Stirling Albion produced a stirring second-half display to see off their League Two rivals Spartans 3-1 and get on the board in Premier Sports Cup Group B on a sweltering night in Edinburgh.
Early Setback for Binos
The Binos were keen to bounce back after being pipped in the dying minutes of their opening clash against Premiership side Dundee United courtesy of a Zac Sapsford penalty. Spartans had narrowly lost their opening match at home to Arbroath.
Stirling boss Steven Whittaker was forced into some shuffling of the pack, with Josh Mullin missing out due to a jaw injury suffered against the Terrors, while defender Lee Hamilton was also not risked with a slight knock. Russell McLean was the final player to miss out, with Harry Wright, Mark Russell and young midfielder Robin Raine coming into the side.
But things got off to the most difficult of starts as Spartans flew out of the blocks and opened the scoring after four minutes. Bradley Whyte gathered a bouncing ball on the edge of the Stirling box and cracked a fine volley into the net past Andy McNeil.
Stirling Weather the Storm
The home side continued to pile on the pressure and almost added to their lead when Mackenzie Ross found space in the area to swivel and power an effort off the base of the post, with McNeil possibly getting a touch. Mark Stowe – named in the League Two Team of the Year last season – was also lively and squeezed a shot narrowly wide.
Stirling had done well to keep the deficit to just one and were rewarded for their efforts in fine fashion as Robbie McNab came forward from right-back to unleash a soaring drive from 25 yards into the top corner to bring Stirling level with two minutes left in the first half.
Second-Half Turnaround
The goal gave Stirling a boost into the second half and they were in front on 53 minutes. McNab was involved once again, swinging in a deep cross from the right which found Jordan Allan well-positioned at the back post to nod beyond Blair Carswell.
The points were sealed nine minutes later as the Binos sprung forward on a fine break which saw skipper for the evening Callum Crane prod through a pass for substitute Russell McLean to beat the offside trap and poke a low finish into the corner.
The goals took the stuffing out of Spartans as Albion saw out the match for a deserved win based on their second-half display, moving onto three points in the group.
Looking Ahead
Stirling Albion take on League One side Montrose at Forthbank on Saturday, with the Gable Endies fresh off the back of a shock 1-0 home win over Premiership team Dundee United.
