Stranraer v Forfar Athletic – match preview

The ‘Loons’ head to Stair Park on Saturday, their first visit to Wigtownshire since December of 2019 when a 4-2 pre-Christmas victory was recorded by the away side.

The sides go into this weekend’s return to league action following mixed results in last Saturday’s second-round ties in the Scottish Cup.

While goals from Scott Shepherd and Grant Anderson secured a third-round berth for the Athies up at Formartine, Stranraer were on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline at home to Darvel, ironically the only goal of the game scored for the Ayrshire side by Jordan Allan who previously plied his trade at Stair Park.

Forfar will head into Saturday’s contest looking to preserve and build on a current five-game unbeaten run in competitive fixtures which began at Cowdenbeath in mid-September.

They currently sit in third place in the cinch league2 table, five points ahead of Saturday’s opponents who occupy the sixth spot.

Gary Irvine made six changes for last week’s cup tie from the starting eleven against Annan in the last league fixture.

It will obviously be of great interest to all fans as to whether he will revert to his tried and trusted league side from both October fixtures to date or whether in fact any of the replacements at Pitmedden impressed enough to retain their places.

Andy Munro is available despite his red card at Formartine, as his one-match ban will be served in the next round of the national tournament.

Grant Anderson thankfully has made a speedy recovery from the second-half impact injury he sustained last Saturday.

Stranraer who appointed former player Jamie Hamill as their manager in the summer have brought in seventeen new faces to date this term.

They drew their last league outing 1-1 away to Stirling Albion, Matty Yates their goal scorer, his third of the season, making him the current leading marksman in the squad.

The only player in the Stair Park player pool with a Station Park connection is the dependable defender Sean Burns.

The ‘Loons’ will head to the southwest of the country keen to improve on the 1-1 draw attained when the sides last met at Station Park in late August.

That afternoon Craig Slater gave the home side a 54th-minute lead, Darryl Duffy equalising fifteen minutes later, both teams squandering excellent chances in the closing stages to clinch all three points.

Saturday’s match will be refereed by Scott Lambie who also took charge of the August fixture between the sides.

A reminder that the admission prices at Stair Park are £15 for adults, concessions £10, with Under 17’s £5.

With Albion Rovers and Elgin City engaged in cup replays on Saturday, only two other matches are now scheduled in the fourth tier of the SPFL.

Annan Athletic host Cowdenbeath, while leaders Kelty Hearts welcome second in the table Stirling Albion to New Central Park.