This Saturday will see The Warriors return to League action as we open our League Two campaign at home to Albion Rovers.

The results last season were favourable for Stenhousemuir, picking up 10 points from 12 and scoring 11 goals in the process. Looking back further, the last 1 games between the sides have resulted in 6 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses.

Our head to head record is also favourable with The Warriors winning 41% of the games with Albion Rovers winning 33%. We’ve also managed of 1.7 goals per scored per game and 1.5 goals conceded.

Last season, we got off to a slow start and we had a chat with Stephen Swift this week on how important it is to hit the ground running.

“I think we realised last year after we had a poor start how difficult it was. After 6 games we were 9 points behind Kelty Hearts. And that just puts the pressure on and deflates everyone really. Although it’s not a disaster if you don’t win your first match, it’s important that you start gathering points in the first 6 games as we experienced last year.”

There is good news on the injury front in that all players are injury free. However, after picking up a red card in his final League outing for Largs Thistle, Will Sewell will miss out through suspension. Luckily for Swifty, he has two very able strikers in Tam Orr and Matty Yates ready to get their league campaigns started.

“We’ve got 3 very good strikers this season which we’re really pleased about. Every one of them will push each other to the limits in terms of game time. They’ll know that if they’re not on it, somebody will be breathing down their neck, so that competition will help them get the best out of each other. But, as you say, we’re disappointed for Will. I was actually at that game watching him with Largs and he got sent off. It’s just disappointing that it carries on to domestic stuff. but it is what it is. He’ll miss the first game and we’ll go with Matty and Tam.”

We had some good displays against Albion Rovers last season, picking up 3 wins and a draw, but what does Swifty expect from them this time around?

“They’ve had an unbelievable start in terms of beating Kelty. They took Cove to the limit and scored 2 goals against Livingston. They’ve proven that they’re set up to be hard to beat. They can get goals from set plays and they’ve got good energy in the wide areas with Roberston and Reilly and coming from midfield with Callum Wilson as well. They’ve also got a bit of experience up top as well with Michael Paton. So, we know what threat they pose. They’ll have energy going forward but we feel if we play, we’ve got tools to hurt them as well. So it will be like every opening game, it will be tough, but we just need to make sure that we approach it the right way.”

Last season’s top scorer, Tam Orr was also notable on the difficult start that The Warriors made last season.

“It’s massive that we get off to a good start. We’ve looked at a few stats from Kelty and how they got off to a flyer last year and that really helped them while we only got 5 points from the first 6 games. I think this year we’re looking a lot stronger We’ve added the likes of Scholsey from the start and Mikey Miller and big Nicky too on permanent deals. So I think we’re in a better place then we were last year.”

We’re a far more settled side this season and that’s one positive that the boys that were here last year can take going into this season.

“I think that’s going to be a big part. Last year we had a turnover of about 22 players, so this year there’s a strong bond between the team. We obviously went through a tough season with each other last year so hopefully the togetherness will show this year.”

But with fresh faces comes fresh competition and Tam has picked up 2 new striking partners in Will Sewell and Matty Yates.

“It’s brilliant. I think even if you can get 3 of us on the park I think it will result in a lot of goals. The 3 of us have proven that we can score goals at this level. Will hasn’t played at this level, but he’ll definitely score goals this season and I think we’ll be confident going into the season.”

Finally, we spoke to Tam about how excited he and the boys are at getting back into the League action.

“I can’t wait. I think the Premier Sports games are treated more of a friendly and we just can’t wait to get started with the red stuff on Saturday. There’s been a real buzz about the place this week.”

One thing that The Warriors fans will notice is the kit that the team will be wearing on Saturday. Due to supply issues with Puma, we have been unable to source the home shirts that will allow us to include our new sponsors. As a result, we have been supplied with a temporary white shirt that shall be used until Puma can arrange the correct stock to be sent to us.

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Kick-off: 3pm

Match Entry: Both home and away fans can enter via pay at the gate [cash] or you can purchase your ticket in advance by using Fanbase. Adult admission costing £12, concessions £6 and under 16’s just £5.

Live Stream: For non-UK fans, Warriors TV has you covered with PPV commentary from Cameron McIntyre. PPV is available for just £10 here.

Getting Here: Click here for details of how to get to Ochilview by car or train.

Season Card Holders: Season Tickets are valid for this match, the Season Ticket number will be displayed at the turnstiles.

The Pie Hut: Food and drinks will be available to be purchased once again from the Pie Hut.

The Wee Bar: The Wee Bar is open from 12pm with all fans welcome.

Ochilview Matchday Guide:You can read our Matchday Guide here and ensure that you have everything that you need.

 

OPPOSITION INFORMATION

Full name: Albion Rovers Football Club

Nickname: The Wee Rovers

Founded: 1882; 140 years ago

Ground: The Reigart Stadium, Coatbridge

Capacity: 1,572 (489 seated)

Chairman: Ian Benton

Manager: Brian Reid

2021–22: Scottish League Two, 8th place

Last 10 Matches 

Date Venue Competition Opponent Result Score
19/7/22 Away Premier Sports Cup Inverness L 0-4
16/7/22 Away Premier Sports Cup Kelty Hearts W 2-0
12/7/22 Home Premier Sports Cup Cove Rangers L 1-2
9/7/22 Home Premier Sports Cup Livingston L 2-3
30/4/22 Away cinch League Two Cowdenbeath W 1-0
23/4/22 Home cinch League Two Stirling Albion D 1-1
16/4/22 Away cinch League Two Stenhousemuir L 1-4
9/4/22 Home cinch League Two Stranraer L 0-5
2/4/22 Home cinch League Two Elgin City D 0-0
26/3/22 Away cinch League Two Annan Athletic W 4-2

 

Top Scorers

Name Goals Assists Played Goals per 90 MPG Total Shots Shot Accuracy
Ayrton Sonkur 2 0 4 0.5 180 2 100%
Michael Paton 1 0 4 0.31 292 2 100%
Charlie Reilly 1 0 4 0.28 317 5 80%

 

FIXTURE INFORMATION

Last 10 Meetings 

Date Venue Competition Result Score
18/4/22 Home League Two W 4-1
8/1/22 Away League Two W 1-2
8/11/21 Home League Two W 3-1
7/8/21 Away League Two D 2-2
29/4/21 Home League Two L 0-1
20/3/21 Away League Two W 1-3
17/10/20 Away League Two W 1-3
16/2/20 Home League Two W 1-0
9/11/19 Home League Two L 0-1
3/8/19 Home League Two L 2-3

 

Head to Head

Total Won Drawn Lost Scored Conceded
Home 105 49 22 34 196 141
Away 105 38 31 36 165 185
Total 210 87 53 70 361 326

 

ON THIS DAY – 30TH JULY 

Year Opponent Competition Venue Result Score
2016 Queen of the South League Cup [Group A] Away L 1-0
2011 Cowdenbeath League Cup [Round 1] Away D 2-2
2005 East Fife Challenge Cup [Round 1] Away W 0-4

 

LEAGUE INFORMATION

Fixtures

Bonnyrigg Rose vs Forfar Athletic

Dumbarton vs Stirling Albion

Elgin City vs East Fife

Stenhousemuir vs Albion Rovers

Stranraer vs Annan Athletic

Table

  Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Albion Rovers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Annan Athletic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Bonnyrigg Rose 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Dumbarton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 East Fife 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Elgin City 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Forfar Athletic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Stenhousemuir 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Stirling Albion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Stranraer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0