No one is keener to see Deryn Lang back in the Stranraer squad than the man himself.
The frontman is yet to play a minute this campaign having been forced to tackle a troublesome hamstring injury, and will be on the sidelines as Alloa Athletic visit Stair Park on Tuesday night in the KDM Evolution Trophy (7.45pm kickoff).
Warming up before Saturday’s defeat to Edinburgh City was, hopefully, another step in the right direction.
And Lang stressed he was eager to get back involved.
He said: “Obviously, it has been quite brutal for me.
“I feel that I have tried my best not to distance myself but it has happened naturally because I have not been involved with training and everything.
“It has been brutal for me, to be honest.
“I have been training by myself, doing the weight sessions and running by myself.
“I have spoken to the boys, I know the boys, but I have not played football with them yet.
“Once I play with them, I think my happiness will come back a little bit.
“I have been a wee bit down in the dumps watching training, watching games and not being involved.
“It has been a kick in the teeth but obviously when I get back it will be good to bond more with the players and, most of all, get back playing football again.”
Lang is eight weeks into a rehabilitation programme as he looks to tackle the injury.
And he is looking at every possible avenue to ensure the injury is behind him.
He said: “I had a verruca on the bottom of my foot and I thought that was the initial cause of my injury.
“I have got that taken care of and I did not really know that it was there.
“Once it was analysed and I put all the options on the table, I thought that was one of them.
“I have nipped that in the bud now though.”
The striker had an injury interrupted campaign last season but still managed to make 33 appearances and find the net on seven occasions.
Injury saw him miss out from December 21 through to February 15 – apart from a 14-minute cameo against East Fife where he aggravated the injury.
Speaking before Saturday’s defeat to Edinburgh City, he said: “I’m on the road to recovery.
“I have been sprinting, getting back to my usual sprinting speed and I will be doing a bit of the warm-up today.
“I am hoping to be back fully training on Thursday.
“I have not really set a target because I don’t want to rush back because I have learnt my lesson from last season.
“I am just taking my time and watching what I am doing.
“Training on Thursday, more involved, full warm-up next Saturday and then full training on Tuesday and Thursday and then you never know.
“But I just want to play games.”
Last meeting
It has been more than seven years since Stranraer and Alloa Athletic last faced off against each other.
On that occasion, Scott Agnew came close for the visitors while Jordan Kirkpatrick almost scored from outside the box for the hosts.
n the end, there would only be one goal in the game and that came after the interval. Just eight minutes had been played when Morgyn Neill’s downward header had too much on it for Neil Parry.
Alloa Athletic: Parry, Taggart, Graham, McCart, J Robertson, Flannigan, Hetherington, Kirkpatrick, Smith (Cawley 66), Stewart, Crossan (Renton 77).
Not used: Goodwin, Monaghan, Meggatt and Wilson.
Stranraer: Currie, S Robertson, Neill, McGowan, Lyon (Dykes 89), Hamill, Hawkshaw (MacPherson 81), Agnew, Anderson, Okoh (Scott 75), Turner.
Not used: Gray and Elliott.
Last five meetings
- Alloa Athletic 0 Stranraer 1 (Neill) at The Indodrill Stadium on April 7, 2018
- Stranraer 1 Alloa Athletic 0 (Lyon) at Stair Park on February 24, 2018
- Alloa Athletic 1 Stranraer 0 (Stewart) at The Indodrill Stadium on December 23, 2017
- Stranraer 2 Alloa Athletic 0 (Wallace and Hamill) at Stair Park on October 14, 2017
- Alloa Athletic 1 Stranraer 0 (Cawley) at The Indodrill Stadium on April 29, 2017
Last five games
Stranraer
- LOSS v Edinburgh City (H): 1-2 (Russell (Pen))
- LOSS v Forfar Athletic (A): 1-0
- WIN v Queen of the South (H): 1-0 (Quigg)
- DRAW v Edinburgh City (A): 0-0 (Edinburgh City win 5-3 on penalties)
- LOSS v Partick Thistle (A): 0-2
Alloa Athletic
- WIN v East Fife (A): 0-1 (Devine)
- WIN v Stenhousemuir (A): 1-2 (Buchanan and Roberts)
- WIN v Airdrieonians (A): 2-3 (Foster, Taggart (Pen) and Buchanan)
- WIN v Dundee (H): 1-0 (Own goal)
- WIN v Montrose (H): 2-1 (O’Donnell and Roberts)
Last time out
Stranraer
Lineup v Edinburgh City: Lane, Coll, Reid, Rough, Sharp, Russell, Hunter (Edgar 87), McKnight (Turay 80), Hughes (McManus 66), Dolan (Quigg 80), O’Donnell.
Not used: Ecrepont and Henderson.
Alloa Athletic
Lineup v East Fife: McFarlane, Waters, McKay (Church 66), Devine, Foster, Hetherington, Roberts, Scougall, Rankin (Sammon 66), Buchanan, O’Donnell (Orsi 54).
Not used: Graham, Clarke, Mullen, Donnelly, Bruin and Ogayi.
Ins and outs
Stranraer
Ins: Beejay Coll (St Cadoc’s), James Dolan (Unattached), Evan Dunne (Beith Juniors), Ewan Henderson (Whitletts Victoria), Ronan Hughes (St Cadoc’s), Lewis Hunter (The Spartans), Josh Lane (Hamilton Academicals, loan), Daniel McManus (St Cadoc’s), Corey O’Donnell (Stenhousemuir), Lewis Reid (Queen’s Park, loan made permanent), Scot Rough (Beith Juniors), Tommy Sharp (Livingston), Jordan Stuart (Beith Juniors), Sallu Turray (Partick Thistle).
Outs: Tomas Brindley (Cumnock Juniors), Adam Cummins (Irvine Meadow), Grant Gallagher (Cumnock Juniors), Matty Grant (Johnstone Burgh), Dean Hawkshaw (Hurlford United), Craig Ross (Airdrieonians), Max Guthrie (Ayr United, end of loan), Sam Kane (Queen’s Park, end of loan), Josh Lane (Hamilton Academical, end of loan) and Scott Robertson (retired).
Alloa Athletic
Ins: Daniel Church (Queen of the South), Andy Clarke (Queen’s University Belfast), Owen Foster (St Mirren), Kalvin Orsi (Dumbarton) and Liam McFarlane (Heart of Midlothian, loan).
Outs: PJ Morrison (Cliftonville), Morgyn Neill (Dumbarton), Kane Thomson (Stirling Albion), Miko Virtanen (Elgin City), Charlie Dewar (Dundee United, end of loan), Josh Gentles (Rangers, end of loan), Scott Honeyman (Falkirk, end of loan), Magnus MacKenzie (Queen’s Park, end of loan) and Kevin Cawley (retired).
Five facts
1. Alloa Athletic boast a 100% record after six wins from six games this campaign, including a win over Dundee.
2. It is almost 20 years since Stranraer and Alloa Athletic met in a cup contest. That was the Scottish Cup in 2006 with the Blues coming through 4-2. Kieran McAnespie had actually given the visitors to Stair Park the lead before David Hamilton found the net. Paul McMullan scored for Stranraer but McAnespie levelled with just under 20 minutes left to play. Scott Wilson put Stranraer back in front and Stevie Nicholas settled the tie.
3. Former Stranraer favourite – and dad of current Blue, Tommy – Lee Sharp played for Stranraer and was assistant manager at Alloa alongside Jim Goodwin.
4. There has not been a goalless draw between the two sides at Stair Park since 1999. The home side that day was: McGeown, Furphy, Knox, Smith, Jenkins, George, Cahoon, Harty (Young 62), McMartin, Blaikie (Walker 53), Duthie. Not used: Wright.
5. Stranraer have not scored two goals in a game since defeating Edinburgh City in April. Max Guthrie and Deryn Lang scored in the 2-0 win over the capital club.
Admission
Admission in the Eco Gen Stadium at Stair Park is ‘pay at the gate’ only. Season tickets are not valid for KDM Evolution Trophy ties.
Away fans can enter the ground from the away turnstile opposite the main stand. This turnstile is cash only.
The following pricing applies:
- Adult – £15
- Concession (over 65) – £10
- Youth (5 to 16) – £5
- Under 5 – FREE
Merchandise
Stranraer FC merchandise is available from the hut outside the main McLeans Taxis Stand, including limited numbers of this season’s kits, hats, leisurewear and sale items from last season.
Cash and card payments are accepted.
You can also purchase a range of merchandise online.
Pavilion Bar
Pop into our popular Pavilion Bar outside the away turnstile for a pre-match refreshment with fellow fans.
Home, away and neutral supporters are warmly welcomed, and the bar accepts both cash and card.
Or, stop off at the Stranraer FC Fitba’ Bar on North Strand Street in the town centre, which is also open to all.
Coverage
If you’re further afield, follow our live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter).
Club 1870 subscribers get a first look at the goals late on Tuesday night, along with full match footage by the morning.
Extended highlights will be available via YouTube on Wednesday, with media man Gary Redhead and club legend Allan Jenkins returning to the commentary booth.
Photos: Bill McCandlish, Colin Poultney (Collarge Images)
