Lover not a fighter

Joe Cardle:- "It was a bit of a nightmare but we just need to go out on Saturday when we play them at home and score the goals that we didn't get on Tuesday night."

Joe Cardle felt that it was 'scary' to get so many chances in a game and yet fail to score:-

"I thought at 1-0 we were passing it about so well that if we got another goal it could have been five or six. It was just one of those games where we couldn't get the second goal. They got the goal and we felt like we were chasing the game.

"We had chance after chance in the second half. I don't know how many corners I took, it must have been nearly twenty but they just wouldn't go in for us. I don't know what was in front of that goal, it just wouldn't go in for us. I had a chance but the boy came in behind me as I ran in and I put it just by the post. The finishing just wasn't our night. On another day five or six of those would have gone in the back of the net.

"We played some great stuff, the tempo was brilliant. We got the ball down and we passed it. Even at 1-1 we were still playing football, looking for the ball and passing it as much as we can. You can't fault the boys for the way we played but these are the games where you need to get the three points - it is a crucial point in the season. Unfortunately we didn't get the three points.

"When Stirling got the goal they got themselves back into the game a bit although I thought we dominated the whole game to be honest. It was a bit of a nightmare but we just need to go out on Saturday when we play them at home and score the goals that we didn't get on Tuesday night."

Stirling manager Jocky Scott thought the 43rd minute red card shown to Michael Doyle for his challenge on Joe was harsh, he said:-

"The referee missed the first one - the punch that the boy through at Michael Doyle. Unfortunately Michael Doyle reacted when he shouldn't have reacted, but he reacted to the punch that was put on him. The referee doesn't see that one but sees the second one and we get punished for it but unfortunately that is what we were up against."

Joe was a bit taken aback to hear that take on the incident:-

"A couple of times beforehand the boy was kicking out at me, every time I passed the ball. The same when he got sent off; I passed the ball, he pulled my shirt and i pulled him back but he kicked me and I went down. It was a blatant red card; you can't kick off the ball so I don't know why they are complaining. The referee was right next to me."

Joe was adamant that there was no punch:-

"That's not my game at all - I'm a lover not a fighter! The boy kicked out, the referee saw it and he was shown him the red card."