Stirling Albion new boy Callum Crane seals memorable debut with winning goal and red card

It was the perfect start to 2024 for Stirling Albion – and boss Darren Young was left full of praise for his side’s handling of late adversity to deliver the points at Montrose.

The 1-0 win was secured courtesy of Callum Crane’s 69th minute strike on his debut for the Binos, before the new boy blotted his copybook with a late red card, which forced a nervy end for the away side.

It was a fourth away win in the league this season and opens up a nine point cushion to Annan in eighth place, with Albion now only four points off the final promotion play-off position.

Saturday’s victory also offered some satisfaction after the Binos were edged at Links Park earlier this season by the same margin in a game that slipped away from the visitors.

On this occasion, Stirling were the stronger side in the second half, producing a composed display to secure three points.

Binos gaffer Young declared himself delighted at his team’s “ruthless defending”, especially off the back of a mauling at the hands of Falkirk last time out.

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Young said: “It had everything that game – the goal, the sending off, the clean sheet, even the booking for myself. It was a scrappy game and in the first 15 minutes we faced a bit of a bombardment and took a while to settle, but once we got the ball down and passed it, we looked good.

“We spoke about having a good start to the New Year, we thought we should have come away with some points the last time we were here and it was good to do so today.

“The way we defended was brilliant, to hold the game out was really important. It’s good from the point of view of having the fight, the spirit and the togetherness that you can see in abundance. The fans were