Stirling Albion 2005s arrived at the Indodrill Stadium in their change kit of blue and black stripes to face Alloa in the heavy Sunday rain. Fresh from a confidence boosting 2-2 midweek draw with a well-organised Milton 2004s, the Binos came into this game with four players out due to injury and illness.
The early exchanges were even in terms of possession but it was the home side who showed the most threat in front of goal. Jude Marshall pulled off a great one-on-one save to keep the scoreline even but a mix-up in communication a short while later allowed the Alloa forward in again and this time he finished with aplomb to give the home side the lead. Alloa showed more hunger and went on to dominate the first half and their efforts were rewarded with a second just before the break from the penalty spot.
Coaches Jamie Baxter and Marc Pincombe made three changes at the break and got the response they were looking for, with the visitors starting the second half much better. Ryan Gibb came close with a header at the back post while Joe McKay also threatened. McKay was eventually rewarded for his work when Callum Leadbeatter sent him through for a one-on-one which, despite the Alloa defenders looking for an offside which really should have come, McKay went on to finish well.
Having got themselves back into the game the Binos disappointingly allowed a cheap response when a slack pass out from the backline was pounced on by an Alloa forward who rocketed his shot into the top corner to restore the home-side’s two-goal advantage.
Stirling continued to press until the end but despite McKay adding his, and Stirling’s, second it was not enough and the Wasps got the 3-2 win.
Final score: Alloa 2005s 3-2 Stirling Albion 2005s
The rain had long cleared by the time the U18s kicked-off at 3.30pm in their more traditional all red kit. Alloa grabbed an early lead after only four minutes and despite Will Thomson coming close with a free-kick shortly after it was Alloa who had more chances throughout the opening half hour.
Towards the break, Stirling finally began to put some pressure on the home goalkeeper and were rewarded when James Petrie’s long-range effort squeezed under the goalkeeper to even up the scoreline. The teams came in all square at half-time but the scoreline seemed unfair on the hosts who had dominated the opening period.
Stirling made their half-time changes and came out all guns blazing and within a couple of minutes came close through Ahmed Fathy. He did find the net with a great finish but only after Alloa had retaken the lead.
The remainder of the second half was mainly dominated by Stirling with both teams playing at a high tempo. Evan Rennie and Kyle Johnstone both had efforts from the edge of the box before a winner was finally found in the 85th minute. Jordan Wyles’ low shot from 20 yards was parried to the feet of striker Matthew Meechan who blasted home the winner.
Final score: Alloa U18s 2-3 Stirling Albion U18s
