It seems an inevitability that a player will very quickly come up against their former side.
Sallu Turay spent six years at Partick Thistle and faces a quickfire return to Firhill Stadium on Tuesday after leaving the club in the summer.
The striker enjoyed his time at the club but stressed he was not wanting to put off any time in looking to get his first goal for his new team.
He said: “I have great friends at Partick.
“When I heard Stranraer were interested, my agent saw that Partick was one of the first games.
“I still have great memories of there, but I am a Stranraer player now and we are going there to get three points.”
The teenager made his debut for his new club in Saturday’s penalty shootout victory over Partick’s Championship rivals Ross County.
Ronan Hale had opened the scoring for the team from the Highlands before Tommy Sharp popped up with a leveller and sent the game to penalties.
There, Stranraer came through with goalkeeper Josh Lane making three saves along the way before Lewis Hunter netted the winning spot kick.
Turay played the first 58 minutes before making way for Ryan Edgar.
The summer signing said: “It was absolutely roasting!
“It was so hot so, obviously, it was hard conditions but it was hard conditions for everybody.
“I thought we played well.
“I thought we deserved to win, to be honest.
“I thought our shape was very good.
“Obviously, we switched off for the goal, which was unfortunate, but we did well.
“A good goal from Tommy and good saves from Josh as well.”
Eighteen-year-old Turay is looking to become a regular in Chris Aitken’s new look side.
Last season, he spent the first half of the campaign with Benburb.
The West of Scotland Football League Premier Division offered Turay the chance to encounter first team football.
And while at New Tinto Park he found the net on 12 occasions, alongside four assists.
He said: “I absolutely loved it.
“As soon as I walked in, the staff, the people who run the club, were delighted to see me come in.
“It was amazing and I really enjoyed it.”
Last meeting
It is four years since Stranraer and Partick Thistle last locked horns.
That came at Stair Park and Tunji Akinola broke the deadlock in the first half. He collected the ball from a corner before finding enough room to turn and then blast high into the net.
Stranraer battled well to try and get back level, but eventually came unstuck with a late second goal. That came from Kevin Holt, who nodded home from close range.
Stranraer: Scullion, Robertson, Burns, Sonkur, Ross, Gallagher, Watson (Walker 84), Woods, Smith, Irving (Yates 57), Rennie (Moore 84).
Not used: McIntosh and Ngoy.
Partick Thistle: Sneddon, Foster, Holt, Akinola, Bannigan (Stevenson 89), Smith, Gordon, Docherty, Tiffoney (Stanway 89), Murray (Turner 65), MacIver (Graham 65).
Not used: Black, Collins and McCready.
Last five meetings
- Stranraer 0 Partick Thistle 2 (Akinola and Holt) at Stair Park on September 4, 2021
- Partick Thistle 4 Stranraer 1 (Fitzpatrick, Cardle, Saunders and Spittal; Crossan) at Firhill Stadium on January 19, 2019
- Stranraer 0 Partick Thistle 5 (O’Ware, Fitzpatrick x2, Mbuyi-Mutombo and Melbourne) at Stair Park on August 14, 2018
- Partick Thistle 1 Stranraer 0 (Elliott) at Firhill Stadium on July 29, 2017
- Partick Thistle 1 Stranraer 2 (Roberts; Ross and Hamilton) at Firhill Stadium on May 6, 2006
Last five games
Stranraer
- DRAW v Ross County (H): 1-1 (Stranraer win 6-5 on penalties) (Sharp)
- LOSS v Bonnyrigg Rose (H): 0-1
- LOSS v Elgin City (A): 3-0
- WIN v Edinburgh City (H): 2-0 (Guthrie and Lang)
- LOSS v Stirling Albion (A): 3-1 (Dunlop)
Partick Thistle
- WIN v Edinburgh City (A): 1-4 (Logan, Crawford, Own goal and Chalmers)
- LOSS v Livingston (A): 2-0
- LOSS v Livingston (H): 0-2
- WIN v Ayr United (A): 0-2 (Graham x2)
- LOSS v Ayr United (H): 0-1
Last time out
Stranraer
Stranraer v Ross County: Lane, Reid, Rough, Dunne, Coll (Ecrepont 75), Stuart (J Dolan 65), Docherty (Sharp 75), McManus (Quigg 65), Hunter, Russell, Turay (Edgar 58).
Not used: McKnight and Henderson.
Partick Thistle
Edinburgh City v Partick Thistle: Budinauckas, Logan, Reading, Ashcroft, O’Reilly, Crawford, McBeth, Stanway, Chalmers (Falconer 87), Lawless (Mackenzie 62), Fitzpatrick (Horn 78).
Not used: L Dolan, Low, Campbell, Lockhart, Watt and Cameron.
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), Daniel McManus (St Cadoc’s), Lewis Reid (Queen’s Park, loan made permanent), Scot Rough (Beith Juniors), Tommy Sharp (Livingston), Jordan Stuart (Beith Juniors), Sallu Turay (Partick Thistle) and Josh Lane (Hamilton Academical, loan).
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).
Partick Thistle
Ins: Lewis Budinauckas (Rangers, loan made permanent), Cammy Logan (Forfar Athletic), Patrick Reading (Ayr United) and Tony Watt (Dundee United).
Outs: Stuart Bannigan (Ayr United), Brian Graham (Falkirk), Sean Kelly (Boeung Ket), David Mitchell (Ayr United), Aaron Muirhead (Arbroath, loan made permanent), Terry Ablade (Fulham, end of loan), Lewis Budinauckas (Rangers, end of loan), Ethan Drysdale (Heart of Midlothian, end of loan), Kanayo Megwa (Hibernian, end of loan), Josh Reid (Ross County, end of loan) and Alex Jakubiak.
Five facts
1. Victory over Ross County was Stranraer’s first penalty shootout triumph since the opening day of the season in 2020/21. That saw the Blues come out on top against Annan Athletic after the game had finished 1-1. Ruari Paton scored for the visitors before an Owen Moxon leveller.
2. One man who will be very familiar to Stranraer fans on Tuesday night is goalkeeper Lewis Budinauckas. He made 33 appearances for the Blues before returning to Rangers at the end of 2023/24. He has also followed in his dad’s footsteps by playing for both Stranraer and Partick Thistle.
3. Goalkeeper Evan Williams passed away earlier this year. He finished his senior career with Stranraer having played with Celtic and Clyde. He would have been 82 on Tuesday.
4. There has never been a goalless draw between Stranraer and Partick Thistle. In fact, you need to go back to April 2000 for the last time there was even a draw. Keith Knox secured a point for Stranraer after Russell Huggon opened the scoring. The visiting Stranraer team was: McGeown, Black (Edgar 70), Knox, Watson, Johnstone, Jenkins (Blair 46), Bell, Smith, Harty, Young (Wright 46), Blaikie.
5. Tommy Sharp’s goal was the first time a Stranraer debutant had scored since Deryn Lang found the net against Bonnyrigg Rose in August 2023. On both occasions, the goalscorers had come off the bench.
Admission
Blues fans will be housed in Sections 8 and 9 of the Jackie Husband Stand.
The front section of the Colin Weir Stand will also be open for home and away fans with disabilities and mobility issues, but the main seated area of the Colin Weir Stand will not be open to the public.
- Adult – £15
- Concessions – £10
- Youths – £5
Tickets are available to purchase online using Partick Thistle’s Fanbase ticketing platform.
The home club have provided disability access information for supporters attending Tuesday’s cup tie.
Coverage
If you can’t make it to Firhill, 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 from Tuesday night, along with full match footage by Wednesday morning.
Extended highlights will be available via YouTube by Wednesday evening, with Brian Martin joined by Blues striker Deryn Lang on commentary.
Photos: Bill McCandlish
