A warm welcome to the Directors, Management and players representing Kelty Hearts and a repeat of the apology already issued to their supporters who are unable to attend due to the Scottish Government’s current restriction limiting attendance to a maximum of 500.
I suspect I am far from being alone amongst the Stirling Albion support in feeling a mix of delight and relief when the full-time whistle blew last Sunday at Ochilview. Delight at the win and the second half performance and huge relief that our disastrous run of league defeats had been ended.
The same delight and no doubt relief was shared by Darren, his backroom staff, and every player; the highlights and photographs that have been posted lay testimony to that and it was great to see the togetherness between them and the fans post-match.
One disappointing note was the mini “pitch invasion” that followed our equaliser, predominately by members of the 1945 Crew. Your presence and the atmosphere you create is fantastic and most welcome but there’s a line that cannot be crossed and will not be tolerated if it is. This includes the use of any sort of pyrotechnics and indeed any form of behaviour that brings you and thereby the Club into disrepute and the potential for formal sanction.
The message is simple… The Club welcomes you, indeed embraces you, if you stay on the right side of the line. If you don’t, action will be taken and those responsible will be banned from attending Forthbank.
Turning to footballing matters, the Club Board made Darren Young aware, at the time of his appointment, that we would do everything possible to support “player activity” during the January transfer window. Of the current squad, only Danny Scally’s contract is due to expire and Leo Watson’s loan deal from Hearts ends mid-January. As intimated earlier in the week Rabin Omar has left the Club by mutual consent and I wish him all the best for the future. Watch out for more news as the month progresses.
Looking ahead to our Scottish Cup match in a couple of weeks’ time, clearly an extension to the current limitation in numbers allowed to attend would be a major blow financially but also given the likelihood that our supporters would be denied the opportunity of a trip to Ibrox. Whilst everyone will have their fingers crossed for a positive update from the First Minister, equally I understand the need to put public health and well-being ahead of a game of football.
We are holding fire on selling our ticket allocation for the match until we have an update on the restrictions and I would ask for your understanding and cooperation for what will undoubtedly be a hectic period should the green light be given.
I close with extending the traditional best wishes to everyone associated with Stirling Albion for 2022 on behalf of myself and my colleagues on the Club Board. Here’s hoping for an improvement on 2021, on all fronts!
C’mon The Binos
Stuart
