The fickle Scot and our perception of distance. Especially top-flight central belt fans, trips to Aberdeen were bad enough, but the introduction of Highland sides to their cosy club was a trek too far for some. From my own perspective, having friends from “big” countries, these journeys are nothing. Try Jujuy to Bahia Blanca in Argentina, or Palermo to Bolzano, and we would all agree that the distances are vast. Even in England, the new season will bring Truro to Carlisle, making the Pilgrims of Plymouth headed in that direction, a relative breeze. My Ukrainian friend, who I took down to London from Edinburgh, doesn’t consider that journey a desperately long one either. It’s all relative, I guess, but for many, Stranraer is considered inaccessible and the back of beyond. Now, while it’s no longer a ferry terminal, it is a sleepy hollow, but it’s still a fine trek down the coast on a sunny day.
Having already been to Stair Park this season, a second jaunt a fortnight later is excessively unusual, but with Muso Dibaga, our Gambian Internationalist, turned hero in the most trying of season’s for ICT last term, the chance to whistle him off the bridge was a strong pull, a crusade if you will. Given that the opposition would be Crusaders from Belfast, that only seems an apt phrase. An old traditional pre-season friendly resurrected too, long fudged and forgotten about with Larne filling the space, but both headed to Stair Park in the build up to 2025/26. It seemed potential for a unique double that I didn’t want to miss
It will be my 15th match at Stair Park, with the last 3 all “unusual” pre-season friendly encounters, none more so than when FC Twente Enschede came to town. My first ever visit was in August 1981, the first of 7 visits with Meadowbank Thistle over a 4 ½ year period. We had a remarkable record in those games, winning them all, but in truth I have no recollection of any of the action. The only legendary piece of chat was that Pastor Milne, as we called him, looked out a bus window admiring the Bass Rock, which of course was the Ailsa Craig, but he was never allowed to forget that!
I wouldn’t have always journeyed with the Meadowbank bus. Part of the reason Stranraer became a club I hold with great fondness stemmed from my Grandfather on my mum’s side (I never met my dad’s father, who never filly recovered from being shot in WWII), who was my first hero in life. He was a lighthouse keeper all his working days, and his last posting was Corsewall, beyond Stranraer. My mum in particular always enjoyed a jaunt down that way, and indeed, even before I had ever seen a game here, or potentially anywhere, en route to visiting Corsewall as a football obsessed youngster, they took a detour off the coastal passing through the town for me to have a look at the locked up Stair Park, literally in the park! It left an indelible mark, and while I will always cheer for Northern sides (County aside), Stranraer sit nicely in my remit, and if they are in or around Edinburgh when I am free, I will always go and see them if I can. Stranraer currently sits 9th on my viewing roster with 60 games, but they are likely to jump above Falkirk this season as I can’t see me needing or wishing to head there.
With the Inverness juggernaut, which became my footballing life from 1994, I have only ever been twice to Stranraer. Once was a league encounter (April 1998), and most recently (Feb 2014), a Scottish Cup clash. The 3-1 defeat in ‘98 ended our assault at the promotion places in League One that term, but Stranraer were a rival, and two weeks later I had plotted something mysterious and potentially marvellous, and was back at Stair Park in the home end this time. That game forms Game 1 of the memory trio, coming soon.
The cup match was ultimately a draw, but made memorable by having two Chilean girls at their first ever match! We had lunch at Corsewall, now a boutique hotel, then settled into the away stand to watch the action unfold. Aaron Doran gave us the lead, and Billy MacKay got us back to 2-2, before winning the replay. Cecilia, the Santiago lass who had my heart at the time brought with her gifts/souvenirs that will forever mean the world to me.
It has been documented before that my first football hero was Carlos Caszely, a Chilean Internationalist at World Cup 1974 and 1982. But it was ‘74, with our black and white TV that left the biggest impression. They played West Germany and stifled the life out of them until Paul Breitner struck. It didn’t matter, moments after the game, I had unearthed a red t-shirt and was out kicking the ball against the garage, I was Carlos. Well, did Cecilia not track him down in Santiago, an elderly, long retired gentleman, but she got him to sign a Chilean shirt and he also gave her a dedicated copy of his autobiography and filmed a little greeting video for me. It remains to this day, the most personal and wonderful gift anyone has ever given me.
Game One- Stranraer 2-0 Livingston
Saturday 2nd May 1998
Scottish League One
Having lost 3-1 here just 2 weeks prior, Caley Thistle were out of the running for promotion, but it still left 3 clubs jousting for two slots. Livingston led the way, the big bad, nasty mob who stole Meadowbank, with Clydebank and Stranraer still chasing. The Blues had to win this game to stay in contention. A cracking crowd was on hand, especially given Stranraer were on the cusp of reaching the Championship for the first ever time. Two second-half goals were enough to sink Livi, but they still had a one point advantage over the chasing duo. This was where the clever bit comes in, I knew the last game was Livingston v Caley Thistle, and if Stranraer won here, wow, what a game that set up, revenge! I was busy shaking hands and telling folk around me that Caley would go to Livingston and win, just to make sure Stranraer did the business at Clyde, or wherever they were playing at that point in life. It was another of these just puff out the chest moments, but I wanted it, and I needed it to flush that despicable takeover out of my mind.
Every little piece of the jigsaw fitted perfectly into place that day. Clydebank put 6 by Brechin at Glebe Park, while Stranraer won by a narrow 1-0 score versus Clyde. Ian Stewart would fire us ahead at Almondvale, then with fifteen minutes left, Paul Sheerin put us 2-1 up, and upon the final whistle, while I was completely over the moon, what pleased me more was the reaction not only of the rest of the visiting fans, but the players too. It was the last game of the season. Why wouldn’t we celebrate, but the Livi fans were enraged, and I was loving it. They fell from first to third and failed to go up. A rivalry was born, one I wanted!
They would gain revenge on us the following term, both sides would go up, but in the championship decider at Almondvale on the penultimate Saturday, losing 4 goals in the first 20 minutes was both surreal and madness. However, this was the Stevie Paterson era, and we never gave up. With a heap of time left, it was 4-3. Quite how we never equalised is still a mystery, we threw everything at them.
The following Saturday, we could still create a piece of history by becoming the first team to score in every league match since 1927. I sat depressed watching, numb after the Livi match. Here, the last bastion of Meadowbank days, Terry Christie had his Alloa team set up just to spoil that chance. It took a goal very close to the end to equalise. We created history, but my anti-Livi mindset wasn’t really proud at the time, haunted as I was by that extraordinary 7 goal thriller the week before.
2- Stranraer 1-1 Greenock Morton
Saturday 30th April 2005
Scottish League One
My good friend Martin had once been at a match at Ochilview where the need to finally see Stranraer promoted saw a post match pitch invasion sparked by a radio rumour that took a little sorting out. Eventually, it dawned, they had missed out by the closest of margins. The very next season at Firs Park, Falkirk we were back on the pitch as this time they did it. Stranraer were promoted for the first time ever back in 1994, 124 years after the club was started. Given Elgin are only 25 years stuck in League Two, they have a long way to go to create that sort of history!
Having missed the historic promotion to the Championship 4 years later due to a need to spoil the Livingston party, in 2005 they were knocking on that door again. In front of a jam-packed Stair Park, Allan Jenkins scored the equaliser, and with a point being all that was needed, the party was riotous. The added spice was, Morton needed the win to pip Stranraer and they threw everything at the hosts. It was not to be, and this time at home, in front of their own fans, the Blue were going back to the second tier.
3- Stranraer 1-0 Cowdenbeath
Saturday 30th April 2016
Scottish League One
By 2016 I was starting to get fed up with Cowdenbeath. I used to enjoy heading to Central Park, but their fans were, and from evidence at a game versus Shire last season, still, truly fickle and awful. This match was even before the final straw, the horrible playoff match with Cove a few years later. Stranraer were safely mid-table, but on this last day of action, a home win was going to send Cowdung back to the basement, where they dodged bullets left, right and centre, before finally falling to their non-league fate getting thumped by Bonnyrigg. A goal just after half-time was enough for Stranraer to win this encounter and send the dung down.
Stranraer had their troubles to survive in 2024, where thankfully they held firm and beat East Kilbride. I would have liked to have been there, but I guess ICT were fighting for our Championship lives and that took priority. The scenes at Stair Park would have been reminiscent of the day they went up versus Morton, if not even more emotional, as staying in the league meant everything. I hope they can kick on and get back out of the basement. I will be keeping an eye on them, and if ever a tasty looking clash is scheduled and my diary allows, I will be back.
Next in the series of 1,2,3 our league opener at Kelty.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 