Stirling Albion gaffer Darren Young praised his side for digging in and earning a hard-fought pre-Christmas three points in Elgin.
It was a great response from the Binos after defeat in their last outing to Stranraer before being placed into cold storage for a couple of weeks as the impact of the cold weather hit.
But they ensured there wasn’t to be a repeat of that loss against their third-placed hosts in Moray – with goals from skipper Paul McLean and Kai Fotheringham ensuring another long road trip – their third in a row – this time proved fruitful.
Young said: “For all of the guys, they were magnificent.
“It was a great performance, a different type of performance, a great three points. These are the kind of games you need to roll up the sleeves and get stuck in and we did that from start to finish.
“I think overall we deserved the win, we created more chances and maybe we were unlucky not to get another one. It was maybe a bit of a scrappy game but we worked hard for the chances that did come to us.
“Paul is a real danger in the box, both in their box and also defending set-pieces in our box. It was a great goal – a couple of boys were trying to claim it but he said it was already over the line!
“We spoke about trying to get in behind and that’s exactly how we get the [second] goal. Dale (Carrick) does brilliantly in the middle of the park and a great ping through, Kai could have maybe slipped Thommo through but with the confidence he’s got, he takes his touch and finishes across the keeper.”
Ross Draper’s sending off for hauling back Carrick as he rampaged through on goal seemed to put the Binos on easy street for the closing half hour of the game – until Albion were penalised and Russell Dingwall scored from the spot to ensure a nervy finish.
But Young insisted he had full confidence in his troops in securing the result – and in keeping League Two top scorer Kane Hester quiet.
The manager added: “We were in complete control until the penalty, the referee said it was a sliding tackle after he had had the shot but personally I don’t think it was a penalty.
“They bring it back to 2-1 and make it edgy for a bit but we went up the park and had a few good chances to finish it off but overall, I’m really happy with the performance and what we worked on in training worked perfectly.
“They’re sitting third in the table so that tells you how good they are and we managed to keep Hester quiet in open play, the back four was brilliant.
“There maybe wasn’t much in the first half but I think the fact we get the lead, different to Stranraer, made a difference. We lost poor goals there and it was good to iron that out.
“It was just good to get the win.”
