Confidence and consistency will be two of the key factors if Stranraer are to move up the Scottish League Two table, according to Scott Robertson.
The Blues made it four points from a possible six on Saturday when they followed up victory over The Spartans with a point against Edinburgh City.
On paper, a goalless draw at home might not seem too much to celebrate but it is only the second time this campaign that Stranraer have made it two games unbeaten in the league.
Robertson, who featured in both of the games against the capital clubs, said: “I’ve always said how important confidence is.
“I said in interviews when I was assistant, when I was coach, when I was interim manager – confidence, at every level of football, is absolutely massive.
“There is no getting away from that.
“At the top level, to the bottom, you see top, top players going through a spell where they have got no confidence and some of them look poor at times and you think ‘this guy is making £150,000 a week’.
“Confidence is massive in football and it is one of the hardest things to get back when you have not had it for a while.
“It is just a gradual build up, which, hopefully, we will start doing.”
Stranraer now travel to Stirling Albion looking to keep moving in the right direction and to make it three games unbeaten.
The Forthbank side, arguably, produced the result of the weekend when they halted a six-game winless run with a 4-2 victory at an Elgin City side whose last defeat at Borough Briggs came against Hibs on the opening day of the campaign.
Robertson, who signed for Stirling 15 years ago, said: “If you can get a wee bit of momentum in this league you can go places pretty quickly.
“It is what teams in the lower leagues struggle with: consistency.
“Any team that does put a run together of winning games or not losing games with the odd win in there is going to be confident, is going to pick up a bit of momentum and is going to go up the league.”
It has been an eventful season for Robertson.
He started off as assistant manager to Scott Agnew before taking interim charge for four games following Agnew’s departure.
Now, he is concentrating on playing while also offering his experience to the management duo of Chris and Stevie Aitken.
Robertson said: “I’m still involved with coaching but I wanted to kind of flip it and, instead of concentrating more on the coaching side than the football, I wanted to concentrate more on the football side than the coaching.
“But it is still essentially what I want to do.
“I’m 37, I want to keep doing it in some capacity, but I wanted to flip it and concentrate more on the football side and do wee bits here and there.”
Last meeting
Goals late in either half gave Stirling Albion all three points on a visit to Stair Park in September.
The opening goal came when Stranraer failed to fully clear a free-kick into the box. When the ball was driven back in for a second time, it was Erik Sula who managed to poke the ball home.
Max Guthrie came close to levelling things up when he got on the end of a fine Sean McIntosh run, but the ball bobbled wide of the target.
Jacob Pazikas made a fine close range save at the other end but Stirling would secure the points with two minutes left to play. Adam Brown drilled home a free-kick from just outside the box to wrap up the win.
Stranraer: 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.
Stirling Albion: Gaston, McGeachie, Sula, Kerr, Dall, Harkness, Ferguson (Hilson 72), Davidson, Brown, Knox (Graham 59), Carrick (McKinley 72).
Not used: Featherstone, Weir, Waugh, Milne and McIlravey.
Last five meetings
- Stranraer 0 Stirling Albion 2 (Sula and Brown) at Stair Park on September 28, 2024
- Stirling Albion 2 Stranraer 2 (Stirling Albion win 4-2 on penalties) (McKinley and Roy; Edgar and Lang) at Forthbank Stadium on July 23, 2024
- Stranraer 1 Stirling Albion 1 (Robertson; Leitch) at Stair Park on March 18, 2023
- Stirling Albion 1 Stranraer 0 (Davidson) at Forthbank Stadium on January 28, 2023
- Stranraer 3 Stirling Albion 1 (Forrest, McIntosh and Gallagher; Thomson) at Stair Park on December 3, 2022
Last five games
Stranraer
- DRAW v Edinburgh City (H): 0-0
- WIN v The Spartans (A): 1-3 (Dunlop and Russell x2)
- LOSS v Broxburn Athletic (H): 1-2 (Dunlop)
- LOSS v Bonnyrigg Rose (H): 1-2 (Robertson)
- WIN v East Fife (A): 1-2 (Guthrie and Grant)
Stirling Albion
- WIN v Elgin City (A): 2-4 (Brown x2, Own goal and Carrick)
- LOSS v Edinburgh City (H): 0-3
- LOSS v Bonnyrigg Rose (A): 2-1 (Brown)
- DRAW v Forfar Athletic (A): 3-3 (Forfar Athletic win 4-2 on penalties) (Brown x2 and Kerr)
- LOSS v The Spartans (A): 3-0
Last time out
Stranraer
Lineup v Edinburgh City: Mutch, Robertson (Guthrie 83), Brindley, Ross, McQueen, Gallagher, Dunlop, Russell, Hawkshaw (McKnight 75), Grant, Lang (Foster 83).
Not used: Adam and Pazikas.
Stirling Albion
Lineup v Elgin City: Gaston, McGeachie, Sula, Kerr, Harkness, Brown, Knox, Waugh (Graham 89), Crane (Davidson 73), Carrick, Hilson (Roy 77).
Not used: Cant, Dall, Weir, Wright, McKinley and Smith.
Five facts
1. Saturday would have marked the 100th birthday of former Stranraer goalkeeper Joe Henderson. Starting out at Hibs, he would go on to play for Albion Rovers and Stenhousemuir, as well as enjoying spells south of the border. He came to Stair Park during the 1956/57 season.
2. Fittingly, former Stirling Albion midfielder Andy Stirling scored the only goal of the game the last time Stranraer defeated Stirling Albion in Stirling. That came during the coronavirus-impacted season of 2020/21 when he scored the only goal of the game in April 2021.
3. Stirling Albion’s 8-2 win over Stranraer at Stair Park marked the end of Derek Ferguson’s time in charge of Stranraer. However, the Blues also took six points off the Binos over the course of that season. Gregory Tade scored the only goal in the first meeting of the season and Stuart McColm and Michael Moore scored at Forthbank. The victorious team that day was: Crossthwaite, Noble (Frizzell 80), McKinstry, Creaney, Kane, Nicoll, Mitchell, Gibson, Aitken (McGrath 83), McColm (Moore 76), McConalogue. Not used: Whorlow and Watt.
4. On Saturday, Stranraer will look to go three games unbeaten in the league for the first time since this time last year. A 1-1 draw at Forfar (Olly McDonald), was followed by a 2-2 draw at Clyde (Craig Ross and James Dolan) and then a 3-1 win over Bonnyrigg Rose (Own goal, Matty Grant and Ross).
5. Stranraer manager Chris Aitken is a firm favourite at both Stair Park and Forthbank. Including loan spells, he had three spells at Stirling Albion. Along the way, he clocked up more than 150 appearances. He would, of course, finish his playing career at Stair Park.
Admission
Entry at Forthbank is via an e-ticket (purchased via Stirling Albion’s ticketing website) or cash only at the gate.
Admission prices are as follows:
- Adults – £17
- 65 and over – £12
- Students (with valid ID) – £8
- 17 and under – £8
- 12 and under – FREE (when accompanied by a paying adult)
A yellow weather warning has been issued, with low temperatures, over 50mph winds and heavy rain forecast for Saturday.
If you’re planning to make the trip to Stirling, expect some disruption to travel, and check social media for updates.
Coverage
We have live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter) for those not travelling to Forthbank, and the manager’s interview will be available on YouTube following the game.
Club 1870 subscribers can catch the goals after 10pm on Saturday night, along with full match footage later on Sunday.
Extended highlights will be available via YouTube on Sunday, with our very own wise men Laurence Nelson and Brian Martin bringing the festive cheer on commentary.
Photos: MadMac Photography, Bill McCandlish
