Stirling prepare for Accies curtain-raiser as pre-season preparations rounds up
The pre-season preparations are finally complete for Stirling Albion as the competitive curtain raiser looms with the visit of Hamilton Accies to Forthbank on Saturday.
The Binos completed their warm-up matches with a 4-1 defeat away to Lowland League side Broxburn Athletic last night (Tuesday), but the Stirling selection was made mainly of young players alongside first-teamers looking for fitness ahead of the gruelling kick-off schedule.
Instead, Stirling boss Alan Maybury made use of the opportunity for a training session with his revamped squad ahead of the Premier Sports Cup opener against troubled Accies, who are making their preparations for a return to League One in the upcoming season.
It will be a return to play against his former side for one of Albion's marquee summer arrivals in forward Ross Cunningham, who arrives after finishing joint top scorer in League One last season with Kelty Hearts.
The versatile winger made 33 appearances for Accies during five seasons with the South Lanarkshire club.
Former Accies kid Cunningham is part of an impressive-looking forward line for Stirling, which also boasts new another signature in forward Russell McLean.
Stirling will be searching for their first win over the South Lanarkshire club in 12 matches - the last win from the Binos dating back to a 2-0 success in the old Second Division on December 27, 1999.
The Binos did share the group with Accies last season and ground out a 0-0 draw at New Douglas Park, before claiming a bonus point on penalties.
But Stirling really struggled against Hamilton in their time together in the third tier in the 2023/24 season, two home draws matched by a pair of heavy defeats where the Binos conceded eight times with no reply.
The pair will join some of the standout names from the Binos strike force last season in Ryan Shanley, Dale Carrick and Dale Hilson.
The frenetic pace towards the league opener on August 2 picks up with the now traditional group stage, with Saturday's home opener against Hamilton followed by a trip to Dumbarton on Tuesday as Albion get their first look at League Two opposition.
A match at the opposite end of the scale then awaits on the following weekend, as the TV cameras roll into town for the visit of Hearts.
It all concludes with an away match at East End Park at Neil Lennon's Dunfermline Athletic as the Binos hope to take a few higher-division scalps and try to progress out of the group, despite their position as the lowest seed.
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