Dunfermline fan who wants Stranraer to win

"I think they thought that I was diving a lot but Ryan Thomson caught me a cracker with his elbow. I went down and then next thing there was just a barrage of abuse.

Steven Bell felt that he had experienced a 'whirlwind' since sustaining what he described as a massive tear on his already troublesome ankle in the match against Brechin City on Easter Saturday. He feared that would be yet another catastrophic injury that might have finally meant his playing days were over.

But the injury was a piece of personal medicine that no doctors could have provided and just 18 days later he was fit to lead out Stranraer, score the winning goal and quite legitimately deserved the Man of the Match award.

The 29 year who made 83 appearances for Dunfermline between July 2008 and November 2010 was relieved when for once the medics had some good new for him:-

"I went for an MRI scan and the guy said that I had torn a tendon. I was devastated because we were one win away from the play offs. These are games that you want to play in but then I went and got a second opinion. The surgeon who had done my last operation and saved my career said that I had done myself a favour and released the tendons.

"Now my ankle feels better than it has ever felt. It is weird rather than going in a releasing my tendon, I have done it myself by the way that I turned. Then obviously big Frank McKeown missed out; he was gutted about that because he has been colossal for us all season - he has been outstanding - but the gaffer has trusted me with the armband and I would like to think that I have not let him down.

"It was a good game of football for Second Division football. Getting the winner was a bit special but at the same time, it is only half time. It is not over by any means."

Steven appeared to miss the point that he was very influential in plotting the Pars downfall in this semi final first leg and was puzzled by the reception he got from the normally very appreciative fans at his old club:-

"I loved my time at Dunfermline, I was getting to the peak of my career but then got a crushing ankle injury. Everybody knows that I am not the type of guy who would lie down and just accept things. I have nothing to prove, I know my capabilities and these are the games that I love to play in. It was the same when I was at Dunfermline and at Stirling."

Steven shrugged off everyone after scoring the winning goal just two minutes from the end and just went straight to the dug out, he claimed it was emotions:-

"I was getting some stick off Dunfermline fans for some reason. I think they thought that I was diving a lot but Ryan Thomson caught me a cracker with his elbow. I went down and then next thing there was just a barrage of abuse.

"When I got up after I scored I ran over to the bench because I owe a lot to Steven Aitken and Steven Farrell, Alan Waddell and the staff and the club for taking a chance on me. Nobody else would have taken a chance on me. In fact they have persevered with my wee niggly injuries but still played me. Not a lot of clubs would have done that and I owe a lot to these guys and that is why I went over to them just to show my appreciation."

Steven now returns to East End Park expecting a big crowd to be behind the home side. He recalled the atmosphere that creates there with his experiences of a match against Celtic in the Scottish Cup where just under 9000 watched a six goal thriller with Celtic coming back to win from 2-1 down:-

"They beat us 4-2 when Robbie Keane scored but the stadium was just electric that day. People do not realise how big a club Dunfermline are, they shouldn't be down at this level. Before I signed I did not realise how big they were until I went there. On fan base they should be in the top league so we know what to expect there on Saturday. We know that they could have 7000 there and that will make it a hard place to go and take something.

"We need to go and do our job, protect our lead and get a victory. It kills me to say that because at the end of the day I am still a Dunfermline fan and I still look out for their results, still want them to win but I am a Stranraer player now and have to do the best for my team."