Not many in the current Stranraer squad know what it is like to beat Ross County at Stair Park.
Fans will need to cast their minds back almost 11 years for a midweek win over the Staggies in the League Cup.
Strikes from Sean Winter, Chris Aitken and Martin Grehan were enough to give the hosts victory in an entertaining 3-2 contest.
Grant Gallagher, along with Scott Robertson, was part of the team that night and was looking forward to facing off against them once again.
He said: “We are playing a full-time team from the top league.
“It is going to be very difficult and we will be up against it at times.
“We need to be ready for that but then when we do get a chance on the ball we need to take care of it.”
Tomorrow’s kick-off marks the start of season 11 at the club for Gallagher, who originally joined from Celtic.
He said: “It doesn’t get any easier!
“I was saying to the boys and watching them during pre-season, during the running, that it used to be me out front!
“As you get older, it gets a bit harder but if I can use my experience and they can use their young, fit healthy side then, hopefully, as one, we can bring it all together and it becomes good.”
Stranraer’s pre-season has shown signs of promise.
A draw with Larne was followed by a victory over Hurlford United and then, finally, victory over Portadown last weekend.
Gallagher said: “As footballers, you want to go and win the game.
“We want to take that into the upcoming games so that was good.
“It is about getting minutes under your belt and it can be tough as well because the game maybe settles into a wee bit of a rhythm and then there are a lot of changes.
“Portadown came out with a completely new team so it as if the game has to restart again.”
The midfielder felt the different opposition had posed different challenges for the club.
Portadown enjoyed a solid 15-minute spell at the start of the second half but failed to find a way through the home defence.
Gallagher added: “It’s going to happen during the season.
“It is good that we have come up against it because we know it is going to happen.
“I don’t really see the point in taking pre-season games where you are going to dominate all the time because it is pretty false.
“It is good to come up against different tests.”
Previous meeting
Five-star Ross County began the 2023/24 campaign in fine fashion with an ultimately comfortable win at Stair Park.
The deadlock was broken when Craig Ross could only divert Simon Murray’s cross beyond debutant Martin McDonald and into his own net.
The advantage was doubled when Jordan White flicked on a long ball and Murray kept his cool to slot under McDonald. That’s how the score remained until after the interval when a slack backpass from Grant Gallagher allowed Murray in to round the goalkeeper and score.
Stranraer got their name on the scoresheet when James Dolan found Scott Robertson at the back post.
Unfortunately, any chance of a comeback was killed off when Murray scored from six yards and then Jack Baldwin squeezed home a header from close range.
Stranraer: McDonald, Robertson, C Ross, McIntosh, Gallagher, Walker (Hawkshaw 33), Forrest, Fleming, Grant (Hughes 86), Armour, Orr (Dolan 64).
Not used: O’Connor.
Ross County: Munro, Randall, Purrington, Baldwin, Harmon (Henderson 63), Allardice (Brown 70), Turner (Sheaf 63), Dhanda (Smith 80), Sims (Mackinnon 70), Murray, White.
Not used: Ewan and L Ross.
Last five meetings
- Stranraer 1 Ross County 5 (Robertson; Own goal, Murray x3 and Baldwin) at Stair Park on July 15, 2023
- Stranraer 1 Ross County 2 (Winter; De Leeuw and Boyce) at Stair Park on August 26, 2014
- Stranraer 3 Ross County 2 (Winter, Aitken (Pen) and Grehan; Brittain (Pen) and Mustafi) at Stair Park on August 27, 2013
- Ross County 4 Stranraer 2 (Cowie x2, Higgins and Gunn; Burns and Moore) at Victoria Park on August 8, 2006
- Stranraer 2 Ross County 2 (Moore and Swift; Winters (Pen) and Higgins) at Stair Park on March 21, 2006
Last five games
Stranraer
- WIN v East Kilbride (H): 3-1 (Gallagher, Ross and Gilmartin)
- DRAW v East Kilbride (A): 2-2 (McIntosh and Ross)
- LOSS v Forfar Athletic (A): 0-2
- DRAW v Dumbarton (H): 0-0
- DRAW v The Spartans (A): 0-0
Ross County
- WIN v Raith Rovers (H): 4-0 (Murray x2, White and Khela)
- WIN v Raith Rovers (A): 1-2 (Dhanda (Pen) and Baldwin)
- DRAW v Aberdeen (H): 2-2 (Murray and Dhanda (Pen))
- DRAW v St Johnstone (A): 1-1 (Dhanda)
- LOSS v Motherwell (H): 1-5 (Murray)
Last time out
Stranraer v East Kilbride: Budinauckas, Ross, McQueen, Ecrepont (Williamson 96), McIntosh, Gallagher, Dolan (Lang 14), Hawkshaw (Edgar 97), Forrest, Grant (Gilmartin 73), Armour (Orr 51).
Not used: Girvan, Fleming and Downie.
Ross County v Raith Rovers: Laidlaw, Randall (Henderson 88), Brown (Efete 87), Baldwin, Harmon, Nightingale, Leak, Dhanda (Khela 76), King (Loturi 34), Murray (Allardice 88), White.
Not used: Reid, Sims, Brophy and Wickens.
Ins and outs
Stranraer
Arrivals
Mo Adam (Gala Fairydean Rovers), Tomas Brindlay (Forfar Athletic), Harry Broun (Dumbarton), Adam Cummins (Stirling Albion), Kirk McKnight (Broomhill), Mark Russell (Portadown), Elliot Dunlop (Airdrieonians, loan) and Jacob Pazikas (Rangers, loan)
Departures
Ben Armour (Peterhead), Andy Downie (Creetown), Kyle Fleming (Annan Athletic), Kyle Girvan (Elgin City), Josh Walker (Queen of the South), Lewis Budinauckas (Rangers, end of loan), Aidan Gilmartin (St Mirren, end of loan), Murray Miller (Stirling Albion, end of loan), Chris Johnston, George O’Connor and Cammy Williamson.
Ross County
Arrivals
Ronan Hale (Cliftonville), Jack Hamilton (Livingston), Ricki Lamie (Motherwell), Charlie Telfer (Airdrieonians), Akil Wright (Stockport County) and Will Nightingale (Wimbledon, loan)
Departures
Jack Baldwin (Northampton Town), Ross Callachan (Motherwell), Yan Dhanda (Heart of Midlothian), Simon Murray (Dundee), Kyle Turner (Partick Thistle), Matthew Wright (Nairn County), Jay Henderson (Ayr United, loan), Loick Ayina (Huddersfield Town, end of loan), Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (Slask Wroclaw, end of loan), Teddy Jenks (Forest Green Rovers, end of loan), Brandon Khela (Birmingham City, end of loan), Eli King (Cardiff City, end of loan), George Wickens (Fulham, end of loan), Adam MacKinnon and Jordan Tillson.
Five facts
1. Stranraer’s 1-0 victory over Portadown marked the first time the club has made it through pre-season without tasting defeat since 2016. On that occasion, the Blues won 4-2 against a Partick Thistle XI (Osadolor, Kemp and Gibson x2), 2-1 versus Dumbarton (Malcolm and Kemp) and 2-0 at AFC Fylde (Kemp and Malcolm).
2. Fittingly, a former Stranraer player who is toasting his birthday on Friday also pulled on a shirt for Ross County. Capped 32 times for Northern Ireland, Michael McGovern made his senior debut for Stranraer while on loan from Celtic. He returned to Celtic Park before a spell at Dundee United led him to Dingwall. The goalkeeper turns 40 today.
3. Ross County manager Don Cowie scored twice for his side in a 4-2 win over Stranraer in 2006. That was the last meeting between the two sides at Victoria Park.
4. Frontman Tam Orr will make his 50th start for Stranraer if he is selected in the starting line-up on Saturday. The striker would take his total number of appearances for the club to 70. Meanwhile, a goal would put him level with Scott Robertson on 18 for the club.
5. Striker Simon Murray has scored hat-tricks on his last two visits to Stair Park. He scored a treble when the Staggies visited last season and that came 12 months after he scored three for Queen’s Park in a 5-2 triumph. Fortunately for Stranraer, he moved to Dundee during the week!
Merchandise
Our new Mizuno training tops for 2024/25 will be on sale at Stair Park, along with a variety of other merchandise.
Head to the back of the main stand from 1.30pm.
Parking
There is ample parking throughout the grassy areas of Stair Park, and you should find a spot within the grounds. Please allow plenty of time for your journey and travel safely.
Admission
Admission is ‘pay at the gate’ only, so no tickets are required. Season tickets are not valid for the League Cup.
The gates open from 2pm, and away fans can enter the ground from the away turnstile opposite the main stand. This turnstile is cash only.
The following pricing applies:
- Adult – £14
- Concession (over 65) – £10
- Youth (5 to 16) – £5
- Under 5 – FREE
Pavilion Bar
Drop into the Pavilion Bar outside the away turnstile, where a warm welcome and a cold refreshment awaits home and away supporters from our team of volunteers.
Home, away and neutral supporters are welcome, and the bar accepts both cash and card.
Or, stop into the Stranraer FC Fitba’ Bar on North Strand Street in the town centre, which is also open to all.
Coverage
Premier Sports will be streaming this weekend’s cup action live, with subscriptions available from £9.99.
Live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter) will be extremely limited due to volunteer availability.
However, the manager’s interview will be available on YouTube during the evening, and Club 1870 subscribers can watch the goals before midnight.
Our usual extended highlights will follow on Sunday morning, with full match footage available via Club 1870 on Sunday afternoon.
Photos: Bill McCandlish, Glenn Coulter LBIPP, MadMac Photography
