Regular first team football and the chance to get among the goals persuaded Dean Cleland to turn a loan spell at Stranraer into a permanent move.
The striker spent the second half of last season at The LIME Stadium on loan from Hibernian.
It proved a successful spell with three goals in nine starts in a Stranraer jersey.
Now, he is hoping to improve on that number and help fire his new side to success once again.
He said: “I felt my loan last season went quite successfully.
“Obviously, I got the bad news that I was not getting a contract at Hibs.
“I spoke to the gaffer, I spoke to Martin Fellowes and I spoke to Stevie Aitken about that.
“They said that they would love to have me back and I thought it would be perfect for me to come back.
“I could play, hopefully, 40 to 50 games this season, get loads of experience for myself, and the manager said to then go back up the levels.
“I thought it could be really successful for me and the club as well.”
The 18-year-old is part of a new look frontline at Stranraer this campaign.
Ryan Edgar, Robbie Foster, Deryn Lang, Corey O’Donnell and Sallu Turay have all left the club while Cleland has been joined by Murray Binnie, Lewis Dobbie and Aaron Healy in coming in.
Cleland’s three goals last season all came in different manners.
A close range finish at East Kilbride was followed up with a header against Spartans and then a shot from outside of the box against Elgin City.
The striker has continued that ability to find the net with goals in pre-season against Dundela and Renfrew.
Now, he is looking to take that form into Saturday’s trip to face Alloa Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup.
He said: “Hopefully, it will be more than nine starts this season and, hopefully, it will be more than three goals as well!
“I have already got two in the pre-season friendlies.
“I have, obviously, started quite well and, hopefully, I can continue that onto Saturday and keep continuing that until the end of the season.
“I would kind of say I am more of an in the box player than anything else but the odd game I will maybe step up and score from outside of the box by surprise!”
One thing that has changed this season is the number on the back of Cleland’s shirt.
During last season’s loan spell, the frontman wore ‘52’ but this term has opted for ’77’.
He explained: “The reasoning behind 52 was that was my first-ever professional number at Hibs.
“That is why I chose that number.
“When I played for the under-19s, I always wore seven.
“Obviously, James Dolan has got seven so I thought I would just take the two sevens!
“I think a lot of people are probably wondering why I have gone so high with the number – I think I am the highest by about 50!”
Last meeting
All the goals came in the second half when Stranraer and Alloa Athletic met in the midweek sun last season.
The opener came when James Dolan raced onto Mark Russell’s defence-splitting pass. The midfielder kept his cool to slot beyond the visiting goalkeeper and score his first goal since returning to the LIME Stadium at Stair Park.
Alloa would pull level when Andrew Clarke smashed home an unstoppable free-kick.
However, there was time for the home side to find a winner and it came from Sallu Turay. Daniel McManus saw his effort come back off the post but Turay was in the right place to fire home.
Stranraer: Lane, Ecrepont, Reid (Coll 76), Rough, Dunne, Dolan (Hughes 62), Quigg (Hunter 71), Russell (Sharp 76), McManus, O’Donnell (Edgar 71), Turay.
Not used: McKnight and Henderson.
Alloa Athletic: Ogayi, Graham, McKay (Eadson 75), Church (Foster 44), Clarke (Rankin 75), Mullen, Watkins, McCurdy, Donnelly, Orsi (Bruin 46), Sammon (Kavanagh 63).
Not used: Parry.
Last five meetings
- Stranraer 2 Alloa Athletic 1 (Dolan and Turay; Clarke) at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park on August 12, 2025
- Alloa Athletic 0 Stranraer 1 (Neill) at Indodrill Stadium on April 7, 2018
- Stranraer 1 Alloa Athletic 0 (Lyon) at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park on February 24, 2018
- Alloa Athletic 1 Stranraer 0 (Stewart) at Indodrill Stadium on December 23, 2017
- Stranraer 2 Alloa Athletic 0 (Wallace and Hamill) at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park on October 14, 2017
Last five games
Stranraer
- LOSS v Ayr United (H): 2-3 (Dolan (Pen) and Traynor)
- WIN v Elgin City (A): 0-1 (Foster)
- DRAW v Stirling Albion (H): 1-1 (Lang)
- LOSS v Forfar Athletic (H): 0-1
- WIN v Spartans (A): 1-2 (Turay and Quigg)
Alloa Athletic
- LOSS v Edinburgh City (A): 2-0
- WIN v Stenhousemuir (A): 0-1 (O’Donnell)
- LOSS v Stenhousemuir (H): 1-3 (Waters)
- WIN v Airdrieonians (A): 1-2 (Foster and Adamson)
- WIN v Airdrieonians (H): 1-0 (Taggart (Pen))
Last time out
Stranraer
Lineup v Ayr United: Currie, Ecrepont (Coll 58), Nair (McLuckie 74), Dunne, Cameron, Bruce, Traynor (Healy 58), Hughes (Gillie 74), Quigg, Dolan (Cleland 74), Dobbie.
Not used: Binnie, Lynch and Henderson.
Alloa Athletic
Lineup v Edinburgh City: Green, O’Donnell, Devine (Ellison 78), Taggart, Foster, Scougall, Hetherington, Walker (Glasgow 46), Donnelly (Cameron 46), McCafferty (Marchant 46), Rankin (Gallagher 70).
Not used: Bruin, Easdon, Pettifer and Parry.
Transfers
Stranraer
Ins: Murray Binnie (St Johnstone), Zach Bruce (Hibernian, loan), Connor Cameron (Renfrew), Dean Cleland (Hibernian), Lewis Dobbie (East Kilbride), Lewis Gillie (Hibernian, loan), Aaron Healy (Arthurlie), Mark McLuckie (Bo’ness United), Kenzi Nair (Heart of Midlothian), Dominic Plank (Heart of Midlothian) and Archie Traynor (Kilmarnock, loan).
Outs: Ryan Edgar (Cumnock Juniors), Matthew Gillies (Heart of Midlothian), Lewis Hunter (Caledonian Braves), Deryn Lang (Dumbarton), Joseph McGrath (Hibernian, end of loan), Kirk McKnight (Annan Athletic), Corey O’Donnell (Annan Athletic), Lewis Reid (Ross County), Tommy Sharp (Cumnock Juniors), Lyndon Tas (Heart of Midlothian, end of loan), Sallu Turay (Linlithgow Rose), Sean Docherty and Robbie Foster.
Alloa Athletic
Ins: Max Cameron (Rangers, loan), Joe Ellison (Berwick Rangers), Kyle Glasgow (Rangers, loan), Lawton Green (Queen of the South), Grant Marchant (Kilmarnock), Flynn McCafferty (Falkirk), Ross Stewart (Queen of the South) and Josh Walker (Elgin City).
Outs: Calum Adamson (Rangers, end of loan), Callum Burnside (Rangers, end of loan), Daniel Church (retired), Charlie Dewar (Dundee United, end of loan), Josh Gentles (Rangers, end of loan), Liam McFarlane (Heart of Midlothian, end of loan), David McKay (Spartans), Reece Mullen (Caledonian Braves), Kalvin Orsi (Hamilton Academical), Connor Sammon (retired), Lewis Stewart (Rangers, end of loan), Andrew Clarke and Tochukwu Ogayi.
Five facts
- Sunday marks the 34th birthday of the only South American to play for Stranraer: Luciano Nequecaur. The Argentinian striker made eight appearances for Stranraer during the 2015/16 season. His one goal came against Buckie Thistle in the Scottish Cup.
- Among Alloa Athletic’s close season signings was former Stranraer man Josh Walker. He made 93 appearances for the Blues, with 47 coming from the start. Along the way, he found the net on nine occasions. After a loan spell at Annan Athletic, Walker went on to play for Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir before spending much of last season with Elgin City.
- Stranraer played Alloa Athletic at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park in the KDM Evolution Trophy last season. However, you need to go back almost 25 years for the last cup clash between the two sides in Alloa. On that occasion, extra time was needed to give Alloa victory in a seven-goal thriller. Scorers for the home side were Jimmy Fisher, Ian Little, Ross Hamilton and Harry Curran while Mark Gallagher scored a double either side of an Allan Jenkins effort for Stranraer. The visiting team was: McGeown, Wingate, Wright, Hodge (Weir 82), Johnstone (Gallagher 26), Gaughan, Jenkins, Aitken, MacDonald, Finlayson (George 104), Shaw. Not used: Grace and O’Neil.
- That same season was the last time there has been a goalless draw between the two sides. It finished 0-0 in Alloa on April 27, 2002 – 30 games ago.
- James Dolan’s goal against former club Ayr United took him to 11 in a Stranraer shirt. That puts him level with former players including Matty Grant, Michael Geraghty and Paul Kerr.
Admission
You can purchase an e-ticket for match entry via Alloa Athletic’s website.
The following pricing applies:
- Adult – £15
- Concession (66+, Disabled + Carer) – £10
- Under 16s – £5
Merchandise
Our brand new Argentina-inspired replica away shirts are available for purchase via the online Club Shop. You can order yours online now, along with a range of Blues merchandise.
Podcast
In our latest edition of club podcast Look Blues Talking, we review all four friendly matches and look ahead to the Blues’ Premier Sports Cup schedule.
Coverage
If you can’t make it, you can follow our live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter).
The manager’s post-match reaction will be available on YouTube following the game.
Club 1870 subscribers get a first look at the goals on Saturday night, along with full match footage.
Extended highlights will be available via YouTube on Sunday morning, with Laurence Nelson returning to the lineup alongside Brian Martin on commentary.
Photos: Bill McCandlish, Dylan Heron, Colin Poultney (Collarge Images), Alloa Athletic