Stirling Albion got back on winning ways with a narrow 1-0 victory over a physical Berwick Rangers side. The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot after the Binos had been awarded what was, in the opinion of the Berwick fans, a very soft award. However, considering that referee Winter had denied the Albion an earlier “stonewaller” when O’Brien was brought down in the act of shooting, they can’t really complain.

Allan Moore made several changes from the team which lost to Arbroath with Rowe replacing the suspended McNally, Nugent moving to the centre of defence in place of Scotland allowing Neville to come in at right back, Hay and McDonald coming into midfield with Ferguson and Gethins being relegated to the bench.

The Albion fans who made the long journey down the A1 witnessed the worst 45 minutes of football I have had the misfortune to watch for many years. The only major incident worth reporting in the first half was the opportunity scorned by new signing Clark to put Berwick ahead after 17 minutes. Fortunately, for the Albion, he pulled his right foot shot wide of the post. A few minutes later, a mistake by George Rowe, who had recovered from his injury to take his customary place in the centre of the defence, allowed Forrest the opportunity to shoot but his effort was saved by Hogarth.

The only meaningful attempt by the Binos was a Paul Hay shot from a clearance following a corner kick. Unfortunately, Paul met the ball slightly on the rise and his shot went over the bar. In another attack, Galloway played an expertly weighted ball to McLean but “Trigger” was closed down before he could get his shot away.

Three players were booked in the first half. Nugent for bringing down Smith then Smith, himself, was booked for a foul on Glancy. Murie was also booked for pulling back Glancy. Considering the physical way Berwick went about this match, it was surprising that there were no more bookings as half time came with the scoreline blank.

The Albion had the advantage of kicking down the Shielfield slope but it was Berwick who managed to get the ball in the back of the net. However, Clark was deemed to be in an offside position after he pounced on a rebound from a wonderful Hogarth save.

This seemed to spur the Albion and they produced wave after wave of attack but to no avail. Hay had a 25 yard shot which went wide. Then a Devine right foot shot also went wide. After 2 corners in succession, McDonald shot just over the bar.

In 62 minutes, the Albion were denied a penalty when O’Brien was brought down just as he was about to shoot. To the surprise of the travelling fans, referee Winter waved away all appeals.

Hay then scorned a good chance when he collected a pass from McLean who had beaten Connell to a long clearance. Unfortunately, Paul elected to shoot when the better option may have been to have played the ball inside where 2 Albion players were waiting.

The Albion made their first change with Gethins replacing Glancy in a straight swap. Berwick’s Smith cut in from the left but sent his right foot shot a few feet past. Then the Albion were awarded a penalty when Galloway went down in the box as a Devine corner came into the box. The Berwick players protested but the decision stood. McLean stepped up to send the ball past O’Connor.

A spate of bookings followed with McDonald being booked for a foul, Connolly for a foul on McDonald and Galloway for a foul. The latter’s booking came just as David Ogilvie, reporting for the Stirling Observer, passed a comment that he thought Galloway was a harder player than he had been displaying this afternoon. From the free kick following Galloway’s offence, Hogarth managed to scramble the shot away for a corner.

With 2 minutes to go, O’Brien passed up a glorious chance to put the match beyond doubt when Gethins collected a long ball and played the ball across goals. O’Brien hesitated long enough to allow the defence to clear the danger. McLean then nhad 2 efforts blocked as the Albion went all out to finish the match.

There were no further incidents and the referee blew his whistle to signal great relief among the Albion fans.

The game was by no means a classic but a victory is welcome following 6 matches without a win. Let’s hope, this is the start of the Albion revival as it puts the club in 3rd position outright. Moore showed that he was not afraid to make changes, despite having a small squad, and Nugent didn’t do much wrong in the centre of defence.

One final note, how can Berwick justify charging £10 to stand when other 2nd Division clubs charge £9 for seating? The refreshments were also overpriced. On the plus side, the A1 is a vastly improved road and the journey is not as bad as it used to be.

Next week the Albion entertain Forfar and this means a return to Forthbank for Ray Stewart. Forfar will not be an easy team to beat but it is surely only a matter of time before the club recaptures it’s early season form. We can only hope that it will be next week and Ray leaves Forthbank empty handed.