Stirling Albion faced a 1-0 defeat to Kelty Hearts at New Central Park. Despite having the majority of the ball for the match, the Binos were left to rue missed chances, as Stirling drop down into 9th position.
The deciding goal for the hosts would come in the 33rd minute from Stefan McCluskey, as a high ball found him free out on the right flank, as he drifted inside and scored. The best chance for the Binos came in the 44th from a cracking volley from Adam Cummins.
The second half was largely uneventful, as both teams remained contested in a midfield battle for the majority of the last 45 minutes.
Darren Young made five changes to the team from last weeks loss against Alloa, with Mark Weir, Adam Cummins, Kyle Banner and Greig Spence coming into the team, with Rudi Molotnikov making his first start for the club.
After a relatively quiet start to the game, the first opportunity to take the lead came just before the 10th minute as Josh McPake swung a great ball inside the Kelty area which nearly found Greig Spence, but it would end up just beyond him.
4 minutes later, another chance would arise for Stirling as Adam Cummins crossed into the box from the right flank and looked to connect with the Binos attackers inside the box, but Kyle Gourlay collected the ball well.
Shortly after this, Calum Crane received the ball well just outside the Kelty box after a clever cutback from Josh McPake out left, his attempt on goal was deflected off a Kelty defender and went wide of the net.
The game slowed down again after these frantic set of chances for the Binos. But Stirling looked the better team, seeing the majority of the ball, despite the wind battering New Central Park.
The earlier missed chances for Albion would come back to haunt them, as Kelty scored their first real chance of the game in the 33rd minute. McCluskey was found out right and managed to run inside, weaving past the Binos defence and slotting past Mark Weir.
Albion’s best chance of the half came in the 43rd minute as Kyle Banner done well to control a high ball, taking It down and then sending the ball back into the air once again to find Adam Cummins, Cummins then hit the ball perfectly on the volley, and it looked to be curving into the left side of the Kelty net, with Kyle Gourlay pulling off a magnificent athletic save to prevent the equaliser.
Kelty counter-attacked immediately, and the ball rapidly made its way into the Albion half, allowing Lewis Moore to take a powerful attempt at goal. Jordan McGregor done extremely well to block the shot, keeping Stirling in the game.
Half-Time: 1-0
Four minutes into the second half, Calum Crane mirrored his chance in the first half, collecting the ball on the edge of the box and having a crack at goal, however, this time, it would go over the bar.
An in swinging free kick from Cameron Clark was so close to finding Paul McLean inside the box on the 58th minute for a Binos equaliser but it was narrowly missed just inches from the goal line.
The introduction of Dale Hilson and Dale Carrick in the 64th minute seemed to spark life in what was turning out to be an otherwise uneventful half, as they probed the Kelty defence, trying to find a breakthrough.
With Stirling beginning to move higher up the pitch in search of an equaliser, Lewis Moore looked to put Kelty two goals ahead as he slipped past the Stirling defence’s high-line, and went one-on-one with Mark Weir, but his resulting shot went well over the bar.
Dale Hilson made a great run and found Dale Carrick on the edge of the box, despite his initial poor first touch, he recovered well and managed to get a shot on target, forcing Kyle Gourlay into a save.
Kieran Offord managed to get the ball into the Kelty box, beating Stefan McCluskey with some nice footwork and finding Paul McLean inside the box. However, the cross was just too powerful for McLean to control.
Despite Stirling throwing everything at the game, and again, having the majority of the ball in the second half, they unfortunately could not convert any chances as the game ended 1-0 to Kelty and meant that Binos now drop into the relegation play-off position.
Kelty Hearts: Gourlay, Paterson, O’Ware, McKay (Thomson 78’), Lyon (Cunningham 56’), Johnston, McCluskey, Tidser, O’Donnell, Bavidge, Moore
Unused Subs: Biabi, L. Owens, B. Owens, McAllister, Campbell, Garvie, McGiffin
Stirling Albion: M. Weir. Clark, McLean, McGregor, Cummins, Molotnikov (Hilson 64’), Banner, McPake, Offord, Spence (Carrick 64’), Crane
Unused Subs: Currie, McGeachie, Cooper, A. Weir, Harrower
