Goal difference is all that separates Stranraer and Clyde
A preview of all five League Two matches on Saturday 7 November, led by a top two split only by goal difference and a Stranraer side that rarely concedes.
By Barrie Moran,
Twelve games in, Stranraer and Clyde have 24 points each, and the only thing keeping Stranraer above them is goal difference, 16 against 9. That gap tells you most of what you need to know about how the two have gone about it. Stranraer have conceded twice in their last five matches. Clyde have conceded nine. On Saturday both are at home to sides from further down the table, and either could come out of it alone at the top.
Stranraer meet the other unbeaten run
Stirling Albion are seventh on 15 points with a goal difference of minus seven, which reads like a side going nowhere. Their last five say otherwise. They are unbeaten in that spell, with three wins, ten scored and five conceded. Those five games put them five goals to the good, so the damage was done earlier in the season, and they arrive at Stair Park in better shape than the table suggests. The last meeting finished 2-2 at Stirling.
Still, the best recent record in the division belongs to Stranraer, with 13 scored and two conceded in five. My view is that they keep their place at the top. What would change it is Stirling repeating last time and scoring twice. That is as many as Stranraer have let in across their last five matches put together.
Clyde's open door
Clyde's last five have produced nine goals at each end, and their previous meeting with Spartans finished 3-3. That is an awkward habit for a side trying to keep pace with a leader who barely concedes. Spartans are fifth on 18, but their form runs W L W L L with ten conceded, so neither defence has much to boast about. If Stranraer drop points and Clyde win, Clyde go top. If both win, it stays on goal difference, where Stranraer lead by seven.
Elgin City and Edinburgh City waiting on a slip
Elgin City sit three points back, unbeaten in four, and host Dumbarton at Borough Briggs. Dumbarton are eighth and without a win in three, though they won the last meeting 2-1, the one awkward note in an otherwise favourable-looking afternoon. Should Elgin win and both leaders lose, three sides would be on 24.
Edinburgh City, fourth on 19, go to Forfar Athletic, who have lost four in a row. The last meeting was 1-1. Edinburgh's last five brought six goals for and five against, so comfortable afternoons are not their habit. On form, though, this is the kindest-looking fixture of the round for anyone in the top four.
At the bottom
Annan Athletic have lost five straight, scoring four and conceding 15, and they are bottom on nine points. Every one of those points came in their first seven games. Kelty Hearts, sixth, won the last meeting 2-1. Their last five have gone defeat, win, defeat, win, defeat, and if that pattern held, this would be a win. I would not lean on a pattern that tidy, but I would not lean on Annan's run turning at Galabank either.
Forfar are two points above Annan, so an Annan win alongside a fifth straight Forfar defeat would swap them round. Further up, Kelty and Stirling Albion are level on 15, separated by a single goal of difference. Saturday could move that around too, depending on what happens at Stair Park.