The Warriors are on the road for the second successive week as we make the short trip north to Stirling.
Stirling Albion play hosts to Stenhousemuir in Matchday 3 of the cinch Scottish League Two.
Last season saw a mixed bag of result with both teams winning on their away visits making 2 wins a piece.
And that’s definitely a trend that Swifty will want to continue as far as this weekend goes.
Stirling have struggled to get going in their two league matches to date. An opening day defeat to Dumbarton alongside last week’s 2-2 draw with Elgin City leaves The Binos 9th in the league and 1 of 3 teams yet to record a victory.
Saturday is, of course, a local derby. The performances in the league to date haven’t been up to Stephen Swift’s standards and the website caught up with the gaffer on his thoughts for the match.
“I don’t think we can play as bad, although looking at the game last week, 45 minutes there was nothing in the game. If anything, we actually shaded when I’ve watched back the full match. Second half they’ve had a couple of breakaways, but they weren’t cutting us open. It’s a real tough place to go and ultimately, we could’ve gotten a draw out of it if we took our chances.
“When you look back at things, it’s not actually as bad as you think, it’s just disappointing that we didn’t play well. I think there a few players, individually, that never had a great game and that’s what we’re putting it down to.
“So, we’ll take that on the chin and move on because it’s never easy going to Annan, but we will regroup and rejuvenate the group going into Saturday.”
Stirling are not strangers to Stenhousemuir, but with 2 wins and 2 losses in the 4 encounters last week, nothing can be taken for granted.
“I expect a team that knows each other. They’ve got the spine of the team from last year and the same back line. They’ve got Thommo who’s come in, Harrison Clark who’s come in from Livingston, they’ve also got Cammy Clark from Annan. So they’ve got a few new signings.
“We feel as if we need to give them respect in terms of being compact and hard to beat. But we feel as if we’ve got enough pace and energy in the team to hurt them.”
Forthbank Stadium is one of the grounds in the league with a grass park. A big part of the preparations for these games last season included training on a grass pitch in Motherwell, but is that a practice that Swifty has continued?
“It won’t effect us. I’m hoping it will be decent and won’t be a swamp. We’re hoping that it’s conducive to playing good football because we want to go and build it and dominate the ball. When we’ve not got the ball, it’s not a crime so long as we keep our shape and remain compact, then there’s no problem with that and we can hurt teams on the counter.
“We’ve got a game plan, we’ve got a model that we’ll stick to. We maybe deviated away from for a bit on Saturday, but we’ve won one, lost one, so we’ll move on to Saturday.”
The website also caught up with midfielder Adam Brown this week. Adam was one of the core team to be retained from last season. Again, Adam agrees that the performances haven’t been what the fans have been hoping for so far.
“Obviously we never picked up any points in Annan and we were really disappointed in that. But, you would expect a reaction. Stirling Albion away is going to be tough game, but we’re looking forward to it. We’ve worked hard this week and we’re looking to rectify the performance from last week.”
Broony did bag the only goal on the last meeting between the two sides over 5 months ago, surely the midfielder will be hoping to double down this weekend.
“The two games that I played last season in Stirling, I enjoyed them. It’s a decent place to play football. Obviously I scored the winner in the 2nd game and we won 3-1 the first time. So yea, I’m looking forward to it as everyone should be and hopefully we can go there and win.”
Before we let Broony head off for training, we did ask what he expected from Saturday’s hosts.
“They look like a decent side with a few good players. They’ve lost a few from last year and they’re a different type of team. But it will interesting to see what they’re like on Saturday. They’re a top outfit and they’ll be hoping to be in the top 4 as well, come the end of the season.”
Nicky Jamieson hobbled off the pitch during the closing stages of the 2nd half on Saturday and he’s a doubt for Saturday. That aside, Swifty should have a. full squad to choose from
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
Kick-off: 3pm
Match Entry: Entry to Forthbank is via cash only and Warrior fans will be housed in the East Stand and enter via turnstiles 9 & 10.
Getting There: Click here for details of how to get to Forthbank by train or car. There’s no supporter’s bus for this match.
OPPOSITION INFORMATION
Full name Stirling Albion Football Club
Nickname(s) The Binos
Founded 1945
Ground Forthbank Stadium, Stirling
Capacity 3,808 (2,508 seated)
Chairman Stuart Brown
Manager Darren Young
2021–22 Scottish League Two, 7th of 10
Last 10 Matches
| Date | Venue | Competition | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 6/8/22 | Home | League Two | Elgin City | D | 2-2 |
| 30/7/22 | Away | League Two | Dumbarton | L | 2-0 |
| 23/7/22 | Home | Premier Sports Cup | Peterhead | W | 3-0 |
| 19/7/22 | Home | Premier Sports Cup | Aberdeen | L | 0-5 |
| 16/7/22 | Away | Premier Sports Cup | Raith Rovers | D | 1-1p |
| 9/7/22 | Away | Premier Sports Cup | Dumbarton | W | 1-2 |
| 30/4/22 | Home | League Two | Edinburgh City | W | 5-0 |
| 23/4/22 | Away | League Two | Albion Rovers | D | 1-1 |
| 16/4/22 | Home | League Two | Elgin City | L | 0-2 |
| 9/4/22 | Away | League Two | Kelty Hearts | D | 1-1 |
Top Scorers
| Name | Goals | Assists | Played | Goals per 90 | MPG | Total Shots | Shot Accuracy |
| Dale Carrick | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0.61 | 147 | 11 | 64% |
| Kieran Moore | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0.4 | 226 | 6 | 67% |
| Robert Thomson | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0.41 | 217 | 12 | 50% |
| Aaron Dunsmore | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0.22 | 415 | 4 | 75% |
FIXTURE INFORMATION
Last 10 Meetings
| Date | Venue | Competition | Result | Score |
| 5/3/22 | Home | League Two | W | 1-0 |
| 2/1/22 | Away | League Two | L | 1-2 |
| 6/11/21 | Home | League Two | W | 3-1 |
| 31/7/21 | Away | League Two | L | 0-1 |
| 30/3/21 | Away | League Two | L | 0-1 |
| 24/10/20 | Away | League Two | D | 2-2 |
| 3/3/20 | Home | League Two | D | 0-0 |
| 28/12/19 | Away | League Two | L | 0-2 |
| 28/9/19 | Home | League Two | D | 1-1 |
| 28/4/18 | Away | League Two | D | 1-1 |
Head to Head
| Total | Won | Drawn | Lost | Scored | Conceded | |
| Home | 58 | 19 | 15 | 24 | 91 | 92 |
| Away | 65 | 20 | 15 | 30 | 83 | 109 |
| Total | 123 | 39 | 30 | 54 | 174 | 201 |
ON THIS DAY – 13th AUGUST
| Year | Opponent | Competition | Venue | Result | Score |
| 2021 | Edinburgh City | League Two | Away | L | 0-1 |
| 2019 | Edinburgh City | Challenge Cup | Home | W | 2-1 |
| 2016 | Queens Park | League One | Home | L | 1-2 |
| 2011 | Arbroath | Division Two | Home | W | 2-0 |
| 2005 | Elgin City | Division Three | Home | W | 3-1 |
| 1994 | Clyde | Division Two | Home | W | 1-0 |
| 1991 | Queens Park | League Cup | Away | L | 2-4 |
| 1988 | Stirling Albion | Division Two | Away | L | 0-2 |
| 1986 | Queens Park | League Cup | Home | W | 1-0 |
| 1983 | Forfar Athletic | League Cup | Away | L | 0-1 |
| 1977 | Falkirk | Division Two | Home | D | 1-1 |
| 1975 | Albion Rovers | League Cup | Home | D | 0-0 |
| 1966 | Brechin City | League Cup | Away | L | 0-4 |
| 1960 | Brechin City | League Cup | Away | W | 3-1 |
| 1958 | Albion Rovers | League Cup | Away | W | 4-0 |
| 1955 | Morton | League Cup | Away | L | 1-3 |
| 1952 | Queens Park | League Cup | Away | W | 2-1 |
| 1949 | Albion Rovers | League Cup | Home | L | 0-1 |
| 1947 | Stirling Albion | Division Two | Home | D | 0-0 |
| 1938 | Airdrie | Division Two | Away | W | 5-1 |
| 1932 | Edinburgh City | Division Two | Home | W | 4-1 |
| 1927 | Alloa Athletic | Division Two | Home | L | 2-4 |
| Total | Won | Drawn | Lost | |
| Home | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Away | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 |
LEAGUE INFORMATION
Fixtures
Albion Rovers vs East Fife
Dumbarton vs Annan Athletic
Forfar Athletic vs Elgin City
Stirling Albion vs Stenhousemuir
Stranraer vs Bonnyrigg Rose
Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | League Form | |
| 1 | Bonnyrigg Rose | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 6 | WW |
| 2 | Dumbarton | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | WW |
| 3 | Annan Athletic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | LW |
| 4 | Forfar Athletic | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | LW |
| 5 | Stenhousemuir | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | WL |
| 6 | East Fife | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 | WL |
| 7 | Stranraer | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3 | WL |
| 8 | Elgin City | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 | LD |
| 9 | Stirling Albion | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 | LD |
| 10 | Albion Rovers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 | LL |
