Stirling earned an impressive victory on a grey afternoon at Balmoor to get their first points on the board in Betfred Cup Group D.
It was our first win since we beat Elgin City 2-0 at Borough Briggs back on March 20 and ended an 11-match barren run.
Peter MacDonald and Mark Stewart got the goals but this was a strong all-round performance from Dave Mackay’s men, particularly as we were without Darren Barr, Lee Hamilton, Kevin Moon and Darren Smith through injury.
The Blue Toon included Ross Kavanagh and the former Bino almost scored inside 60 seconds when he seized on a defensive error but his shot hit the outside of the post.
In a frantic opening to the game we took the lead in nine minutes when Stewart picked out MacDonald and the experienced frontman steered a cool finish into the bottom corner.
Rory McAllister then missed two good chances to equalise for Jim McInally’s side and he wasted another opportunity as half-time approached.
Binnie tipped a Kavanagh header over the bar early in the second half but we nearly doubled our lead when Neil McLaughlin played in Stewart and the striker’s shot was blocked by Greg Fleming.
We did make it 2-0 with 19 minutes left – Jordan Allan’s corner from the right was cleverly dummied by MacDonald at the near post and Stewart swept the ball into the net from close range.
Fleming somehow denied defender Kyle Banner from close range while sub Derek Lyle should have done better at the other end as Peterhead failed to score for the third game in a row.
We sit out Betfred Cup matchday four on Tuesday and complete our Group D fixtures against Dunfermline at East End Park next Saturday.
Peterhead: Fleming, Brown, Home, Eadie, Kavanagh, Ferry, Stevenson (Lyle 59) Brown (Norris 38), McAllister (McLean 59), Leitch, Gibson. Subs (not used): McDonald, Buxton.
Stirling Albion: Binnie, McGeachie, Allan, Marr, Banner, Docherty, Stewart, Jardine, P MacDonald (McLaren 88), Fell (Watson 79), McLaughlin. Subs (not used): Law, Young, Thomson, M MacDonald, C MacDonald
Goals: MacDonald 9, Stewart 71
Referee: Peter Stuart
Crowd: 473
