It was a case of what might have been for Stirling Albion on Saturday – but Binos boss Darren Young insisted he was left brimming with pride at his players’ display at in-form Forfar Athletic.
In the final game of a month on the road in the league, Stirling put in a first half display which their manager acknowledged as up there with their finest of the campaign, but were left cursing bad luck, lacklustre finishing and good goalkeeping as the scoresheet remained blank.
However, despite the frustrations from the visitors at the end of the game, it remains a quality away point and it means the Binos have cut the gap at the League Two summit to just two points after Dumbarton slipped to a home defeat against Elgin City.
Young bemoaned his side’s bad luck – but was keen to highlight the performance of every member of his squad as they shone in what looked to be a tricky fixture before kick-off in Angus.
The manager said: “It’s a hard one because you can’t question the performance – the work rate and desire of the players was brilliant and the first half performance was outstanding.
“The first half was up there with the best we’ve played all season, maybe up there with the Dumbarton game, without actually managing to score a goal.
“We’ve had one cleared off the line, we’ve caused them problems with long throws and set pieces, Thommo has had a great header as well off the post, the goalie has made a great save – it felt like we had everything except one going in the back of the net.
“Mark did brilliantly in goal, Scouse [Adam Cummins] came in and was outstanding and Kieran Moore picked up where he left off in the Annan game with some great runs and deliveries.
“Everyone across the whole squad can be happy with the way they performed.”
The second half proved a more even affair as the hosts tightened up, but Stirling still remained in control as the fans nervously hoped for a winner that would have taken them top of the table.
It wasn’t to arrive, but Young wasn’t too downhearted at the final whistle and was left looking forward to his side’s home return against Albion Rovers.
Young added: “We started the second half not as dominant, we knew they would come out and play better because the gaffer will have given them a bit of a rollicking.
“We can’t fault how the players performed, but it’s just the final touch against a team that are the form team in the division.
“It’s good to get back home next week, got a week to get the legs rested and recovered but to see the way the players performed today was outstanding and it was all positives for us – a good point away from home, a clean sheet and seven games unbeaten and we chip away another point at the top.”
