Stirling Albion 1-1 Albion Rovers, Saturday 3rd September 2022

Stirling Albion 1-1 Albion Rovers, Scottish League 2, Forthbank Stadium, att. 307 (c. 20 away)

A fortnight’s tour of Scotland with the better half ends in Stirling, covered in midgey bites. (I know I’ve got a hot groin, but why did these pests have to go up my shorts when there’s plenty of bare leg action?) Stirling, dominated by its castle, and with the battlefield of Bannockburn in its suburbs, forms a fitting ending to the holiday. Stirling Albion, possibly less so, but I enjoyed it way more than I expected.

I knew they had a modern ground, presumably somewhere on the edge of town (it was). I also thought it only had one stand…I dunno where I got that from….but it turned out there were 2 stands, the East and West, smart cantilevers taking up about 2/3 of each touchline and holding around 2,500 in total. There was also a small open terrace behind each goal, so a pity these were closed (along with the East Stand). I suppose a crowd of 307 barely warranted it, but still…

There was one turnstile open for both sets of fans. Away fans were encouraged to ‘sit at the far end’ and there were a few with their Melchester Rovers-esque scarves. I’d done a lap of the Stirling Sports complex and saw the end of a women’s hockey match. ‘3 cheers for (the opposition)!’ Took me back to my school days, a quaint custom which somehow made a bad-tempered game alright. Adjacent is also a leisure centre, 5aside pitches and do I remember a cricket pitch as well? I’ve been surprised by how many cricket pitches there are in Scotland. I never thought it was their game.

Having parted with £15 (a bit steep for 4th tier part time action, I thought) I entered the West Stand. Programmes were only on sale inside, and a small club shop offered the latest kit and a few other odds and sods. My eyes were drawn to some old programmes, highlighting their old ground’s name…’Annfield’. Of course! I remember that factoid. (They left in 1993.) A greater choice was had in the refreshment stand, as a wide variety of pies were to be had. I stuck to the Scotch. When in Scotchland, etc. And they ARE exceedingly nice. (Why don’t we have them in England?)

I took up a position as near to the halfway line as possible, as high up in the stand as possible. It seemed quite a few season ticket holders (their seats charmingly emblazoned) were missing. Holiday, probably. The sun was out and the pitch looked IMMACULATE. I was expecting one of those plastic things which proliferate up here, but no. Good call. It looked like a bowling green (but without the camber).

The players weren’t quite up to the same standard, despite some neat touches in midfield. Half-time drew, as did the teams; goalless and not looking promising. All was to change a mere 3 mins into the 2nd half, as Banner powered home a header from a corner for The Binos* (Stirling). This roused the crowd a bit and the Stirling ultras (a dozen or so kids at the far end with a drum) even chanted once or twice. Expectant that this was only the start, Albion allowed Albion to score, as a backpass was threaded first time past the keeper. ‘Thanks very much Stirling’ shouted an away fan, to my, if nobody else’s, amusement. Nobody else troubled the scoreline and I don’t remember anyone threatening to either. I was left with a 20 minute walk back to town past half a mile of blackberry brambles. They were delicious.

*I am relying on Google for this. I have no idea what a ‘Bino’ is. Is it short for ‘albino’? Or a misprint for ‘biro’? I know what a biro is…

The Damage:
£15 ent
£2 programme
£2.20 Scotch pie
= £19.20

The Tunes:
Slowdive (Slowdive)