Stirling Albion manager Kevin Rutkiewicz felt a draw was a fair result after watching his side extend their unbeaten run to seven matches on Saturday.
The first game of the second quarter of the cinch League 2 campaign ended 1-1 against Stranraer at Forthbank with Adam Cummins equalising four minutes after Matty Yates had given the Blues the lead midway through the second half of a tight match.
Albion are now six points behind leaders Kelty Hearts, who won 3-2 at Edinburgh City on Friday night, and they face Kevin Thomson’s men in their next league outing on October 30.
Next up for the Binos is a Scottish Cup second-round tie against Berwick Rangers at Shielfield on Saturday in a repeat of last year’s fixture which Stirling won 3-0 on Boxing Day before being knocked out by Raith Rovers at Forthbank in the third round.
Berwick beat Gretna 2-1 in the first round last month but were beaten on penalties by Broxburn Athletic in the South Region Challenge Cup on Saturday and are seventh in the Lowland League.
Stirling will head across the border as favourites but Rutkiewicz will be looking for an improved performance against Stuart Malcolm’s men after the stalemate with Stranraer.
He said: “I think a draw was probably a fair result. There wasn’t a lot between the teams – you always want to win but I don’t think we should be too unhappy with a point and that’s seven games unbeaten now.
“I thought we looked a solid unit again and Blair Currie didn’t have many saves to make but we lacked a bit of a spark in the final third and Stranraer deserve credit because they made it difficult. We won down there in August but they have improved since then.
“There is no doubt we were not at our best but we still had some good chances. Rabin Omar should have scored in the first half when Jack Leitch picked him out and their goalkeeper made a good save from Martin McNiff just before half-time.
“We didn’t do enough in the second half but it was good for Adam Cummins to score his first goal and that’s another one from a set-piece for us - it was a great delivery from Nathan Flanagan. Adam wasn’t far away with another header late in the game but they’ve hit the bar with the free-kick so it could have gone either way on the day.”
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The Binos performed well in the Premier Sports Cup in July, beating Cove Rangers and Peterhead and drawing at Inverness CT, and Rutkiewicz is keen on further cup success as they prepare to face Berwick Rangers at the weekend.
He said: “The Scottish Cup is very important to us, both financially and for football reasons. We want a good cup run and we know the Berwick game is a big one for us. We need to be at it and do not want to be on the end of a cup shock.”
