Berwick Rangers Preview

Having run them close at Firs Park just ten days ago, Shire boss Gordon Wylde wants his team to go one better this time and beat Third Division leaders, Berwick Rangers.

Wylde was in no doubt his team should have won against second top Arbroath in midweek and, on the eve of another vitally important encounter for the club, was in ebulient mood. "My group of players are every bit as good as Berwick and every bit as good as Arbroath. Twice in a week we have played the team at the top and the team in second place and each time we should have won. I have no doubt this is a match we can win."

Wylde was far from happy with the scant praise his team recieved after almost toppling Berwick last midweek. "I heard John Coughlin say his team did not play very well. But maybe that's because we didn't let them play. At least Arbroath manager John McGlashan came out after the game on Tuesday and admitted we were the better team on the night.

"Having said all that, I don't want any more hard luck stories. We really need the points now and that is one more reason why I think we can win."

Another reason for confidence is the Wee Rangers' depleted squad. For tomorrow's game they will be missing suspended top scorer Gary Wood and also Robbie Manson, who scored both Berwick goals in the 2-2 Shielfield draw back in September.

For their part Shire will be able to re-call Paul Brownlie and Steven Dymock who both missed the Gayfield trip for work reasons. The trialist striker who impressed at Arbroath, Kevin Struthers, is unlikely to be available. The only injury worry is Stephen Oates whose knee problem will most likely keep him on the sidelines.

Arbroath 3 Shire 2

Appropriately for a trip to a fishing town, this was the tale of the one that got away. Shire played well enough to beat promotion-chasing Arbroath, scored two cracking goals but still ended up losing simply because they could not keep the back door shut.
In particular keeper Anton Nugent will look back ruefully on his error of judgement after 74 minutes that cost his team at least a point. Afyer Shire had cancelled out Arbroath's 2-0 advantage Nugent picked up a harmless-looking through ball just a footstep outside his penalty area. Referee Mike Ritchie awarded an indirect free-kick which Paul Tosh blasted into a crowded box and the ball rebounded off the shins of Robbie Raeside into the net. It was a cruel way to end a match and not at all what Shire deserved on a night when they more than matched a team with genuine title aspirations.
Stephen Oates was left out because of his knee problem while Paul Brownlie and Steven Dymock were unavailable because of work commitments. Boss Gordon Wylde included trialist, Kevin Struthers as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation. But the visitors did anything but try to strangle the life out of the game. Instead, Paul Stewart's shot in the second minute, although too high, was an early statement that Shire would not simply sit back and defend. Futher efforts from Joe Boyle and the trialist were off target but at least it was more of a forward threat than the home team had managed up until that point.
After 28 minutes Shire should have taken the lead when Joe Boyle's deep croos found Marc McKenzie unmarked at the back post but the wee winger's shot hit the woodwork and the ball was scrambled to safety by the Arbroath defence. A minute after that Shire were behind. Jay Stein's cross was headed goalwards by Andy Reilly and cleared off the line by Struthers but when the ball was pitched back into the box Reilly made no mistake with his second header.
Things got tougher for Shire three minutes after the break. A long thrown-in was not properly cleared from the danger area and Arbroath defender Jamie Bishop hit a low shot from the edge of the box which seemed to go through Nugent as he dived and hit the back of the net. Two goals down with almost the entire second half to go and things did not look good. But, from somewhere, Shire managed to piece together their best spell of football in months.
It started with a slalom run towards goal by Stewart which ended with a shot which was saved well by Peat in the home goal. Shire took inspiration from that and within two minutes they had pulled a goal back. Joe Boyle tried his luck, the ball rebounded off Bishop straight to Paul Tweedie whose shot was low and true and left the Arbroath keeper with no chance. With their tails up, Shire went at the home team and they did not like it. On 61 minutes Tweedie was fouled just outside the box and Boyle hit the resulting free-kick Beckha-style over the defensive wall and with dip in it and Peat had to pull off a brilliant save toprevent the equaliser. Not that it was long in coming. After 63 minutes Paul McBride picked up the loose ball in midfield and sent a strunning, curling drive into the top left-hand corner of Peat's net. 2-2 and Shire were flying.
At that point a betting man would have put money on only one team winning and it would not have been Arbroath. Stewart was denied a strike at goal by a last ditch tackle as Arbroath struggled to keep their visitors at bay. Then Paul Tosh chased a lost cause through ball with such commitment that he panicked the Shire keeper into handling outside his box. Nugent was booked and worse was to follow and Tosh simply blasted the ball low into the box hoping for the best, and he got it when Raeside diverted it into the net off his shin.
Arbroath : Peat, McMullen, Rennie, McCulloch, Raeside, Bishop, Smith, Dobbins, Reilly(Webster 67), Brazil(Scott 87), Tosh, Stein(Black 67).
Shire : Nugent, McAloney, Learmonth(Adam 84), Brand, Thywissen, Boyle(Galloway 79), McKenzie(Ure 77), Stewart, Tweedie, Trialist, McBride.
Referee : Mike Ritchie

Arbroath Preview

Shire will be hoping for calmer weather when they make the return trip to Gayfield to replay the match abandoned ten days ago due to gale force winds. Although the two teams managed 76 minutes of a goalless farce on that occasion, the clock is set back to zero and the good things is Shire will be able to field a much stronger eleven than they were on that lst trip.

But with Stephen Oates and Stephen Adam both out injured and Steven Dymock and Paul Brownlie absent due to work commitments, boss Gordon Wylde will have to shuffle his pack. He has plans to play a junior trialist up front, a player he says has a god scoring record at his level. Another trialist looks set to fill a position on the bench.

"I feel we can go there and get a decent result there. We will certainly have a better team than we did the last time and Paul Stewart is back from suspension so that is another of our better players who will be included in the team," Wylde told Zebra Diary. Kick-off at Gayfield is 7:45pm.

Shire 0 Berwick Rangers 1

How Shire must be kicking themselves. They passed up the chance to beat the league leaders and reduce the gap at the bottom to just a single point with a display that said everything about the kind of bad fortune that seems to have engulfed Firs Park.

Make no mistake about it, Shire had Berwick Rangers on the ropes but their failure to deliver the knock-out punch, despite several gilt-edged oppoprtunities, cost them dear when Iain Diack popped up unmarked at the back post to head home the only goal of the game seven minutes from the end.

There were changes to the side which started the abandoned game at Gayfield on Saturday. Anton Nugent replaced Robert Tiroupolos between the sticks and there were starting places for Steven Learmonth and Andrew Brand, replacing Craig Galloway and Adam Kassim.

There was no doubt Berwick were the livlier in the opening quarter and the underlined that with a cracking Gary Greenhill drive after 13 minutes that came rattling back of Nugent's left-hand upright. A few minutes later former Shire man Chris McGroarty crossed from the left and his one-time Firs Park colleague, Iain Diack, volleyed over the bar when he maybe ought to have scored.

Berwick posed a threat as the half wore on and twice Nugent had to look smart to save, especially with a fine block with his legs from Gary Wood's effort. Shire weren't out of things and a Paul McAloney cross set up Paul McBride but his effort was well-saved by O'Connor. Half-time was reached with no goals, which was a fair reflection on both teams.

Shire began the second period far more positively and McBride was genuinely unlucky to see his effort from Paul Brownlie's free-kick go narrowly wide after 52 minutes. Three minutes later Shire really should have scored when Dymock chested down the ball and volleyed for goal only to see O'Connor deny him with a breathtaking save. Shire were heartened by that and dominated much of the rest of the game.

But they could not turn that possession and territory into clear cut shots at goal. Brownlie at least forced O'Connor into a savbe, and a good one too, after 72 minutes while at the other end a Thomson free-kick shaved the outside of Nugent's right-hand post.

On the 80 minute mark there were no excuses for Shire not taking the lead. The broke quickly from defence and Kassim, a second half substitrute, tore towards goal before squaring the ball unselfishly for Galloway. All the youngster had to do was roll the ball into the empty net but he somehow missed the target.

That miss proved fatal. After 83 minutes Kassim was dispossessed on the half way line and the ball transferred to the left wing when Greenhill crossed deep for Diack to head home the winning goal from the back edge of the six yard box.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney, Learmonth, Brand, Thywissen, Boyle(Galloway 65), McKenzie, Brownlie, Tweedie, Dymock, McBride(Trialist 78).

Berwick Rangers : O'Connor, Manson, McGroarty, Horn, McNicoll, G. Greenhill, Thomson, Notman(Lucas 68), Haynes(Noble 68), Wood, Diack.

Referee : E. Norris

Attendance : 225.

Berwick Rangers Preview

Gordon Wylde is still waiting anxiously to find out what kind of team he will be able to field against Berwick Rangers at Firs Park. The seven members of his 19 man squad who missed the abandoned match at Gayfield could all still be out.

They have been laid low by a mystery virus, injury and suspension. Stephen Adam, Scott Livingstone and Paul Stewart will not take part; the first two are injured the latter suspended. Stephen Oates, Steven Learmonth and Andrew Brand missed Saturday's wind tunnel meeting through illness.Wylde's hope is at least one of them will be fit enough for a return.

If not then Shire will only have the twelve players, plus trialist Adam Kassim, who were available for the aborted trip to Angus. And while those players fought hard in the circumstanfes Wylde knows when things are a lot less stormier Berwick Rangers can take advantage.Kick-off is 7:45pm.

Arbroath A Shire A

Referee Mike Ritchie was left with no option but to end 76 minutes of high farce at Gayfield as gale force winds led to the abandonment of this match with the sides tied at 0-0.

The winds became so strong that Shire keeper Robert Tiroupolos had difficulty clearing his own penalty area with his goal kicks. Even Arbroath's attempts to harness the wind at their backs proved impossible as the ball appeared to have a mind of its own on where it went on the pitch and when. With forwards struggling to create any attacks and defenders unable to judge where the ball would bounce and when, the "match" became a tedious succession of throw-ins and goal kicks. Playing any kind of football was impossible. Significantly, both managers agreed the ref had made the right decision.

Shire will perhaps feel a tinge of regret that the match officials called a halt when they were less than quarter of an hour away from getting a decent draw, espcially when you consider the number of late injury withdrawls. They travelled to Gayfield with just ten fit outfield players and two goalkeepers; Steven Learmonth and Stephen Adam were the only named outfield substitutes from a possible four, although neither was fit enough to play.

Paul Tweedie had the right idea as Shire started with the gale at their backs. He cracked in a long-range effort straight from the kick-off which former Firs Park keeper Scott Morrison did well to save. Bt it became apparent very quickly that the swirling storm was making ball control impossible and Shire struggled to produce anything of note. Arbroath, as their manager admitted honestly after the ref called a halt to proceedings, dedided the best policy for facing the wind was simply to form a circle with the wagons and wait for the second half.

Paul Brownlie shot over when well-placed and a Paul McAloney ball into the box caused havoc but bounced kindly for Arbroath at the last minute. But Shire could not do anything meaningful even when the elements were supposedly in their favour.

Arbroath found much the same story after the break. The wind, by this time, was now so strong that the only way Tiroupolos could get the ball to sit still for goal kicks was to form mounds of sand to act as wedges. He launched one effort straight down the centre of the pitch and the ball blew back and went out of play for an Arbroath throw-in next to his own corner flag !

Every pass the home team hit, no matter how short, flew out of play for either a goal-kick or a throw-in. They came close to scoring only twice; once when Kevin Webster's cross into the box hit the post and the second was an Andy Reilly toe-poke which Tiroupolos dived to push round the post.

After a brief consultation with both managers Mr Ritchie decided the wind was simply too strong to continue and the game was abandoned after 76 minutes.

Arbroath : Morrison, Rennie(Webster 63), McCulloch, Raeside, Bishop, Black, McMullan, Martin(Reilly 69), Brazil, Sellars, Stein.

Shire : Tiroupolos, McAloney, Galloway, Boyle, Thywissen, McBride, McKenzie, Tweedie, Dymock, Brownlie, Kassim.

Referee : M. Ritchie

Attendance : 639.

Shire 1 Arbroath 5

At least Shire managed to score at home for the first time since September. But Paul Brownlie's 81st minute strike does not make up for the crushing disappointment of defeat. Gordon Wylde's team paid a very heavy price for a daft seven minutes right at the start of the second half when they went from being in with a shout of taking a positive result to being out of things completely.

Wylde did not have his problems to seek before kick-off when both Derek Ure and Steven Learmonth were ruled out with a virus. That meant moving Stephen Oates to left-back and a surprise start for trialist Adam Kassim. But Shire could not have got off to a poorer start.

Witrhin three minutes they were behind, just as they had been against East Fife on Saturday. Jay Stein's outswinging corner found Steven Rennis lurking unmarked at the back edge of the box and he struck a shot through a ruck of players into the net.

The visitors bossed the game for a while but never created a worthwhile chance and it was Shire, towards the half hour mark who forced their way back into proceedings. First Kassim made a good run down the left and found himself clean through with only Mark Peat to beat but he shot straight at the Arbroath keeper's legs. A minute later Paul Tweedie got to the bye-line and crossed but, when a simple touch would have put Shire level, there was no-one in the right place at the right time to take advantage.

Peat was by far the busier keeper and he had to dive full stretch to save a long-range effort from Paul McBride. Shire certainly seemed to have the upper hand as referee Craig Charleston blew for half-time but they left their advantage behind in the dressing room when they re-appeared for the second half.

Within a minute of the re-start Rennie played the ball into the box and Barry Sellars ghosted in between the Shire defenders to chest the ball into the net, 2-0 Arbroath. Barely a minute later Shire keeper Anton Nugent had a rush of blood to his head and raced to clear the ball upfield only his effort hit Arbroath's Alan Brazil, ballooned over his head and looped into the empty net. In the space of two minutes Shire had gone from being in a promising position to out of the game completely.

And things only got worse. A poor clearance after 53 minutes landed at the feet of Nicky Smith who sent a swerving half-volley past Nugent from more than twenty yards. The bleakness of the night appeared complete when Paul Stewart was sent-off for a second booking after 76 minutes, although the club video shows referee Charleston got his decision completely wrong.

The game was lost but Shire didn't give up and scored a nice goal, their first at Firs Park in 905 minutes, in the closing stages. McBride knocked a high ball into the path of Brownlie who struck a sweet shot past Peat from just inside the penalty area. But Arbroath had the last laugh, Jamie Bishop scoring a scrappy goal after the home defence failed to clear their lines.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney, Oates, Brand, Thywissen, Boyle(Brownlie 75), McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie, McBride, Kassim(Galloway 64).

Arbroath : Peat, Rennie, McCulloch, Raeside, Bishop, Smith, Scott(McMullan 46), Reilly(Martin 62), Brazil, Sellars(Black 57), Stein.

Referee : Craig Charleston

Attendance : 275.