SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 11/4/26.

We knew a win would keep us safe in the division for next year. So job done. Well done, lads.

Not that it mattered as Edinburgh City lost again which would also have confirmed us as safe.

We weren’t at all convincing defensively though. Depite us having most possession they had two great opportunities to score early on, both from Josh Todd losing the ball in midfield. He’s been good since he rejoined us but was off the boil today. One of those required a very good save from Aidan Rice to keep us level at 0-0. Mark Durnan was also prone to mistakes today and was let off by wayward shooting from Stirling.

We began pressing well later in the first half and had a load of corners which we didn’t make the most of, one led to a stramash similar to that after Stirling’s first corner but neither resulted in goals.

A great Leighton McIntosh pass led to Scott Tomlinson (who had been tearing them apart down the right flank) beating his man, this time on the left wing, cutting in and getting his shot past the keeper from an acute angle.

It was strange, then, that Tommo was substituted at half time with Jack Duncan coming on.

The referee by the way was woeful. Stirling centre forward Russell McLean spent most of the game diving and complaining about non-existent fouls which were nevertheless given.

They equalised on 54 minutes when we appeared to stop defending. They more or less walked through our right hand side. I was never confident in our defending all game to be fair.

Smudger (Alexander Smith) had another great game. His ball control and work rate are phenomenal. When we finally got a free kick of our own – mysteriously given as indirect when their player had just about halved Kristian Webster – Smudger’s shot from the ball tapped to him was spiled by the keeper and Scott Honeyman got to the rebound first to dispatch it.

A slightly nervy ten or so minutes plus added time followed, punctuated by late sub Kai Kirkpatrick being sent off near the end. I didn’t see what happened but it seems he landed a punch on Russell McLean.

Still three games to go but we can now look forward to next season.

SPFL Tier 4, Forthbank Stadium, 28/2/26.

Given recent results – we haven’t won this year – I was in two minds about going to this. But Forthbank is about the nearest ground in the Division to my home so if I wasn’t going to this where would I go?

Another baffling selection choice from manager Frank McKeown. No width picked at all. It looked as if he’d sent the team out to play for a draw; an utterly daft exercise as it’s wins we need and we’ve only now got ten games left to secure any.

Still, we had more of the possession first half but lacked confidence in shooting. Leighton McIntosh came on to a good cut back from Scott Honeyman but miscontrolled the ball into the air which gave the keeper time to narrow the angle for his subsequent volley. All the other cutbacks went to a defender’s foot.

We were ragged in the middle of the park and let their players advance considerably before making any sort of challenge.

Then Stirling got a mysterious penalty, Brett Long penalised for a challenge which appeared relatively inoccuous, with Brett, Mark Durnan and the attacker getting there at the same time. Long was booked though and despite taking an age to get back into his goal was easily sent the wrong way from the spot. It was about the only shot he had to face all day apart from a longish range effort in the second half. Stirling were poor which makes our approach all the more frustrating.

We came out more strongly in the second half and made their keeper make a few saves from long range but Stirling didn’t appear to be bothered about trying to score a second.

Triple substitution time came a bit earlier than usual, the ineffectual Ryan Blair and Jack Duncan being replaced by new loanee signing (and diminutive) Alexander Smith and Scott Tomlinson respectively _ potential width at last – and, more surprisingly, Adam Livingstone off for Ally Roy.

Scott Honeyman seemed to have been fouled in the box but was booked for diving – it certainly hadn’t looked like a dive.

Smith began to grow into the game and had a great low cross begging to be buried but Gordon Walker blasted the ball wide when it looked easier to score. (Walker’s crossing was poor all game, rarely getting past the first man.)

In the end we got a deserved equaliser when Smith popped up on the right, came back on his left foot and delivered a beautiful cross for Mark Durnan to head home. Cue delight on the pitch and the away stand. It was noticeable that Durnan immediately ran towards the fans to celebrate.

Stirling woke up for a bit, then, but their efforts came to nothing.

This was a game where we needed three points and they were there for the taking. The players are, I’m sure, up for it. The manager seems to have other ideas.

Sons’ games in the League Cup (Premier Sports Cup) have been scheduled for:-

Tuesday July 15 – Stirling Albion (H) 19:45

Saturday 19 July – Dunfermline Athletic (H) 15:00

Wednesday 23 July – Hearts (A) – 19:45

Saturday 26 July – Hamilton (A) – 15:00

According to the club’s website we have been drawn against Hearts, Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton Academical and Stirling Albion in this year’s League Cup (aka the Premier Sports Cup.)

Ties are to be played during July starting on July 12/13^th and finishing on July 26/27^th.

SPFL Tier Three 3 Play-off, Semi-Final, second leg, Forthbank Stadium, 11/5/24.

Like water torture. This was indeed a long 90+ minutes.

Albion looked a side lacking in confidence, not surprising when you slide into a relegation play-off spot.

In the first half they only threatened our goal once, after a bit of ping-pong in the box following a corner. Jay Hogarth saved the first effort but when the rebound was played across goal their attacker air-kicked a sitter.

We ought to have scored when a great move culminated with Div Wilson going for the near post but just shaving it into the side net. (Just for a moment it seemed he had scored.)

In the second half Albion came out to throw everything at it even going to three at the back. As a result our midfield was overrun at times but Jay Hogarth never really had a save to make. One shot did hit the post but that was it.

We had a few counter-attacking forays but tended to overcarry the ball when a pass was on (Kalvin Orsi and Finlay Gray I’m looking at you) or else players strayed offside so we never put the tie to bed. (Curiously, the linesmen flagged at the earliest opportunity, something which is very rare these days.) Michael Ruth was again superb up front but never got the clear chance his hold-up and general play deserved.

The final whistle was more of a relief than anything else even though Stirling never looked like scoring.

So it’s on to the Rock on Tuesday evening for the first leg of the Play-off Final against The Spartans then to Ainslie Park (of ill memory but also great memory) on Friday.

I featured Forthbank Stadium, home of Stirling Albion FC, in 2011.

In March last year I took more pictures of which only the two below are substantially new.

East stand from car park:-

Looking north from east stand:-

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 22/04/23.

A win and another clean sheet – thanks to Brett Long for a penalty save and Martin McNiff for the goal, though Carsy missed a penalty for us. That’s a club record of clean sheets in one season for a single goalkeeper.

Combined with Annan’s defeat to Stirling this result means we will finish second.

Not that that matters much as we will be playing whoever finishes third, which might well be East Fife, or Annan.

The first leg is away on 9 or 10/6/23, with the second leg at home on 13/6/23.

Two games till to go before then though. Let’s hope for no more injuries.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 18/4/23.

Well, I suppose a draw against the league leaders isn’t a bad result.

And it’s another clean sheet.

But this put the final nail in the coffin of us winning said league. Stirling’s much better goal difference means the title is theirs. All we’ve got to look forward to now is the play-offs.

They’ll be a nerve-racking experience.

SPFL Tier 4, New Dundas Park, 15/4/23.

A win?

And a clean sheet?

We’ve not seen either of those for six weeks.

I’m glad we’ve stopped the rot. I was beginning to wonder where a point was going to come from.

And results elsewhere mean we’ve clinched a promotion play-off spot. (I’d have taken that before a ball was kicked but after being top of the pile for so long it’s a touch disappointing we didn’t manage to push that over the line. And the other teams in the play-offs will be in a better psychological place for not having that disappointment.)

We have Declan Byrne and Russell McLean to thank for today’s goals. I must confess that second scorer is a surprise as when I saw him – at East Fife and Stirling – he looked like he couldn’t hit the proverbial barn door. Still, we’ll take small comforts.

Next up is Stirling Albion at home on Tuesday where they’ll be hoping to clinch the league title (that’s if the game goes on; it’s been postponed four times already.) Then it’s East Fife at home on Saturday and they’ll be on a high after putting eight past Stranraer today.

SPFL Tier 4, Galabank, 8/4/23.

As my younger son said to me today the wheels are no longer in the vicinity of the vehicle. They are some way back down the road.

We somehow managed to scrape up five substitutes, one of whom, David Wilson, scored with fifteen minutes left from a free-kick. Far too little, far too late. We were well out of it by then.

It doesn’t augur well for your team when you lose a goal in two minutes and another two well before half-time.

After that I was expecting a rout but it didn’t get that bad. Maybe Annan were saving themselves for their next game.

On to Tuesday night at home to Stirling. If they win they’ll have clinched the title, bar an absurd collapse. A draw – or even a severely unlikely win for us – will delay that outcome.