Annan Athletic striker, Graeme Bell, is looking for a return visit to East Stirlingshire this weekend to get him scoring goals again as the last away ground that he netted at was ironically enough at Ochilview.
Despite his recent lack of goals, Bell is a firm favourite with the Galabank fans, having been with the club for over eight and a half years and has played for Annan Athletic in both the East of Scotland and South of Scotland Leagues before they were voted into membership of The Scottish Football League just prior to the start of the 2008/09 season.
Bell said: “I come from Dumfries and joined Annan when I was 17 after playing for Queen of the South’s Under-16 side. It was Billy Sim, who was one of my pal’s dads that signed me, although I never played for him when he was the Manager there.”
Current Manager, Harry Cairney, came in and started using Bell in both South of Scotland and East of Scotland games at a very different Galabank ground with Bell saying: “Things were very different when I started out as there was no Main Stand and no astroturf training facilities but Annan were always an ambitious club and the aim then was always to get into The Scottish Football League.
“I played on the right or left of midfield at that time and the boss moved me up front over the years. Nowadays, he also plays me out wide or up front.”
Annan achieved their ambition of reaching the Third Division in the summer of 2008 to replace Gretna and, a bit like the belief that everyone knows where they were when major world events happen, Bell is well aware of where he was when the news of their success came through.
“I was in my works van and it came on the radio,” said Bell before adding, “It was a great feeling and a great reward for the club as they had been working towards it for a long time.”
When the first games at their new level arrived, Bell was not part of the first Annan teams that made history as he explained: “I was actually in the reserves when we played Clyde, Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton and Stenhousemuir. I put it down to the number of new players that came in and Harry was giving them a chance. I was never made to feel that I was not wanted or anything like that and I got on against East Stirling before August was out.”
Bell’s first senior goal came the following week when he came on for Stephen Archibald with 20 minutes left at Montrose and netted Annan’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw just three minutes later.
The striker said: “It was great to be getting on and great to score in a Third Division game. I was in the team for the majority of the rest of the season and managed to get eight goals which was not too bad a return after a slow start.”
Three of Bell’s team-mates that day at Links Park had been with him on East and South of Scotland League duty and remain at the club still with Bell saying: “Peter Watson, Chris Jardine, Steven Sloan and I have been there all the way through things and have stuck with the club just as much as the club have stuck with us. We look back on that first season with a sense of pride as we started it wanting to make sure that we didn’t disgrace ourselves and ended up performing in a fairly solid fashion.”
The next season was a better one for Bell as he netted 10 times including a run of seven goals in eight games in February and March with the striker saying: “I was played much more up front and had a great wee run of scoring in consecutive games however, I picked up a groin injury and that killed off that good run.
“We had been pushing for a Play-Off place but fell away towards the end of the season. My injury kept me out at the beginning of the next season as well and I never got back to playing again until the November and then I could not get into the team as they were doing well.”
Bell moved into the Junior ranks to get playing again with the 25-year-old saying: “I went to Kello Rovers in the Ayrshire District League to get some game time. I only got to play in two games because the wintry weather had set in.
"I scored in an Emirates Junior Cup tie against Banks O’Dee but they were a good side and we lost 5-3. The following week we had a man sent off in the opening minutes and I had to drop back to playing in the centre of midfield and that was basically my time there. Going to the Juniors was a real eye-opener and helped me appreciate what I had at Annan.
“I went back to Galabank and hoped to play a big part in helping Annan get to the Play-Offs. I scored the last goal in our 5-1 success at East Stirling on 15th March that moved us up from fifth to third place however, I then picked up an ankle injury that forced me to drop out again.”
Bell had been hoping to make a spectacular return at the end of last season as he explained: “I got back to full training in May and thought I might make the Play-Off Final against Albion Rovers. It ended up a doubly disappointing day for me as I did not get stripped and then we lost out by the odd goal on aggregate.”
The spirit at the club amongst the players that have seen it all was evidenced that day with Bell saying: “Peter Watson was down as a substitute but he offered to give up his place for me. He did not want any loyalty to him to go before the club’s needs but Harry wanted defensive cover.
“We had them pushed back in the last 10 minutes as we looked for a leveller and Bryan Gilfillan had a chance but just failed to take it so it was a really frustrating day as I felt I could have scored if I had got on but it was not to be.
This season has seen Annan look to avoid the Play-Offs by leading from the front and Bell was on the mark in the Third Division’s opening fixture card when the Galabankies defeated Queen’s Park 5-2.
Bell said: “Our aim for the season has not changed and that is to be involved in the promotion race for as long as we can. We brought in a few new players to help bolster the numbers and the Play-Offs are the least we should be looking for.”
Since then, Cairney’s side have won seven of their League games however, the goals that were flying in at the start of the season have dried up recently with only three strikes being netted in their last four games.
“The goals have dried up for me and for the team. Our big defender, Scott Gibson, was getting all sorts of goals early on and indeed, he got one off his backside when a shot from Jordan McKechnie hit off him and went in.
“Hopefully, that kind of break will return soon. This season has been a bit stop start for me as I began it in the team and then dropped out and Ian Harty came in and started scoring goals but I am determined to do well between now and May.”
Bell has been set a target for goals by his Manager to grab between now and the end of the season as he explained: “Harry asked me to get 15 goals last season but the injuries put paid to that but I want to hit double figures this season and so does the Manager.
"If you look back at the seasons where I have scored a few times, it takes me a few games to get up and running and then I score a few in a row. That is what I am looking to happen now.
“I have never been a prolific scorer but I work really hard and the fans appear to like that.”
If you look upon Annan’s official website, the club describe Bell as a ‘fans favourite’ and the striker was asked how he judges his relationship with The Black and Gold supporters and he said: “We meet the fans after home games in the Social Club and they are all good supporters. They have seen me all the way from the South and East of Scotland Leagues and they probably give me a bit more affection because of that.”
As for his trip to East Stirlingshire this weekend, Bell and his team-mates are looking to banish a disappointing performance at Ochilview a fortnight ago when Annan were knocked out of the Scottish Cup 4-0 by Stenhousemuir.
He said: “This is a really big game for us after losing to Stenhousemuir on the astroturf. We are looking to redeem ourselves after that plus we have not been at our best recently so it will be good to get going again with a win.
“Hopefully, a few chances will come my way and I can start a run of getting goals again.”
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