Home form could be vital in determining where the Blues finish this season, according to new signing Chris McQueen.
The January arrival is hoping his new side enjoy home comforts as they look to mount a late surge for the promotion play-offs.
The 21-year-old will make his Stair Park debut tomorrow (Saturday) when Peterhead make the long journey south.
He said: “We’ve got six of our next nine games at home so I think it is quite important we start getting some wins together.
“Obviously, if you get a couple of good results in a row, it puts you right back up in contention to try to go for the play-offs.
“If we can try to get a run together, then, I think, we will be fine in terms of putting some distance between us and the bottom half.
“If we can get a good run together and distance ourselves from that and then try to get as close to the play-off spots as we can.
“We are going to need to make Stair Park a fortress.
“It should be a big advantage to be at home, on our pitch and we need to try to get a run of results together.
“It is easier trying to do that at home than going away to other places.
“Personally, I would like one or two clean sheets and as long as we are nice and tight defensively then I am sure we will score goals while at home.”
McQueen, who began his career at Celtic, felt there were positives to take from the trip to Elgin City last weekend, despite the Blues going down 2-1.
Deryn Lang’s goal had Stranraer in front before two disputed penalties saw the hosts turn the game on its head.
McQueen, who joined the club after a spell in the Scottish Lowland Football League with East Kilbride, said: “Obviously, I wanted to win but it was good to get 90 minutes; just to get back playing, get some minutes in the legs.
“I thought we were good for the first period of the game but when we scored we sort of dropped off a wee bit.
“All the boys are good.”
The signing might have come out of the blue for many of the Stranraer faithful but McQueen, who also had a brief spell with Weymouth earlier this campaign, revealed there was more to it.
He said: “Probably about two months ago I knew I was not staying at East Kilbride.
“The gaffer phoned me and I came in and trained for a week before going back to East Kilbride.
“From there, we sort of knew I was going to be signing in January.
“I had only signed a six-month deal until January at East Kilbride.”
Last meeting
Goals have never been in short supply in meetings between Peterhead and Stranraer.
One man who knows his way to goal is Rory McAllister and he cut in from the left to fire home on the 14th minute.
Ben Armour had already been denied by Stuart McKenzie but made up for the miss when he reacted quickest to the goalkeeper spilling Matty Grant’s long-range effort to equalise.
The hosts were back in front when Scott Ross headed home Joe McKee’s corner before the half time whistle.
The second equaliser came from a Dean Hawkshaw corner and as Peterhead attempted to clear it the ball was sliced into his own net by Caleb Goldie.
It looked as if the points would be shared until the penultimate minute when McKee curled a lovely free-kick over the wall and out of the reach of Lewis Budinauckas.
Peterhead: McKenzie, Goldie, Jason Brown, R Strachan (Wilson 89), Scott Ross, Ward (Jordan Brown 70), McKee, O’Keefe (Reid 87), McAllister, Shanks, Jack Brown.
Not used: Thompson, D Strachan, Armstrong, Oluyemi and Wood.
Stranraer: Budinauckas, Williamson, Girvan, Craig Ross, McIntosh, Robertson, Hawkshaw (McDonald 89), Forrest, Grant, Armour (Orr 89), Dolan (Lang 60).
Not used: Walker, Strachan, Sneddon and Downie.
Last five meetings
- Peterhead 3 Stranraer 2 (McAllister, Ross and McKee; Armour and Own Goal) at Balmoor Stadium on November 11, 2023
- Stranraer 2 Peterhead 1 (Orr and Fleming; Jason Brown) at Stair Park on September 2, 2023
- Peterhead 3 Stranraer 0 (Conroy x2 and Scott Brown) at Balmoor Stadium on December 7, 2019
- Stranraer 1 Peterhead 2 (Dangana; Scott Brown x2) at Stair Park on August 31, 2019
- Peterhead 2 Stranraer 2 (McAllister and Redman; Malcolm and Robertson) at Balmoor Stadium on March 25, 2017
Last five games
Stranraer
- LOSS v Elgin City (A): 2-1 (Lang)
- LOSS v The Spartans (A): 3-0
- WIN v Bonnyrigg Rose (H): 3-1 (Own goal, Grant and Ross)
- DRAW v Clyde (A): 2-2 (Ross and Dolan)
- DRAW v Forfar Athletic (A): 1-1 (McDonald)
Peterhead
- WIN v Dumbarton (H): 3-1 (McAllister x2 (Pen x1) and Jack Brown)
- LOSS v The Spartans (H): 0-1
- LOSS v Elgin City (A): 2-1 (Shanks)
- LOSS v Forfar Athletic (H): 1-2 (Jack Brown)
- WIN v Clyde (H): 2-1 (Jack Brown and O’Keefe)
Last time out
Elgin City v Stranraer: Budinauckas, Girvan, Ross, McQueen, Robertson (Hawkshaw 75), Forrest, Ecrepont, Grant, Dolan, Johnston (Fleming 66), Lang (Orr 66).
Not used: Williamson, Walker, McDonald, Strachan and Downie.
Peterhead v Dumbarton: McKenzie, D Strachan, Jason Brown (Goldie 58), R Strachan, Ross, Ritchie (Ward 65), McCarthy, McKee, Jordan Brown (Pawlett 64), McAllister, Shanks (Jack Brown 57).
Not used: Wood.
Five facts
1. Striker Tom Orr will be looking to mark his birthday on Saturday with three points. The summer signing is in his second spell with the Blues and turns 27. In 52 appearances for the club, he has found the net on 15 occasions.
2. Dylan Forrest has played more minutes than anyone in the Stranraer squad this season. He passed the 2,000 minute mark (more than 34 hours) at Borough Briggs. James Dolan will exceed 2,000 minutes if he plays 61 minutes or more tomorrow afternoon.
3. Stranraer and Peterhead have only drawn 0-0 once in 33 meetings and that came at Balmoor Stadium in March 2016. Fingers crossed the goalscoring continues at Stair Park this weekend.
4. The appearances of Chris McQueen, Chris Johnston and Finn Ecrepont last weekend took the number of players involved in Stranraer games this campaign to 30. That figure includes Andy Downie, Liam Clive and Scott Agnew, who have all been unused substitutes. If Aiden Gilmartin features at all, it will surpass the number of players used last season.
5. Mark Crilly only scored two goals for Stranraer during his season at Stair Park and the first of those came against Peterhead. David Hamilton had put Stranraer in front at Stair Park with a second half penalty. Dougie Cameron equalised for the long-travelled visitors with seven minutes left but Crilly replied just two minutes later to seal the win. The Stranraer team on November 11, 2006, was: Black, Wilson, Hodge, Lyle (Snowdon 9), Hamilton, McMullan, Aitken, Crilly, Wright (Nicholas 77), McGroarty, Burns (Britton 85). Not used: McAlpine and Morrison.
How to watch
Admission at Stair Park is on a ‘pay at the gate’ basis, with pricing as follows:
- Adult – £15
- Concession – £10
- 5 to 16 Years Old – £5
- Under 5 – FREE
Stranraer FC merchandise is available, and the Pavilion Bar at the ground is open from 1pm for pre and post-match refreshments.
Broadcasting restrictions are lifted for this weekend, which means we can bring you live video coverage of all the action with full commentary wherever you are, priced at £11.
Finally, you can follow our social media channels for live updates, interviews and highlights across the weekend.
Photos: Bill McCandlish
