Stenhousemuir -vs- Stirling Albion

[rhliston]

Well we stopped the rot and finally got a win and most importantly 3 points. Felt first half wasn`t much in it between the teams but Stenny took the one chance they had to make it 1-0 at halftime. 

Second half we came more into the game and got our reward with an equaliser from an op to make it 1-1. We kept battling away and were rewarded by a delightful chip by Flanigan to make it 2-1. Stenny then went down to 10 men after a red card and we managed out the match to get the win. 

Fully deserved the points after a good second half and we move up to 5th spot in this League. Not much in it after the top 3 sides, so everything to play for. 

Lets hope we can get something next week against Kelty, that will be a tougher test. 

[AlbionMan]

Well that's relief to get a result but the game only reflected both teams mid table mediocrity.   Lots of huffing and puffing, but barely a sighting of quality.   1-0 down with another couple cleared off the line we never looked like scoring till Tapping's lifeline and Stenny proceeded to fold.  The winner was well taken and sent the travelling support home happy.

Granted there were a few names missing and the manager may have more options for Kelty, but he'll have a lot to do Tuesday and Thursday to make us competitive.

[Dumb yatt]

Firstly, the pre-pubescent SA young team. Club reckon they are the future. Pyrotechnics, running onto cinder track 50+ and waiting to goad opposition, as they leave ground is a no,no.  Can't wait for them to drink alcohol.

After 45mins I was relieved that we had contained Stennie to a single goal.  Stennie had a further two golden chances with no luck. Perseverance paid off 1-1. But the tackle, leading to the second goal, was worthy of admission money alone. Corbertt hared up the wing leaving Curtis in his wake. Mid-way in the Stirling half he paused to consider his options. That nano second allowed Curtis to excute  a first class tackle and recovery. Resulting in a pass to Flannigan.  Please let  it be on the highlights.

There's 8 teams chasing 3 play-off spots and nothing between them. From my seat in the Norway stand. I thought some of the home fans threw in the towel, prior to us equalising.

[Safc1945]

On 01/01/2022 at 19:47, Neilly said:

Should be bodying teams like this if we are to get in and cement our play off place.

O'Reilly to run riot in a 4-0 win.

How did that go for you? Absolute diddy 

[Neilly]

18 minutes ago, Safc1945 said:

How did that go for you? Absolute diddy 

Hope you enjoyed running on the park and felt hard today.

One more sip of Mad Dog and off to your bed pup. 

[Ivo den Bieman]

Stenhousemuir really threw that away after being by far the better team for the first 50-55 minutes. They were neat and tidy in the first half, progressing well down the left. The goal came from a delighteful cut back from the right just at the byline about ten yards out, finished coolly- a really well worked goal.

Both sides were full of endeavour but struggling to create much. I can't remember Stenny's keeper having anything of significance to deal with in the first half. Equally from the home POV there was plenty of nice approach play but little by way of end product. Indeed some of the crowd where I was sitting were more entertained by three Stenny stewards trying (and failing) to eject what seemed to be an extremely angry roaster in a red jacket on the terracing.

Stirling came much more into the game after the break and for some reason the home team just froze in their headlights. There's a real softness about this Stenhousemuir team; it seemed to me that they were simply muscled out of the three points. Stenny should have been 3-0 after two extensive goal-line scrambles just wouldn't fall for them.

The equaliser was a poor own goal after a difficult angled ball from a free kick on the stand side, that was extremely dubious in the first place. The winner...wow. Great persistence and execution from the dangerous Flanagan who bruished off his marker...quite why the goalkeeper was so far out of his goal at that point, only he will be able to explain. Yes it was good skill but I'm at a loss as to the keeper's positioning.

Strange old game. Stirling really turned the momentum in their favour in the last 30 minutes. I was left with the impression of two poor teams who, if one of them manages to sneak into a play off spot at the end of the season, will exit in the semi-finals.

A Stenny fan above questioned if Swift was the right man for them. Honestly the game management was so poor and the management from the sidelines so supine, I doubt he is.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Ivo den Bieman

[NELLY 1]

What did o Reilly get sent off for..

[Shanner]

the antics of hideous red coat man was a highlight. 

 

 

[Safc1945]

1 hour ago, Neilly said:

Hope you enjoyed running on the park and felt hard today.

One more sip of Mad Dog and off to your bed pup. 

Was never on the pitch and I prefer buckfast tbh.

What happened to the 4 nil win?

Edited January 2, 2022 by Safc1945
Neilly is a banger

[MrBeeno]

Good result in the end for the Binos considering we were without almost half of first team regulars:-Mackin,Leitch,Laird,Cummins and Omar.

I thought Stenny just edged the first half but the Binos turned the tide in the second half to take the 3 points.

[Old Fashioned Stramash]

Deserved to lose today. It was a pretty woeful performance from a Stenny viewpoint. Feel sorry for Orr, constant long aimless balls being played towards his general direction. 

I need to see the two Stirling goals again. Was a Stirling player in behind Tapping for his own goal? Tapping was dire though. 

What was Wilson doing for their second? Could've been his worst performance for us. 

 

[BB_Bino]

I thought Stirling were fantastic in the Second Half today and if I’m being honest, Stenny pretty much scored from their only chance in the First. I feared a rerun of the Elgin game though, where we totally dominated but just could not find that goal.

To a man, all the players can be proud of themselves this evening, however they did switch off at the back for the opener and I felt for Blair Currie when Orr was there to stab the ball home. I’m not sure if the players thought the ball went out of play or not but they switched off from the free kick.

That was it though, it just clicked second half, again the team seemed to want to play through the zones, keep possession and I always felt if we could get a goal before Stenny scored a second, that we would get the points.

The ball in from Grant for the first and the finish from Flannigan for the second were the 2 bits of class that separated the sides.

Gotta be happy with the short progress the team have made since Young walked in, it’s early days but the early signs are good that we are going to attack and we are going to try and play a bit, and that’s all I asked for when we were on the hunt for a new gaffer.

Beautiful Sunday indeed.

[Neilly]

18 minutes ago, Safc1945 said:

Was never on the pitch and I prefer buckfast tbh.

What happened to the 4 nil win?

Like every other week I predict it - it never happens.

Not be taken too seriously. Enjoy your night young pup.

[Francesc Fabregas]

I'm not quite sure what to make of this afternoon's game. I think a draw might have been the fairer result on the balance of the 90 minutes but Stirling Albion ran over the top of us in the second half and their dig and aggression throughout earned them the win. As others above me have mentioned, we should have made some kind of effort to change things long before the Binos equalised - the tide of the game had turned in their favour before Jordan Tapping carelessly thumped the ball into his own net - and to sit there as they dominated the middle of the park and the flanks and not do anything about it was criminal. It's games like this that leave me wondering if Stephen Swift has the minerals for the rough and tumble of the SPFL.

Stenhousemuir will not achieve anything this season unless we sign a new goalkeeper. David Wilson, once again, cost us the game. He could have claimed the cross in the build up to the equaliser (although had Tapping not got his head to it, the ball would have drifted out of play) but his decision to come charging off his line and give Nathan Flanagan a simple finish was criminal. Beyond that, he had little to do all match. I've said it before: he got the benefit of the doubt when he first came into the starting XI because he was "not Ryan Marshall" but I think he's just as bad. I have no confidence in him. I can't quite believe we've signed a pair of goalkeepers who are as crap as Wilson and Marshall.

I don't have much confidence in our centre-backs. Tapping cannot be trusted and Sean Crighton, for all the investment we've put into him as our captain, is erratic and often thoughtless. There was a bizarre moment in the second half when, instead of clearing the ball, he whacked it vertically into the air and allowed Stirling to regroup and challenge for a header. The sooner Nicky Jamieson returns from injury, the better. It won't happen, it could never happen, but I'd like to see Jamieson partner Adam Corbett at centre-back with Mikey Miller restored to right-back.

It could have been a different game entirely if we'd scored from our excellent chances in the second half. Crighton was unlucky to see his header cleared from the line and Corbett should have hit the back of the net when Euan O'Reilly slalomed down the left and cut the ball back for him. But we didn't score, Stirling did, and they won the match.

The only real positive from today was Tam Orr's performance. I thought he was very good as the lone striker and did what was asked of him. He took his goal well and held the ball up well. It's just a shame he had nothing to work with for most of the afternoon. Darren Christie worked hard today and was involved in anything good that happened (although I'm not sure why he was removed instead of Ross Forbes). Other than that? Miller was poor, Wedderburn ineffective when we needed him the most and Forbes "one of those games".

Just a thoroughly disappointing afternoon, all things considered. Fair play to Stirling but dearie me!

[Nigel Blackwell]

What did o Reilly get sent off for..

First yellow he kicked the ball away. Arguably a yellow but as soft as you will see all season. Then what looked a deserved 2nd yellow for a foul.

[Snoddyisabino]

Buzzing at that result today. Not the greatest performance but a bit of grit that has been lacking from the past few months performances. Excellent finish by Flanagan for the second goal which seemed to take about 3 years to hit the back of the net. Nonetheless I’ll take that with a pinch of salt given 1. We always seem to do well just after getting a new manager in and 2. We have kelty next up who I assume will beat us. 
 

Lowlight of the game for me was the young team. I feel like I sound like an old guy saying it but there is genuinely no need for chucking pies at the stenny goalie, jumping onto the pitch when we scored, trying to jump round to the stenny section etc etc. I like having the young team there for quite a few reasons. I think they create an atmosphere that is often lost in league 2 games. For example at 3-1 to Annan 2 weeks ago, I feel I’d have completely switched off if it weren’t for them getting behind the team, which made it all the more exciting (and anticlimactic) when we scored our second. I also think that we need to be attracting younger folks to games and they have definitely made an impact on our attendances over the past few months. That being said their behaviour over the past few games (including the stenny game at forthbank) has left me really conflicted over wether it is entirely beneficial having them around the football club. It probably is, and they’ll probably grow into it but I don’t really understand the culture of being so raging at an opposition week in week out. Then again I’ve probably just forgotten what it’s like to be a wee guy 

[tamthebam]

At least there's one advantage to the new Meadowbank it seems, the Stirling Young Team will be knackered by the time they get to the pitch!

You'll probably find there's one or two ringleaders. A wee word or a banning and the rest will behave. Either that or I look forward to Lord of the Flies being re-enacted at Forthbank..

[Old Fashioned Stramash]

Crighton needs to go.

See him giving verbals to his team mates; trying to play the captain role, usually after he's had some involvement in another calamity. As captain, he should be setting the standard and accepting responsibility. He is devoid of both. 

He struggles to play the ball on the deck effectively, which ruins our build-up play. He gets caught under the flight of the ball with his poor positioning and doesn't care where he puts the ball when he does manage to clear it. There's not a lot of composure or game reading going on. 

Fully agree, give Corbett and Jamieson a game at CB. It can't get any worse. Was good to see Nicky Jamieson back on the bench.

The more I think about today's game, the more I think Swift needs to go. He doesn't seem to have the tactical awareness or ability to get the best out of his players. We go from playing brilliant football to utter shambles inside 45 minutes. Ross Forbes has made a bit of a career out of playing seemingly half-arsed and again went missing today, yet played the full 90. Darren Christie who was in amongst it and looking for the ball most of the game, gets subbed. His pace and threat on the counter was helping to keep Stirling from moving higher up the pitch. As soon as we took Christie off, we let them further up the pitch. Stirling scored twice. 

Obviously want Moreland to be a great signing but I don't know why Swift has prioritised signing a midfielder.

[MrBeeno]

Good result in the end for the Binos considering we were without almost half of first team regulars:-Mackin,Leitch,Laird,Cummins and Omar.

I thought Stenny just edged the first half but the Binos turned the tide in the second half to take the 3 points.

[MrBeeno]

It will be interesting to see the replay for the Stenny goal.I thought the ball had crossed the line for a goal kick and I think the Binos defenders thought so too and stopped.I was surprised when the ref allowed the goal to stand.