of the match changed with the sending off of Paul Mortimer just before half time as Alloa, up to that point, had put the Binos’ defence under a considerable amount of pressure.

In front of a healthy crowd, the Wasps exerted early pressure. However, despite perseverance by McLean, he was unable to get in a shot. At the other end, a corner from Alloa full back, Hill, caused problems in the Stirling defence but the ball was scrambled clear.

A poor clearance by McGlynn almost gifted the Binos the opener but Glancy was unable to take advantage pulling his shot wide. At this point Alloa seemed the more determined team and some of the Binos’ players seemed to lack conviction. Another cross from Hill fell to the big striker Brown but he was unable to keep his shot down.

Nugent did well to reach a long crossfield pass from McNally and his cross was met by Glancy who brought out a spectacular save by McGlynn. Then an O’Brien cross was too close to the keeper with Ferguson waiting.

Then came the turning point of the match. A through ball was controlled by Glancy but he was pulled down by Mortimer. The former Bino was a bit unfortunate but the referee had no option but to send him off as he was the last man and Glancy would have had a clear goal scoring opportunity. The resultant free kick from McLean went harmlessly over the bar.

The Binos piled on the pressure, as half time approached, and a Glancy cross to McLean finished with Trigger being penalised for a foul. Glancy then played O’Brien through and the winger outpaced the defender. Just as Obrie got into the box, the defender put in a tackle which prevented a shot.

Half time came with the score level at 0-0.

The second half started with the Binos determined to make full use of their one man advantage as they pounded the Alloa defence. However, all too often, the final pass seemed to go astray. However, it was not all Binos and Alloa were a bit unfortunate not to take the lead when Hamilton rattled the crossbar from a Walker cross.

The Binos made the first substitution of the match with Hutchison replacing Nugent. McLean beat Townsley but he was unable to get in a shot. Alloa then took off McLaughlin, who had slotted into defence following the dismissal of Mortimer, and brought on McDermott. This change left Brown as the lone Alloa striker as they played a 4-4-1 formation.

Hay played a pass to McLean and, just when everybody thought that Trigger would have a go himself, he played a return pass to Hay but the danger was cleared. McLean did well to get to the byeline and his cross was met by O’Brien whose header was cleared off the line.McDonald, who was having a poor game and appeared to be totally “lost”, let loose a shot from 25 yards which went a couple of feet past.

In the 72nd minute, the Binos got the breakthrough. O’Brien collected a pass from Ferguson and strode into the penalty box. Just as he got into the box, he was pulled down by Walker and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Walker was also booked for his troubles. McLean stepped up to send McGlynn in the wrong direction to put the Binos ahead 1-0. Hamilton, of Alloa, was booked

Six minutes later, the Binos sealed victory when an overhead kick by Hutchison fell into the path of the unmarked Glancy and the Binos’ striker had no hesitation in slotting the ball home to make it 2-0. Bolochoweckyj was booked for his protest as the Alloa players seemed to think that Glancy may have been offside. However, the assistant referee was in a good position and he kept his flag down.

Alloa replaced Nicholas with Nicolson and the Alloa substitute soon brought out a fine finger tip save from Hogarth. The Binos then replaced the hard working duo of McLean and Glancy with Gethins and Cummings.

As the Binos played out the clock the Alloa keeper was involved in an unsavoury incident when he collected a ball under pressure from Hutchison. There was a slight clash but, as the players went head to head, McGlynn collapsed in a heap as if shot by a gun. Surprisingly, the referee failed to take any action and the Alloa keeper was booed by the Binos’ fans each time he touched the ball after that.

The match finished with the Binos retaining their position proudly at the top of Division Two and looking forward to a CIS cup tie against Livingston on Wednesday night. However, todays match served as a warning that there will be no easy matches this season and every player must show a determination to compete. The main plus point is the striking partnership of McLean and Glancy which should cause problems to any defence in the league.