Stirling Albion hope for Rosey afternoon as they aim for fourth straight win over Bonnyrigg

The hope is for the pattern to repeat itself for Stirling Albion as they lock horns with Bonnyrigg Rose in their seventh game of the League Two season on Saturday.

So far, the Binos sit in fourth with nine points in their opening six matches – with those matches going win then loss the whole way through.

Last week’s painful late defeat at league leaders Peterhead therefore bodes well for a positive result against the Midlothian side at Forthbank – but those will not be the messages sent out by Stirling boss Alan Maybury as he aims to stay in the top half.

The Albion squad are still battling with an injury list which saw them field a young-looking bench in Aberdeenshire last week – despite the inclusion of recent signings Alex Ferguson and Adam Brown in the starting eleven.

Stirling and Bonnyrigg have only met four times in their combined histories, all of those matches coming in the 2022/23 League Two campaign after the Rose had secured promotion from the Lowland League.

It was Bonnyrigg who won that first meeting in August 2022 at New Dundas Park courtesy of a Neil Martyniuk penalty after 13 minutes.

But since that opening loss, it was the Binos who prevailed in the other three contests that season – including both wins at Forthbank.

Those matches featured some of the memorable moments of the promotion-winning season, with a dramatic late winner from Greig Spence under the lights at Bonnyrigg on Valentine’s Night and Jack Leitch’s stoppage time winner in the clubs’ last meeting.

There has been much change at both clubs since that wet March afternoon, with Alan Maybury and Calum Elliot taking over on the benches for both teams.

Ex-Hearts and Dundee striker Elliot took over at the Rose last March from Lowland League