Stirling Albion 1-1 Clyde

The Bully Wee spurned a huge opportunity to maintain their recent momentum this afternoon, as they failed to take advantage of over an hour’s play against ten men.

Darren Young opted to name an unchanged line-up following last week’s win against Kelty Hearts, with Logan Dunachie returning to the squad having served his two-match suspension.

The encounter started off in a cagey manner but came to life in the middle of the first half; immediately after Kyle Fleming smacked the post with a header from a corner kick, former Clyde striker Jordan Allan went one-on-one with Jay Hogarth on the counter. The visiting stopper stayed big, and Allan skewed his strike wide of the target.

Minutes later, the away side took the lead. A free-kick in a dangerous area was played short to Barry Cuddihy; his ball was attacked by a few of his teammates and eventually bounced to Sam Campbell, who made it back-to-back matches on the scoresheet when he bundled home on the line.

The lead wouldn’t last for long, however, as League Two’s bottom side fought back. A free-kick of their own pinged about the Clyde box and ended up at the feet of Russell McLean, who directed an instinctive first time effort inside the far post to equalise.

It appeared as though the match had taken a fatal turn for a struggling Binos side when midfielder Kyle Banner was issued a straight red card for an ugly challenge on his namesake Connell, but The Bully Wee failed to make the man advantage count across the rest of the half despite dominating possession.

A bright start to the second half proved to be a false dawn, as Clyde huffed and puffed without creating any clear opportunities to restore their lead and maintain their lead at the top of the table.

The Bully Wee now face a two-week wait to make amends with an ever-challenging trip to Elgin up next; in the meantime, it’s KDM Evolution Trophy action for Young and his charges, with fixtures against Rangers B (at home, on Tuesday) and Cowdenbeath (away, on Saturday) to negotiate.