Burns strike took the tie to extra time. Albion were eventually overwhelmed and lost 6–2 on aggregate, a teenage Charlie Nicholas coming off the bench to grab his first two goals for the Hoops. Following a third match against Celtic – a 3–0 defeat in the Scottish Cup in February – goals and confidence dried up and 13 games without finding the net led to relegation back to the 3rd tier. Through necessity, Albion began to cash in on the squad's better players, and Smith was given the task of developing a conveyor belt of local talent to sell on and keep Albion afloat. George Young had already signed for Rangers for £20,000 in 1979 but the exodus began to pick up pace. Defender George Nicol went to Dundee United in 1981 and John Kennedy to St Johnstone a year later. Three of Smith's local discoveries left in quick succession in 1983 and 1984: striker John Colquhoun to Celtic, midfielder Brian Grant to Aberdeen and Scotland youth defender John Philliben to Doncaster Rovers. Meanwhile, stalwart goalkeeper Gordon Arthur departed for Dumbarton. Despite the calibre of the players leaving, Albion maintained consistent top-half finishes and, in 1984, racked up a record 20–0 Scottish Cup victory over Selkirk, which made headlines around the world. Following a bright start to the 1986–87 campaign, Smith was prised away to take charge of St Mirren, and his assistant George Peebles took over at Annfield. Albion finished 3rd and missed out on promotion only on goal difference. Three more local players were poached from the club between 1986 and 1987: Willie Irvine by Hibernian and Robert Dawson and Keith Walker by their old boss at St Mirren, bringing the total revenue raised from player sales linked to the Smith era to nearly £1 million. However, off the field, the council had decided to make as much money as possible from Annfield, and the grass pitch was considered not to be cost effective. The main stand was also demolished after being declared an unsafe building. An extra large crowd turned up in September 1987, to see Stirling play Ayr United on the first-ever game on artificial turf in Scotland. One consequence of the pitch change was that clubs could decide not to play on the surface in cup matches, and so for the next 5 years all of Stirling Albion's home cup games were played away. With