Midfielder Dean Hawkshaw has called for his team to find some consistency in order to turn their season around.
The Blues have followed up an impressive 2-1 win over East Fife with defeats to Forfar Athletic and Stirling Albion.
The result last weekend saw the team slip to the bottom of the League Two table ahead of another important clash with Edinburgh City on Saturday.
Hawkshaw stressed the importance of being able to put in good performances week in, week out.
Speaking after the full time whistle at Stair Park, he said: “I’ve been here four years now and I harp on about consistency.
“The teams that are consistent finish at the top end of the table and the teams that are consistently not doing well are at the bottom end of the table.
“Right now, we are not consistent so we are finding ourselves at the bottom of the table.
“It is up to us to turn our luck and you do that through hard work, persistence and more often than not doing the right things.
“That means defending well and taking one chance if you get one chance.”
Stranraer conceded goals at the end of each half in the defeat to Stirling.
Adam Brown’s free-kick into the box in the closing stages of the first half was not dealt with and Erik Sula scored.
Then, at the end of the second half, Brown’s low strike beat Jacob Pazikas in the home goal.
Hawkshaw, who is closing in on 100 appearances in a Stranraer shirt, pointed to the first goal as being vital.
He said: “It’s becoming a typical goal and that is down to us.
“It’s not just your luck because at the end of the day you make your own luck.
“They put the ball in the box and they get the breaks; they are putting bodies in there and they eventually get the goal.
“You can look at the second goal but we are trying to roll the dice and get ourselves a draw.
“The first goal was the difference between the two teams today.”
The trip to the capital brings Stranraer a chance to get back on the winning trail.
The two sides have only met at Meadowbank Stadium on one occasion, where a Danny Handling hat-trick proved decisive.
Stranraer will be looking to end their poor run of form and Hawkshaw said: “It is up to us to put it right.
“We will go up to Edinburgh City and we will be looking to put in a performance.
“Hopefully that brings us three points but it is down to workrate, it is down to how much we want it and we have got to show it next week.”
Previous meeting
An early season cup tie saw Stranraer and Edinburgh City meet last summer.
Tom Orr had already hit the post before the home side took a deserved lead. James Dolan did well wide on the left and found an unmarked Ben Armour in the box, with the striker side-footing the shot beyond Sam Ramsbottom.
In the second half, Edinburgh City found their leveller when Ryan Shanley got on the end of Innes Murray’s shot across goal and tapped home at the back post.
The game was decided when Orr was brought down in the box by Murray, who received a red card. The Stranraer striker picked himself up and scored from the spot.
Stranraer: McDonald, Robertson, Ross, McIntosh, Girvan, Dolan, Hawkshaw (Hughes 65), Forrest, Fleming, Armour, Orr.
Not used: Phillips, Agnew, McKane and O’Connor.
Edinburgh City: Ramsbottom, MacDonald (Mitchell 46), Hamilton, Mercer, Brian (Leitch 61), Handling, Mahon (Mair 77), Jacobs, Murray, Shanley, McLean.
Not used: Devine, Peter and Quate.
Last five meetings
- Stranraer 2 Edinburgh City 1 (Armour and Orr (Pen); Shanley) at Stair Park on July 22, 2023
- Edinburgh City 3 Stranraer 2 (Handling x3; Walker and Watt) at Meadowbank Stadium on August 24, 2022
- Edinburgh City 1 Stranraer 2 (McDonald; Ross and Burns) at Ainslie Park on March 18, 2022
- Stranraer 0 Edinburgh City 2 (See and Handling) at Stair Park on February 5, 2022
- Edinburgh City 3 Stranraer 1 (Robertson x2 and Hilton; Yates) at Ainslie Park on November 12, 2021
Last five games
Stranraer
- LOSS v Stirling Albion (H): 0-2
- LOSS v Forfar Athletic (A): 2-1 (Guthrie)
- WIN v East Fife (H): 2-1 (Russell x2)
- LOSS v Annan Athletic (H): 1-5 (Dunlop)
- LOSS v Bonnyrigg Rose (A): 0-2
Edinburgh City
- DRAW v Elgin City (A): 3-3 (Young x2 and Lawson)
- DRAW v Clyde (A): 1-1 (Young)
- LOSS v Queen’s Park (A): 1-0
- LOSS v Peterhead (H): 0-4
- WIN v Forfar Athletic (A): 0-3 (Lawson x2 and Young)
Last time out
Stranraer
Lineup v Stirling Albion: Pazikas, Brindley, Cummins, Ross, McIntosh (Woods 84), Gallagher, Dunlop (Ecrepont 73), Russell (Edgar 64), Hawkshaw (Adam 72), Grant, Guthrie.
Not used: Robertson, McKnight and Broun.
Edinburgh City
Lineup v Elgin City: Weir, Robertson, McArthur, Lynch (McKinstray 81), Grigor, Gormley (Jarvis 71), Mitchell, Stokes, Jones, Lawson, Young.
Not used: Pitt, Scally, Rennie and Beveridge.
Ins and outs
Stranraer
Arrivals: Mo Adam (Gala Fairydean Rovers), Tomas Brindley (Forfar Athletic), Harry Broun (Dumbarton), Adam Cummins (Stirling Albion), Robbie Foster (Huntly), Kirk McKnight (Broomhill), Mark Russell (Portadown), Paul Woods (Unattached), Elliot Dunlop (Airdrieonians, loan), Max Guthrie (Ayr United, loan) and Jacob Pazikas (Rangers, loan)
Departures: Ben Armour (Peterhead), Andy Downie (Creetown), Kyle Fleming (Annan Athletic), Kyle Girvan (Elgin City), George O’Connor (Hurlford United), Ben Hughes (Hurlford United), Tom Orr (Cumnock Juniors), Josh Walker (Queen of the South), Cammy Williamson (Darvel), Lewis Budinauckas (Rangers, end of loan), Aidan Gilmartin (St Mirren, end of loan), Murray Miller (Stirling Albion, end of loan), James Dolan and Chris Johnston.
Edinburgh City
Arrivals: Dean Beveridge (Vale of Leithen), Sam Gormley (Bonnyrigg Rose), Josh Grigor (Bonnyrigg Rose), Robbie Hamilton (Hibernian), Jason Jarvis (Bonnyrigg Rose), Sam Jones (The Spartans), Innes Lawson (Civil Service Strollers), Edin Lynch (Stenhousemuir), Lewis McArthur (Bo’ness United), Kodi McKinstray (St Johnstone), Jake Rennie (Dunfermline Athletic), Jon Robertson (Alloa Athletic), James Stokes (University of Stirling), Robbie Walker (Preston Athletic), Mark Weir (Stirling Albion) and Connor Young (Clyde).
Departures: Kelsey Ewan (Stenhousemuir), Alieu Faye (Civil Service Strollers), Olly McDonald (Elgin City), Cai McNamara (Berwick Rangers), Ruaridh Adams (Dundee United, end of loan), Callum Flatman (Heart of Midlothian, end of loan), Findlay Marshall (Aberdeen, end of loan), Liam Parker (St Johnstone, end of loan), Malik Zaid (Hibernian, end of loan), Frankie Deane, Brodie Devine, Cameron Quate, Momodou Sambou and Callum Wilson.
Five facts
1. In the 10 meetings since Edinburgh City joined Stranraer in the SPFL, the Blues have kept one clean sheet. That was the first league meeting between the sides in November 2020 when a Darryl Duffy goal gave Stranraer the win at Ainslie Park.
2. Four of Stranraer’s last five permanent managers have avoided defeat in their opening game in charge. Scott Agnew saw his side win 3-1 against Elgin City. Jamie Hamill was given a 3-0 win over Greenock Morton during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stevie Farrell picked up a point in a goalless draw at East Fife while Stevie Aitken enjoyed a 4-1 win over Forfar Athletic. Only Brian Reid suffered a defeat, going down 2-0 to Queen of the South.
3. Craig Malcolm was the first goalscorer in Stevie Aitken, Brian Reid and Stevie Farrell’s reigns.
4. Saturday is not Chris Aitken’s first game in charge. He was caretaker boss at Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. The Blues team in the 4-0 defeat was: Belford, Robertson, Dick, Barron (Turner 57), Bell, Neill, Agnew, Thomson (Morena 73), Gibson, Malcolm, McGuigan (Wilson 64). Not used: Whittaker, Maley and Currie.
5. Edinburgh City have won one home game in all competitions this calendar year, while Stranraer have not won an away game over the last nine months.
Admission
Tickets can be purchased online via FanBase, pricing as follows:
- Adult (over 18s) – £15
- Concessions (under 18s and OAPs) – £10
- Under 12s – £5
Under 12s must be accompanied by a paying adult.
Away fans are situated in sections A and B, with the standing area to the west of the main stand.
Tickets can also be purchased at the turnstiles on match days, and cash and card payments are accepted.
Coverage
A heavily restricted view is expected for video coverage this weekend, with highlights available on Sunday.
As usual, the manager’s interview will be available on YouTube following the game.
Club 1870 subscribers can catch the goals late on Saturday evening, along with full match footage on Sunday evening.
We’ll have live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter) for those further afield.
Photos: Bill McCandlish
