Match Report

The sun was out as the game kicked off, however the boys were in trouble from the start as Yates broke up field for the home side in the 2^nd minute, before being brought down inside the box. After taking a second to consider what he’d just seen, the referee awarded a penalty to Stranraer. It was Watson that stepped up to take the spot kick but he was denied excellently by David Wilson who saved to preserve the stalemate as well as his good form.

Despite the let off, the Warriors did fall behind shortly afterwards in the 6^th minute. Watson was able to take the ball in on the edge of the box and turn, before attempting a shot which was deflected into the path of Yates. He then made no mistake as he slid the ball into the far corner to make it 1-0.

Our hosts continued to dominate as the game progressed and so nearly went two up when a Yates freekick only missed the top corner by an inch or two. They then got a better chance to score in the 36^th minute as the referee awarded them their second spot kick of the match. This time it was Yates that stepped up but astonishingly Wilson was there yet again to make the save and deny Stranraer.

Yates could easily have made up for it only 4 minutes later as he received the ball inside the area, turned Crighton and Jamieson, only to drag his shot wide from a position that he really should have been scoring from.

Heading into the second half, the Warriors made a double save as they looked to get themselves back into the match. However, their task would be made all the harder after only 4 minutes of the half as Stranraer finally doubled their advantage. The boys failed to clear a freekick into the box and Stranraer were able to rework it inside the area to create a shooting chance for Watson 10 yards out. His shot went low and hard into the bottom corner to the delight of the home fans.

This really took the wind out of the boys sails and despite getting into some good positions on occasion, they struggled to create any clear chances to score. The game fizzled out as Stranraer slowed the game down and saw it out to take home the 2-0 victory and all 3 points.

Stranraer: Scullion, Sonkur, Ross, Burns, Robertson, Gallagher, Woods, Brady, Watson, Smith, Yates

Substitutes: Walker, Langan, Irving, Ellis, N’Goy, Rennie, Moore

Stenhousemuir: Wilson, Corbett, Jamieson, Crighton, Coll, Forbes, Miller, Anderson, Brown, Orr, Thomson

Substitutes: Tapping, Marshall, O’Reilly, Hughes, R. Lyon, Graham, J. Lyon, Teirney, Wedderburn

Stephen Swift interview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKW-YEtjFUw