Stranraer midfielder Ryan Borris will go into Saturday’s south west derby against the Honest Men of Ayr knowing that one set of fans will be cheering him for the present and booing him for the past whereas the other fans will be cheering him for the past and booing him for the present.
The 29-year-old, who joined The Blues in January from Dumbarton initially on loan before becoming a permanent signing at the start of this season, has already scored in two of these games but that was in his black and white days.
Borris netted in season 2008/09 when Ayr United and Stranraer were last in the Second Division together with Ayr ending the season being promoted via the Play-Offs and Stranraer being relegated.
Thankfully, no-one at Stair Park seems to remember the goals he scored in a 3-1 win in September, 2008 and a 4-1 success in March, 2009 as Borris explained: “No-one has mentioned it to me from Stranraer but it may come up as we get closer to kick off. Mind you, Chris ‘Tiff’ Aitken scored in one of the games as well so I will not be alone if someone brings it up.”
The boot will be on the other foot this weekend with Borris explaining: “I am sure my goals on those days were cheered by the Ayr fans but they will probably be giving out a fair amount of stick to me this weekend.”
“It is usually good natured stuff as I have had when I have gone back to my other clubs like Raith Rovers and Dumbarton. 'Tiff' will be getting some as well, I am sure of that, but we will enjoy it as Ayr bring a big travelling support of 300 to 400 fans to a game like this so there should be a cracking atmosphere.”
Borris started his career off at Dumbarton as a striker in 2003 before being converted to a hard working midfielder by their then boss Paul Martin and after four seasons as a Son, he moved onto Raith for a year which was followed by his two years as an Ayr player.
He then joined Stirling before returning full circle last summer to Dumbarton and whoever coined the phrase ‘you should never go back’ was correct in this case as Borris had a frustrating second period at ‘The Rock’ before being revitalised at Stranraer.
Borris came on board in January and helped Stranraer secure third spot in the table and then prosper over Queen’s Park in the Play-Off Semi-Final with a confident 5-1 aggregate win. A promotion looked on the cards after a 2-0 home success over Albion Rovers in the first leg of the Play-off Final however, it came unstuck when the Coatbridge men roared back to won 3-1 before winning 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out.
Just when Borris did not think that day could get any worse, he was told that Albion Manager Paul Martin, who had started his career off at Dumbarton, was having to leave his Cliftonhill job due to health reasons.
Borris said: “Football is a really small world and it is funny that both Paul and my own career’s crossed over again on that day. I had kept in touch with him ever since our Dumbarton days and I just remember being gutted for myself and Stranraer when we lost and then feeling worse after hearing that he was taking time out due to health issues.
“He deserves great credit for what he did at Albion Rovers and hopefully, he can return to the game one day after he has had a break.”
Borris had a previous experience with the Play-Offs that was a much happier time for him as he explained: “I have suffered relegations in the past, going all the way back to my first season at Dumbarton. I had also lost out in a Play-Off Semi-Final against Airdrie United for Raith Rovers and like the Albion Rovers defeat, it was a horrible time however, winning a promotion via the Play-Offs with Ayr in 2009 was fantastic.”
Ayr had seen off Brechin City at the Semi-Final stage and come back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Airdrie in the first leg of the Final in May, 2009 when Borris entered centre stage.
“We went to their ground and won 1-0 with a goal from Ryan Stevenson that I helped set up,” said Borris before adding, “The game was live on BBC ALBA and I was awarded the Man of the Match so it really was a great day.”
Borris has nothing but praise for his goalscoring team-mate of that day saying: “Ryan is a top guy who went about playing for Ayr in a really professional manner. He always had something about him but he also worked really hard at his game.
“You could tell he would respond well with better players around him and you saw that at Hearts where he was playing so well that he was getting called up for Scotland. He has moved down to Ipswich and gained some experience there but it would not surprise me if he goes on to star for a SPL side like Motherwell who were reportedly interested in him.”
Stevenson stayed with Ayr until the end of January in the season following their promotion and his move was probably a factor in the Somerset Park men getting relegated after one season in the higher division.
Borris said: “Ryan was getting a transfer to full-time football and it was a great move for him. It is hard for any part-time side to stay in the First Division if there is only one of them in it. We had battled against relegation really well but fell into bottom spot just before the end of the 36 games and were relegated on the final day of the season when we lost to Morton.”
Borris moved away from Ayr himself in the summer of 2010 to remain in the First Division with Stirling Albion and suffered the disappointment of relegation for a second season. Hoping to be involved in a promotion push, he opted for the Second Division and Dumbarton last summer however, it was to turn into a disappointing stay.
He explained: “I simply never found my fitness and form at Dumbarton last season after picking up a groin injury and it was an incredibly frustrating period. I was not enjoying it but I was fortunate that Stranraer came in to take me on loan.
“Despite the Play-Off result, I have enjoyed my time at the club and was delighted to sign on again when they offered me the chance in the summer.”
Borris was welcomed quickly and easily at Stranraer due to his friendship with not only ‘Tiff’ but Aitken's brother, Stephen, who is Manager Keith Knox’s assistant as he said: “It was great to link up with 'Tiff' again after 18 months together at Ayr and a season at Stirling. As brothers, they are really close and I get on really well with both of them. They talk about football all the time and that suits me.
“I am really fortunate to have the friendship I have with them but we need to be careful around Stephen now that he is one of the bosses!” joked Borris.
The trio are now working on a way to make this season a success with Borris saying: “The season so far has been mixed with a bit of good and bad in it. It was a bonus to move up to the Second Division during the close season although we all felt that we should have been already there via the Play-Offs. We let ourselves down in that second leg against Albion Rovers and missing out on promotion via a penalty shoot-out made it a long summer.
“The club’s budget was set at Third Division level and then things changed quickly with the Rangers' situation so it has taken a bit of time to adjust. Apart from The Scottish Communities League Cup tie against Livingston, where we were well beaten, we have performed well at home in games against sides in Stenhousemuir and Arbroath that will be looking for promotion.”
Borris added: “Stenhousemuir only beat us in The Ramsdens Cup with a late goal and we have been unlucky not to get wins with good performances against Arbroath and then the Warriors again in the League. Our away game to Forfar was another one were we let ourselves down and lost 4-0, so it has been mixed so far.”
The game against the Ochilview side last Saturday saw a change in tactics from Manager Keith Knox and an equalising goal coming from Borris who explained: “A lot of guys in our team are new to this level so we tightened things up with a 4-5-1 approach against Stenhousemuir and it worked well. We would be delighted to stay in this division and if we learn from things that we try, we have a far better chance of doing it.”
As for tomorrow's match against Ayr, Borris said: “Both of us will be disappointed at the number of points that we have picked up so far. It is too early in the season to call it a must win game however, it is a game that neither of us will want to lose.
“Three points could be the difference between staying up in this division this season and we would take any kind of win especially since we are looking for our first home win of the season.”
Borris finished by saying: “Our fans would welcome a win over Ayr I am sure and I would welcome another goal in this fixture.”
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