Stirling Albion boss Darren Young praised his hotshot forward line after his side made it six league wins on the spin against Bonnyrigg Rose.
The Binos were once again forced to show character after being pegged back on the stroke of half time, but Dale Carrick’s double – which takes his league tally to nine for the season – ensured the Forthbank faithful made the rainy journey home in high spirits.
However, the victory was very much a team effort, with on-loan teenager Kai Fotheringham’s fine run to win the decisive penalty and Carrick’s strike partner Robert Thomson’s all round play both being picked out for praise by the gaffer after the game.
Young said: “It was an unbelievable run from Kai, he goes and gets at the guy, the space opens up for him and he does brilliantly from there.
“There’s another one or two where he could’ve done a wee bit better and picked the wrong pass and he knows that himself but his pace and ability to go forward is a real asset.
“Dale is a poacher. When I came here last year, I think he was playing maybe on the left, on the right and in a few positions but we saw him more central, off the front or as a striker.
“I don’t think defenders realise how strong he is, he’s got a great eye for goal, he’s played at a very high level and he does a bit of coaching himself which I think probably helps in regards to his positioning.
“Dale’s at the top of his game right now and that’s the reason why we extended his contract and he’s done very well.
“He’s formed a great partnership with Thommo [Robert Thomson], who had another assist today.
“He’s maybe not had as many goals but if you look at 90 per cent of our goals, Thommo is playing a part in them so everyone is at it, everyone is playing very well and it gives me a headache in terms of team selection.”
The gaffer also acknowledged the visitors’ protests over the decision to award the winning penalty but believed his side was worthy of the hard-fought win on a hot-tempered afternoon which saw nine yellows and a red card being dished out.
He added: “It was a scrappy game but to be fair, they’ve had one shot on target and they’ve scored with it.
“From a defensive point of view, we were really good; the goal we lost we gave it away, we had the chance to clear two or three times in the passage of play and not take any chances.
“We don’t need to be dribbling 25 yards from our own goal, I’m more than happy for the players to put it in the stand and regroup from there.
“I’m delighted that we managed to come back into it, I know there were some doubts whether it was or wasn’t a penalty.
“I’ve not seen it back but from my point of view, it looked like it was a penalty and that’s the first one we’ve had in 12 or 13 games this season. We’ve had other claims that were maybe stronger than
that one but we’ll take a bit of luck when we get it.”
