Forthbank (and before it, Annfield) has never been a particularly happy hunting ground for Accies. Before the game, I've got to say that I wasn't confident of an Accies victory. Particularly when it was revealed that Paul McGrillen would be back in the Stirling squad following a suspension. He's always been a thorn in Accies side - so it was a relief to see that he was a substitute for this match. Mind you, Stirling did have plenty of potential threats, with high scoring former Accie John McQuade and lanky striker Ally Graham in their team.
For their part, Accies left out Bill Davidson and Martin Bonnar after the Queen of the South match, with Ross McLaren and Chris Hillcoat returning to the defence.
The game started at a cracking pace, with Stirling coming close after a couple of minutes when one of their players hit a powerful shot against Chris Reid's left hand post. Shortly afterwards, Ian Ferguson had a great chance when clean through on Stirling 'keeper Jason Gardner, but his shot clipped the diving keeper's heel and the ball just missed the post. The Stirling goal had an amazing escape several minutes later, when Ian McAulay released Jose Quitongo on the right wing. Jose skinned veteran full back Joe Tortolano and made it to the goal line. His cut back fell beautifully for Eddie Cunnington, but his powerful shot from 12 yards hit the underside of the bar and bounced out. It landed in Darren Henderson's lap, but with the goalie floundering, he teed the ball up and again hit the underside of the bar with the goal gaping. From 6 yards at the most. This naturally led to him getting dog's abuse from the Accies supporters, with one calling for him to be "cattle prodded" by physio Jim Fallon. It's a shame General Pinochet is now back in Chile, or he could have given some advice on that.
A goal had to come - and it duly arrived after 20 minutes. After some drab midfield play, Ian McAulay sent a lovely through ball to Darren Henderson and he drilled it past Gardner with some style. The fans went crazy and Henderson showed his love of the Accies support by running off to celebrate in front of an empty part of the stadium.
Shortly afterwards, Chris Reid produced a fantastic double save to defy Stirling when they looked certain to score. A second goal looked likely and it came to Accies five minutes before half time. McAulay released Quitongo again on the right and he ran to the bye-line before cutting back for Ian Ferguson to score easily from close range. It was 2-0 at half time and all was well with the world!
The second half continued in the same vein - most of the good play came from Accies with Albion concentrating on the high ball to Ally Graham. It did produce the odd scare, but when the third goal came it was another for Accies. A lovely through ball again left the Albion back 4 exposed and Ian Ferguson rounded Gardner to score easily. At this stage the Accies support began to breathe a bit more easily. Several times this season Accies have contrived to blow a 2 goal lead, but it was unknown to blow a 3 goal lead.
Ferguson had a chance to complete his hat trick, when he beat Jason Gardner to a high cross from Eddie Cunnington, but his header missed the goal by a whisker. Funnily enough, Cunnington was so unimpressed with the cross that he shouted "bugger" before it reached Ferguson. Jose Quitongo had a great run through the Stirling defence, but his low shot was tipped past the post by the Stirling goalie.
However, some complacency began to creep into the Accies play and Albion made them pay when substitute Paul McGrillen scored from close in to make it 3-1 for Accies. Comically, some of the Albion fans started to chant "We're gonnae win the league" during the celebrations.
This gave Albion a real boost and they were the better team for the next 10 minutes or so. However, they didn't manage to score again although they did leave the Accies defence looking a bit disorganised. Just before the end, Ally Dawson pulled off Ian Ferguson to huge applause. His replacement was Steve McCormick and he made an almost immediate impact. A brilliant dribble took him into the penalty area and he was tripped for a penalty. Nicky Henderson converted beautifully into the top corner. Not surprisingly, the players got a well earned standing ovation at the final whistle.
You can't complain about a 4-1 win at Stirling. Accies hadn't scored 4 goals in a game since they thumped Falkirk by the same score at Brockville in September 1997.
Chris Reid had a great game in goal and made vital saves when necessary. The full backs both looked a bit dodgy. Ross McLaren didn't seem able to kick the ball straight as he sent several passes into the crowd. Chris Hillcoat seemed to lack confidence and may not be ready for the team as yet, although he was responsible for a brilliant goal line clearance in the second half. Gordon Hunter and Paul Gaughan were pretty solid in central defence. In midfield, Ian McAulay was as combative as ever and Steven Thomson linked well with the rest of the team. Jose Quitongo was a revelation, particularly in the first half. He was used on the right wing this week - his natural position. Stirling were simply unable to cope with his skill.
On the left wing, Eddie Cunnington had a great game. He was a constant threat to Albion and seems to be recovering his form of a couple of seasons ago. Up front, Ian Ferguson did quite well and took his goals with no trouble. Darren Henderson played pretty well today and scored the vital first goal.
So it was a great trip to Stirling. If Accies can continue with this kind of form they might have a chance of getting out of this league in the right direction. But a lot of work has still to be done.
Accies : Reid, McLaren, (N Henderson), Hillcoat, Hunter, Gaughan, Thomson, Quitongo, McAulay, (Bonnar), Ferguson, (McCormick), Cunnington and D Henderson
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