Elgin City’s stuttering Borough Briggs form is a cause for concern for manager Gavin Price.
Price’s men crashed to a 2-1 home defeat to second-placed Stirling on Friday night, having lost 4-0 to leaders Dumbarton and crashed out of the SPFL Trust to Clyde in recent outings.
City’s best form seems to have been reserved for away trips and it is a situation their boss knows he must find a solution for to maintain their push for the play-offs.
Price hinted that could mean a raid on the transfer market in the January window.
“I think we’ve got a good formula away from home but our performances here have been inconsistent and we need to find a way to do it better,” he said.
“I don’t feel we are making it tough enough for teams. It certainly wasn’t tough enough for Stirling.
“We didn’t put enough pressure on them, or create enough chances. It was similar against Clyde in our last game here when I didn’t think we did enough in the game when it was a great opportunity to win that cup game.
“That was through not creating as many chances as we normally do, so we’ve got to look at that and find the answers.
“Whether that is a different type of players coming in this January to give us that option to play a different way – whatever it needs we will find it.
“It’s a good group of players here and we’ve got the right attitude to the game.
“We had a good talk after the game in terms of feedback from what the players think. I am always quite open about that because it’s important to collectively as a group find the answers.”
SIGNING NEWS
We are delighted to announce both Goalkeepers have signed contract extensions. ✍️
Thomas and Daniel will remain at the Club until Summer 2025.
Safe to say we are in safe hands. Well done lads.
⚫️⚪️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/elQi9Uksad
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) December 24, 2022
Price saw slack defending by his team punished by Paul McLean’s 31st-minute headed goal for Stirling.
Ross Draper then missed a close-range chance to level and was sent off on the hour, after Kai Fotheringham’s fine finish had doubled Stirling’s lead.
Russell Dingwall’s penalty kick did little to change the pattern of play as the visitors were comfortable winners in the end.
Price added: “The first half was all about two set plays.
“We didn’t defend it well at our end and goals change games, but we had the chance with the (Draper) header just before half time which we should probably score.
“There was very little between the teams at that point. In the second half, we were always going to be a little bit more vulnerable because we went with two strikers and pushed the wing backs much higher up the park.
“Stirling looked like they had a threat on the counter-attack and ultimately it finished the game in terms of the second goal and the sending-off just compounds that.”
Meanwhile, Elgin confirmed that goalkeepers Daniel Hoban and Thomas McHale have signed contract extensions to keep them at the club until the summer of 2025.
Elgin City suffer home defeat to Stirling Albion as Ross Draper sees red
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