Elgin City manager Allan Hale targets Stranraer result to end winless League 2 run on the road and reveals injury setback to defender
Elgin City will be without their secret weapon when they make their longest trip of the season, eager to improve their form on the road.
More Elgin City:
Hale reflects on missed chances at Stirling
MacIver targets success at Borough Briggs
City will endure the 540-mile round trip to Stranraer, where they drew 1-1 in August before beating the Stair Park side 1-0 at the start of November.
The Black and Whites’ goalscorer in both of those previous encounters was centre back Jack Murray, who has missed their last seven games through injury and may not play again until March.
Elgin manager Allan Hale, who admitted his team’s results away from home need to be better, revealed that stopper Murray has been met by an obstacle on the road to recovery from his knee problem.
“I think he's had a wee bit of a setback last week. So he's probably still going to be another two or four weeks,” said Hale.
Murray was one of four central defenders on Elgin’s casualty list at the same time, though they have since brought Jake Dolzanski and Ross Draper back into action.
The manager is wary of further injury problems as his team moves into a critical phase in their campaign, and plans to be careful with players coming back into the squad.
“It wasn't ideal playing Jake in three games in a week. It goes against everything that the physios tell you to do.
“But for us, he came through the games fine and the players got rested up fairly well through the (last ) week.”
With so many stoppers crocked at the same time, when another defender Kyle Girvan developed tendonitis in his ankle during this period, he played through the pain barrier to help his manager out.
Hale said he substituted Girvan at half time in the Stirling defeat, partly as a protection measure.
“He's probably one that's in most need of a break but he just kind of soldiers on.
“That was kind of why we took him off at half-time at the weekend, trying to get him that rest. It showed in his performance that he was a little bit tired.”
Saturday’s defeat saw City lose valuable ground on leaders East Fife and second-placed Peterhead, who both won on the same day.
It was their sixth away game without victory, picking up just two points out of a possible 18. In their first six road trips of the season they were undefeated with three wins and three draws to gain 12 points over the same period.
Hale still believes Elgin are in contention to win League 2 but also knows they must gain some wins away from Borough Briggs if they are to achieve their dream.
“Our home form's really good, but it’s been a bit of a mixed bag away from home,” he said. “If we want to really get to the position where we want to get to as a club, then we need to just be a little bit more consistent in terms of our away form as well.
“If you were to look at the other nine teams in the league, you know, aside from us, you would probably find that the away form's pretty mixed, although overall I think we're one of the better teams away from home this season.
“There's only East Fife, Peterhead and maybe Edinburgh City above us. It's just trying to convert those draws into wins - those extra two points do make a big difference come the end of the season, and especially where we want to be.
“We've just got to try and focus the group on that and be more consistent. We've just got that inconsistency away from home, but you certainly can't fault the players for effort in any of the games we’ve played.”
Hale fully expects Saturday’s clash at Stranraer to be another coming down to the wire.
“They're always tight, and even last season the games (against Stranraer) were exactly the same, with not a lot to separate the teams.
“You look at Stranraer as a whole, their form has been pretty decent and we know they've got a lot of quality as well, speed in the wide areas and in the forward areas, which causes a lot of problems for teams.
“They’re big, physical and athletic, so it'll be tough. The pitch is going to be heavy as well, which adds that extra dimension to the team, so we need to be prepared for that.
“We need to handle the conditions a lot better this weekend, that's for sure.”
