Stranraer v Arbroath: Lichties wary of strike force

Arbroath boss Paul Sheerin wants to see his side return to winning ways against Stranraer and admits stopping their potent strike force would be a start.

The Lichties languish in the League One drop zone but know that a win this weekend could cut the gap between themselves and eighth-placed East Fife to just three points.

To do that they will have to overcome a stubborn Stranraer team, who managed to beat Sheerin’s men 3-2 on their last trip to Stair Park, when a brace from Martin Grehan and a Jamie Longworth goal proved too much for Arbroath to claw back.

Sheerin knows his players will have to be wary about the duo once again.

Longworth has netted 20 goals in just 29 appearances for the Blues and Sheerin noted: “Jamie has done excellently for them this season.

“He’s been banging in the goals and, once you start doing that, the goals seem to become that bit bigger, so he’ll be full of confidence at the moment.

“Him and big Martin Grehan have struck up a great partnership up front for them so we know we’re going to have to stop them on Saturday.

“We’ve been creating chances recently but hopefully we’ll start to defend a bit better than we have done at times this season.”