Stirling Albion boss Alan Maybury insists his side are heading in right direction after East Fife draw

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It was an afternoon of mixed emotions for Stirling Albion on Saturday – but manager Alan Maybury believes the disappointment over the weekend’s 1-1 draw at East Fife is a sign of his side’s progress.

The Binos produced arguably their finest passage of play since the League Two winning campaign with a opening half-hour blitz which had the league leaders on the ropes at Bayview.

They hit the bar twice and drew multiple good saves from Fifers keeper Liam McFarlane, but only had Erik Sula’s thumping header to show for it on the scoreboard.

Dick Campbell’s wily side fought their way back into the contest and secured a leveller through Andy Munro on the stroke of half-time, before the match descended into a second-half scrap.

But Maybury says the display compared to the sides’ last meeting – an easy 4-0 win for the Fifers at Forthbank at the end of August – gives justification for the work being done on the training pitch.

The Albion gaffer said: “We could have been four or five up, they couldn’t live with us. I thought it was just chance after chance, we scored and hit the bar twice and they were just hanging on.

“They got a bit higher up the pitch and went very direct in the second half and we spoke about that at half-time and whether we could show the composure to play the way we want to because they make it hard for you.

“They had one header from another set piece and another Gaston save, but we’ve had the best chance of the second half at the end there, they were opened up and it was an unbelievable save from their keeper to keep it 1-1.

“We’re the away team and come away to the top of the league, we’ll take our draw and we’re happy with it and probably over the piece, it’s a fair result but it gives us real confidence going forward.

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“It was a similar game earlier in the season where we were very good for maybe 30-40 minutes, they scored two quick goals before the break and blew us away afterwards, so it shows how far we’ve come.”

The Binos are enjoying a real purple patch of form as they settle into League Two’s top four, remaining four points behind the co-leading Fifers and Elgin City.

Third-placed Peterhead provide another test this weekend, but with the return of more first-teamers in Ross Davidson and Ally Roy to the playing squad, there is renewed optimism at Forthbank.

Maybury continued: “We’re in a good place, but it takes time on the training pitch and the boys buying into what we’re doing, having some rewards for that work on the pitch.

“We will lose games across the way, but you can see where we’re going, we have options who are all pushing to get in the team and that drives everyone on. It’s a good point away from home and takes us on to next week.”

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