The final group match of the Premier Sports Cup brought Stirling Albion to KDM Group East End Park for the first time in seven years. The visitors were seeking their first point of the competition while the home side needed to take all three to give themselves some hope of qualifying as one of the three best second placed teams.

From the side that defeated Hamilton Academical in midweek, Neil Lennon made two changes for the visit of the Binos, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Connor Young coming in for Alfons Amade and Chris Kane.

Stirling Albion brought in two trialists and Dale Hilson in place of Robbie McNab, Ross McGeachie and Cooper Knox.

It was quiet start by the home side and they were responsible for inflicting their own danger with some iffy passes. Stirling got in two shots within the opening seven minutes but both were wayward. Josh Cooper’s eighth minute corner from the left was held by the visitors keeper Derek Gaston and Andrew Tod’s header the next minute went into the same hands. His chance came after Oakley-Boothe had picked out Shea Kearney on the right and he cut inside his man to produce an inviting left footed cross into the opposition box.

There was a spell in which Dunfermline strung a multitude of passes together but the away side stifled any attempts to penetrate their defence which had five men stretched across the park. Charlie Gilmour took a crack at goal on 17 minutes but his effort from 20 yards out went wide left. In 23 minutes it was Stirling who came close to opening the scoring Trialist #24 exchanging passes with Hilson on the edge of the box before whistling the ball over the Pars crossbar.

On the half hour Ewan Otto exploited a space to break in on the left side of the Stirling box but Gaston held the well connected shot. Cooper had a shot that was blocked before a robust Calum Crane challenge floored Young. The former Edinburgh City striker recovered to take charge of the resulting free kick but fired over both the three man Binos wall and the crossbar.

A 38th minute Stirling free kick was pumped into the Pars box by Adam Brown and Russell McLean forced a corner on the left that Deniz Mehmet held comfortably. The Fifers keeper next tipped away a Trialist #22 shot for a corner on the right that Kyle Benedictus rose to power away. Young would tee up Kearney for a shot but that was blocked and Young’s follow up was held by Gaston.

Frustrating would be the only description for the first half. There had been a vast amount of Dunfermline possession but at the break they had nothing to show for it.

Half Time: Dunfermline 0 Stirling Albion 0

Cooper fired a 49th minute free kick 30 yards out into the McCathie Stand. Six minutes later the 22 year-old’s corner was perfectly flighted over for Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen to get a good header on but his effort landed on the wrong side of the right upright.

John Tod almost broke right through to get a shot in but the defence stopped him 15 yards out and then Gilmour latched on to the opportunity to return a shot that screamed narrowly wide left. Rory Macleod was the Pars first substitute used replacing Josh Cooper in 59th minute and when the sub combined with Kearney the Irishman centred for A Tod but his header was off target. Next Macleod took charge of a corner from the left and again Chilokoa-Mullen headed over the bar.

Then in 66 minutes Young’s pass into the left side of the Stirling penalty box set up A Tod but his shot slid out wide right. A double substitution two minutes later saw Kane Ritchie-Hosler and Keith Bray come on for Shea Kearney and Tashan Oakley-Boothe. It was a Ritchie-Hosler’s cross that created the next chance and A Tod was unlucky to see his attempt clear the bar.

A Chilokoa-Mullen header was brilliantly kept out by Gaston before Bray drew a free kick out on the left but Macleod’s delivery was intercepted by the defence. Then at last, in 76 minutes Andrew TOD planted a shot in the top right corner. There had been appeals for handball as his first shot hit a defender but he despatched the rebound very well. 1-0

Given scores elsewhere Dunfermline still needed more goals. Macleod played Bray through on the keeper but the orange-kitted keeper came out on top. Ritchie-Hosler popped a shot wide but in the fourth minute of time added Ritchie-Hosler broke to slip the ball to sub Chris Hamilton. Crane who had just been booked flattened the Pars man and referee Graham Grainger awarded a penalty. Rory MACLEOD stepped up and sent a left footed shot into the bottom right. The 19 year-old’s first senior goal made it 2-0.

The goal came from the last kick of the ball and more importantly kept Dunfermline in the Premier Sports Cup at least until the next day when Ayr United on nine points take on St Mirren on seven. It was a Dunfermline win and a shut out and at +4 on goal difference, the third best second placed team at that stage but should St Mirren win or draw even with a penalty shoot out at home to Ayr, there would be no Pars in the knock out stage. Come on Ayr!

DUNFERMLINE: Deniz Mehmet: Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen, Kyle Benedictus (c), John Tod: Shea Kearney (Kane Ritchie-Hosler 68), Charlie Gilmour, Tashan Oakley-Boothe (Keith Bray 68), Ewan Otoo (Kieran Ngwenya 83): Josh Cooper (Rory Macleod 59), Connor Young (Chris Hamilton 83), Andrew Tod
SUBS NOT USED: Matty Todd, Alfons Amade, Alasdair Davidson, Thomas Margetts (GK)
SCORERS: A Tod (76), Macleod (90+4 pen.)

STIRLING ALBION: Derek Gaston: Trialist (Ross McGeachie HT), Lee Hamilton (c)(Cooper Knox 59), Calum Crane, Kyle Banner, Trialist: Mackenzie Carse, Ross Cunningham, Adam Brown (Dale Carrick 77), Dale Hilson (Kane Thomson HT): Russell McLean.
SUBS NOT USED: Aaron Weir, Harrison Howe, Kyle Scott, Harry Wright, Jamie Smith (GK)
YELLOW CARDS: McGeachie (63), Banner (81), Crane (87)

REFEREE: Graham Grainger
ATTENDANCE: 2389 (inc 101 away fans)
WEATHER: Sunny Intervals 18 °C

NEXT MATCH: William Hill Championship (away) v Morton, Saturday 2nd August 2025, kick off 3.00pm at Cappielow Park.