A derby day is always exciting but what a day the Binos had on Saturday with a tremendous win taking them top of the league, level on points with Dumbarton.
With only 3 minutes on the board, a delightful pass from Robert Thomson led to the Binos’ first goal, beautifully put away by Dale Carrick as he jinked past a defender and slotted into the bottom left-hand corner. A tremendous start to the game. Thomson and Carrick work really well together but it was Carrick’s determination for that goal, only a few days after signing a new contract, that was particularly pleasing. What a way to celebrate!
Frustration began to show with the Stenhousemuir squad and fingers pointed towards the referee. Duncan Williams reached for his first yellow card of the afternoon, for Nicky Jamieson of Stenny after a kick out at Kai Fotheringham.
From here onwards in the first half, some would say the early lead got to Stirling’s heads with many chances coming for Stenhousemuir. However this is where Blair Currie showed his class. His skill and technical ability allowed him to pull off some fantastic saves, including a well saved free kick from Stenny in the 25th minute and a rather incredible save ten minutes later from Matty Yates.
Unfortunately for the Binos, all that hard work came to nothing as Stenny found a deserved equaliser in the 39th minute, Nat Wedderburn slotting in at the front post from a low corner.
Half Time – Stenhousemuir 1 Stirling Albion 1
From the moment the whistle blew to commence the second half, the Binos came out fighting, with a slew of chances straight from the get-go. Stirling began to hassle and create issues for the Stenny defence but were unable to add that finishing touch.
49’ – Stirling Albion’s first change of the game- OFF Kieran Moore, ON – Aaron Dunsmore.
With the pressure being put on Stenhousemuir, the referee was met with a disagreement on the pitch leading to a double booking for Stirling’s Dunsmore and Stenhousemuir’s Euan O’Reilly.
66’ Albion’s second change – OFF Harrison Clark, ON Ross Davidson.
Stirling continued to push forward but Stenny were not out of this game yet. It looked like there were goals still to come but whether it would be for the hosts or the visitors we would soon find out.
75’ The Binos make their final change – OFF Dale Carrick, ON Danny Denholm. Carrick was phenomenal from the outset but looked to have picked up a knock so it was time for Danny Denholm to enter the fray.
The last 10 minutes were a blur of sheer beauty and excitement. With Kai Fotheringham moving inside, Stirling were now looking like the side most likely to go on and win the game.
And in the 84th minute, a corner was beautifully taken by Kai Fotheringham allowing Paul McLean to get his head on the ball scoring a goal that seemed both unstoppable and undetectable by the Stenny defence, straight into the bottom right corner. The curve on the ball from the corner was eye-wateringly good.
From here Stenhousemuir’s coherence as a team began to shatter and a mere 3 minutes after McLean’s goal, Stenny met with the wrath of wee Aaron Dunsmore…
Another incredible ball from Fotheringham put Dunsmore in a perfect vantage position to score a peach of a goal straight past the keepers right hand side.
That goal knocked the stuffing out of Stenny and a few minutes later the full time whistle blew.
Overall, a tremendous game of football for Stirling proving their deadliness in front of goal and continuing their unbeaten streak with 5 wins from 5 in cinch League 2.
Once again, thank you to all the traveling Bino fans. Without your singing and cheers the games wouldn’t be the same.
Footage from the Stenhousemuir vs Stirling Albion game on SATV HD
THE GOALS – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxANrcjH0NE&t=45s
Darren Young post match interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgEh_Iw7q9s&t=58s
Dale Carrick post match interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOMjKnwl5YQ
Aaron Dunsmore post match interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZLggrVj8qg
NEXT GAME – Brechin vs Stirling Albion – 22/10/22 @ 2pm – Scottish Cup.
We’ll see you there!
