zebra diary

Reserves Win At Methil

2010-11-24T09:30:00.002Z

Shire's reserve team scored a 2-1 victory over East Fife in their latest League Cup match at New Bayview on Tuesday night.

The goals came from Steven Page and a trialist. The win puts to a stop a run of three heavy defeats for the second string.

There were run outs for Stuart Beveridge, Darren Kelly and Fraser Team as well as assistant coach David Nicholls who was playing his third match in the competition.

Shire will complete their fixtures in this season's Reserve League Cup with back-to-back home and away matches against Livingston. Dates for these matches hasve still to be arranged.

The team against East Fife was : Sorley, Kelly, Beveridge, Jackson, Trialist, Page, Scott, Nicholls, Team, Glasgow and Trialist.

Scottish Cup Fouth Round Draw

2010-11-22T17:01:00.002Z

Shire have been drawn at home to Highland League leaders Buckie Thistle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

It's their reward for knocking Spartans out of the competition on Saturday and, according to coach Jim McInally, gives the club a decent chance of making it into the last 16 of the competition.

The clubs have met once before in the Scottish Cup back in 1987/88 season when Shire emerged 3-2 victors at Victoria Park.

"It is a good draw for us because it presents us with a winable tie," said Jim. "However, we must be very cautious. This is a team sitting top of the Highland League who have won ten of the 12 matches they have played. And they beat Bo'ness United away in the last round which is a considerable feat.

"But we showed on Saturday that we are capable of beating the best non-league teams in the country. We took great encouragement from the win over Spartans, a side who hadn't lost a match in almost a year.

"Buckie will be sure to bring a big travelling support so that will add to the sense of occasion. It is a great tie for us and one we are really looking forward to."

The match will take place on either 8th or 9th January.

Youth Round-Up

2010-11-22T16:57:00.002Z

The under-19's s scored another encouraging result at the weekend.

For the second week running the team managed to take a point from their match, at home to Brechin City. The game ended goalless.

It follows the previous week's share of the points with Ayr United which, in turn, ended a run of seven straight league defeats.

The under-17's were not so fortunate at the weekenbd, they lost 3-1 against Clyde with Andrew Gibson notching the Shire goal.

My Biggest Win - Jim

2010-11-20T20:37:00.002Z

Shire coach Jim McInally described the team's 2-1 victory over Spartans in the third round of the Scottish Cup as perhaps the most important in his two-and-a-half years as the club's head coach.

A win propels the side into the fourth round of the competition with it the chance of drawing one of the top SPL sides with all the excitement and financial possibilities that brings. Even making it through the tie at Ainslie Park brought an additional, and very welcome, cash injection.

After the game, Jim appreciated just what was at stake for the club.

"I think since I came here that was my biggest win," he said. "It was vitally important in a financial sense to get the club into the next round of the cup and, hopefully, we can get a decent draw.

"From purely a playing point of view, this was a match against a non-league team with a proud record of beating teams at our level and giving ones from an even higher level a good game.

"I have no doubt as well that hardly anyone outside the club thought we would come here and win given our recent form and the fact that we were playing a side who hadn't lost a match of any kind in 11 months.

"But what we got from the players was a display full of grit and determination and we scored two great goals."

Of the decision to play John Neill up front, Jim said the idea had been formed with a view to giving Spartans a tactical surprise.

"I knew they had been to watch us a few times and the impression I got was that they didn't believe we had much of a presence up front. John gave us that option and I thought he held the ball up well in the first half."

Even though the team went in at the interval a goal to the good, the coach was far from satisfied with the players. He had wanted them to take the game to their opponents.

"I felt we were simply waiting for something to happen," said Jim. "I didn't think we pressed them enough or tried to get on top of them enough. The first half display was poor given that we decided we would play with the wind and rain in our favour."

And once Spartans scored the levelling goal Jim admits his heart sank, just like everyone else in a big and noisy travelling support.

"When you lose a goal like that then you fear the worst," he said. "But the players deserve a lot of credit for not buckling under the pressure. I think Alex Walker in particular deserves praise. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time and late on he had guys trying to kick his head off to get to balls but he didn't flinch."

The performance may not have been as important as the final result but Jim believes it is something the team can learn from in the season ahead.

While Shire have a reputation for playing good, passing football they too often have been seen as a team unable to mix it.

"That is something we touched on in the dressing room with the players after the game," said the coach. "Hopefully we will be able to build on that and show we can tough it out when we need to."

The Spartans 1 Shire 2

2010-11-20T19:36:00.003Z

Shire gained a measure of revenge on Edinburgh amateurs Spartans for a 1979 Scottish Cup defeat with a hard-fought victory at Ainslie Park.

On an afternoon of howling winds and torrential rain which turned the pitch into a soggy, sticky mess the visitors withstood a late onslaught from their hosts and booked their place in the fourth round of the competition for only the second time since its re-organisation.

Although the weather meant the game lacked real quality, it made up for it in a sheer battle of guts and determination, and also in two cracking Shire goals that would not have looked out of place in the English Premier League, La Liga or Serie A.

Coach Jim McInally was hit with a late blow to his plans when Charlie Grant was ruled out of his squad after failing a pre-match fitness test. He joined Derek Ure and Craig Donaldson on the sidelines.

There was a further surprise when John Neill was drafted in as a striker for the first time this season, partnering Kevin Cawley. Skipper Craig Tully was back in the team as the anchor in a five man midfield.

The game got off to a slow start in terrible weather conditions and it took either side the best part of ten minutes to muster a shot at goal. Neill, looking far from out of place in the forward line, was first to have a crack but his effort was blocked for a corner.

A minute later another Shire flag kick ended with a Stuart Beveridge shot at the near post which was blocked by a defender's legs.

Spartans were looking to winger Jack Beesley to create something and after 13 minutes he whipped in a dangerous cross which just lacked a touch in the middle and went speeding across the face of goal.

Two minutes later another run down the right by Beesley ended with a cut back to the edge of the box but Gavin Malin's shot was just too high of Michael Andrews's goal.

Neill was relishing his role as the target man and a powerful run into the box after 21 minutes created a great opening for Shire but he was denied by a brave diving save from home keeper Chris Flockhart.

A minute later a mazy run by Cawley provided another chance for Neill but his shot was blocked by a home defender. Neither side could get a grip on the game in the first half hour but Shire had more shots on goal.

After 35 minutes Cawley won a free-kick just outside the box and David Dunn curled the ball over the defensive wall but Flockhart made a great full-length diving save to keep the ball out.

At the other end Andrews made an important save after 36 minutes. Ross Archibald's deep cross from the right picked out Keith McLeod but he delayed his shot and once he did get it off the Shire keeper was in position to block it at the near post.

Three minutes later McLeod had another decent chance to break the deadlock but his angled drive from inside the box went just over the bar.

With four minutes of the first period remaining Paul Weaver picked the ball up in midfield and ghosted past three opponents before picking out Cawley in a wide position. The striker, seeing nothing on, played it back to Weaver 25 yards from goal and he looked up before hitting an unstoppable shot high into the top right-hand corner of the net.

Spartans made some tactical changes at the interval and they took the game to Shire in barnstorming cup-tie style. The visitors, now with the wind and rain in their faces, were having difficulty clearing their lines.

But it was not playing to the whistle that caught them out after 53 minutes. While Shire stopped and waited for a referee's whistle at a foul which was never given, Beesley kept on running and crossed low from the left for McLeod to bundle the ball over the line from point-blank range for the equaliser.

Seven minutes later Andrews was forced into a decent save as the ball fell to Malin on the edge of the box. The midfielder's shot bounced awkwardly for the keeper but he made the necessary adjustment to save.

Not long later another shot, this time from Alex King, forced Andrews to dive low and turn the ball round the post.

On the hour mark Shire changed things bringing on Stephen McGuire and Darren Kelly for Beveridge and Tully. Kelly went to right-back in a defensive four while McGuire went up front with John Neill taking on the midfield holding role.

Not long after Scott Johnston's bustling run took him into the box and his shot was only prevented from flying into the net by a great block from a home defender.

After 69 minutes Johnston was hauled down by a desperate challenge but referee Kevin Clancy chose to award only a free-kick outside the box with the Shire fans calling for a penalty kick.

It mattered little to Dunn. The Shire midfielder strode up the to ball, which was placed right of centre of the goal, and unleashed a thunderbolt which hit the back of the net almost before the keeper had time to react.

Spartans, not surprisingly, threw everything into attack but for all their presure they could not convert it into many clear-cut scoring changes. The closest they came was on 82 minutes when a shot from the edge of the box took a deflection as it raced towards Andrews but the keeper somehow held on.

Shire were threatening on the break and late on Johnston crossed from the right for McGuire whose first-time volley was held brilliantly by Flockhart given the wet conditions.

SPARTANS : Flockhart, Archibald, Fowlie, Townsley, Sivewright, Malin, King, Manson, Henretty, McLeod, Beesley.

SHIRE : Andrews, Tully(Kelly 60), Richardson, Hay, Beveridge(McGuire 60), Walker, Cawley(Team 86), Weaver, Johnston, Dunn, Neill.

REFEREE : K. Clancy.

ATTENDANCE : 601.

Spartans Preview

2010-11-19T09:30:00.002Z

Craig Donaldson has been ruled out of Saturday's Scottish Cup-tie with Spartans in Edinburgh.

He has failed to recover in time from the ankle injury which caused him to miss two recent matches and which forced him out of last week's league game against Elgin City after just ten minutes.

Coach Jim McInally was hopeful one of the club's key performers would be available for the vital match against the East of Scotland League team but doesn't want to force him back into action too early.

"It's disappointing news," said Jim. "But the physio says if we put him in the team for Saturday we could risk making things worse and that is not something we are prepared to do.

"We would much rather leave him out of this one and hope that he comes back fully recovered in his own time. "

However, apart from Donaldson and Derek Ure, whose ankle ligaments will need another couple of weeks to heal, Shire will have a full squad to choose from, and that includes Charlie Grant who has signed a short-term contract.

"Everyone else is fit and, I hope, really up for this game," said Jim. "We know all about Spartans good cup runs in the past and for that reason alone we have to give them total respect.

"It will be a very difficult match for us and I suppose in many people's minds we will be the underdogs. But that is a situation that maybe suits us better anyway, although I would like to be going into the game in better form than we have been showing."

Jim says it is not as much of a trip into the unknown as the previous round tie against Forres Mechanics. He is far more aware of Spartans than the Highland League outfit.

"At least this time we have had the chance to send someone to watch them," he said. "And the manager of Stirling University has been really helpful. They have played Spartans three times this season and I have spoken to him on a number of occasions and he has provided us with a run down of each of their players."

The only previous meeting between the teams came in a Scottish Cup-tie back in 1979.

The second round match had been cancelled because of bad weather and put back by a week. Bizarrely, Shire decided to play their scheduled league game against Meadowbank Thistle on the Saturday as planned then face Spartans at Firs Park 24 hours later.

Even more incredibly, manager Billy Lamont, picked the same starting eleven for both matches, forcing his men to play games on successive days.

The plan completely backfired. Shire lost 3-1 at Meadowbank Stadium, then a mixture of tired legs and highly-motivated opponents meant Spartans caused a big upset, winning 3-2 on the Sunday.

Kick-off at Ainslie Park is 3:00pm.

Charlie Grant Signs

2010-11-19T09:24:00.003Z

Trialist Charlie Grant has signed a short-term contract with the club.

The former Celtic and Dundee midfielder has played the last three games as a trialist but would not have been eligible to play for the club again without signing a contract.

Coach Jim McInally was delighted at being able to keep the player until the transfer window opens in January.

"Charlie is a quality player who has had a hard time with injuries," he said. "We have offered him this chance to get playing again and, in a sense, put him back in the shop window.

"This was a player who at the start of the season was playing First Division football and he obviously has ambitions to stay full-time. But if we can help him and, in turn, he can help us in the short-term then that's a situation that suits us both."

Charlie will be added to the squad for the Scottish Cup match against Spartans this weekend.

Donaldson Given Chance

2010-11-17T09:59:00.002Z

Craig Donaldson will be given every chance to prove his fitness before Saturday's Scottish Cup-tie with The Spartans.

Coach Jim McInally says although the midfielder remains a doubt, he has not yet ruled him out of playing at Ainslie Park.

Donaldson last played a full game in the 4-0 Cup replay win over Forres Mechanics. The recurrence of an ankle injury forced him to miss the next two matches against Clyde and Arbroath.

He tried a comeback in Saturday's match against Elgin City but only lasted ten minutes before he had to be replaced.

"The physio says the Ochilview pitch may not be helping," said Jim. "But, then again, he has been wearing blades and that might not be a good idea on that surface.

"We will get him out on the grass pitches at Dunblane on Thursday and give him a work out just to see how he is. He is a doubt for Saturday's game, obviously, but I am not prepared to rule him out completely," said the coach.

Reserves Lose Out

2010-11-17T09:54:00.002Z

Shire's reserve team went down to a 5-1 defeat against East Fife at Stirling University on Tuesday evening.

A disastrous first 45 minutes saw the team go in at the interval 5-0 down. However, they chasnged things round in the second half and pulled one goal back through Fraser Team and might have reduced the defecit further after dominating the remainder of the game.

One bright spot was the involvement of John Neill. He missed Saturday's league game against Elgin City after complaining of a sore back. However, he played the full game against East Fife without any problems putting him in contention again for Saturday's Scottish Cup match with The Spartans.

Youth Round-Up

2010-11-15T10:48:00.002Z

Shire's under-19 team brought a run of seven successive league defeats to an end at the weekend with a 3-3 draw against Ayr United at Prestwick.

The team's goals came from Grant McCullum, a Steven Jackson free-kick and a Gerry O'Connell penalty and was a good result against an Ayr team who had won six of their eight league matches.

The under-17's went down to a 2-1 defeat against Ayr United in a game also played at Prestwick Academy. Dayle Joyce was the Shire scorer but there was no disgrace in running the team who were twelve points clear at the top of the league before Sunday's game so close. Shire keeper Fraser Richardson also saved a penalty.

Coaches Craig Tully and David Hagen described the performance of the team as the best so far this season.

We Lacked Cutting Edge - Jim

2010-11-14T11:37:00.002Z

Coach Jim McInally admitted his team struggled to make chances against Elgin City and that cost them another defeat.

Jim conceded as well that all the passing football the team played went in vain because they could not find the right ball into the strikers.

However, he says he was right to leave out strikers Scott Johnston and Stephen McGuire with the Scottish Cup match at Spartans only a week away.

"Squire has only just come back after injury and he hasn't been quite right," said Jim. "Scott has been complaining of sore legs and I wasn't going to take any risks with him. The cup-tie is an important match for us in so many different ways and we need to get it right.

"Overall, I thought we were a bit flat up front," he said. "The service in to the front men wan't great but we didn't create anything apart from Kevin Cawley's early chance. What we need to learn to do is find the right ball forward at the right time.

"We were getting caught passing the ball sideways and back with no real purpose and they were just happy to let us keep it knowing we were having problems hitting the front men.

"I still thought we defended well. The goals we lost were down to individual errors but other than that I thought we dealt pretty well with everything else."

The major cause for concern was the injury to Craig Donaldson, who was forced off after just ten minutes. It was supposed to be his comeback after a two week lay-off because of a badly-bruised ankle but the sight of him coming off after just a few minutes was worrying.

"That is a situation we will have to look at later in the week," said Jim. "Craigy is a really important player for us and we will do everything we can to get him fit for the Spartans match. The physio will be working with him to make sure he is ready."

Shire 0 Elgin City 2

2010-11-14T10:44:00.002Z

A failure to find a cutting edge in front of goal cost Shire dear against Elgin City at Ochilview.

The visitors won a match short on excitement or goalmouth action because they took advantage of Shire errors, while the home team could not force Elgin into similar mistakes.

Neither side had looked remotely capable of breaking the deadlock until Kevin Cawley gave the ball away on the edge of his own box after 33 minutes, allowing Jake Inglis a clear run on goal which ended with a powerful shot past Michael Andrews.

With eight minutes to go a huge clearance from Elgin keeper Scott Bain was flicked on by substitute Paul Millar and while the Shire defence hesitated, Craig Frizzell nipped in to score from 10 yards.

Coach Jim McInally made a number of surprise team selections, leaving out regular starters John Neill, Stuart Beveridge, Scott Johnston and Stephen McGuire. Craig Donaldson and Paul Weaver returned after injury and illness respectively and there were also starts for Kevin Watt and Darren Kelly.

There was a major blow after just 10n minutes when Donaldson was forced off after suffering a recurrence of the ankle injury that had kept him out of the previous two matches. Fraser Team replaced him and Kelly, an attacking winger, was forced to play a right-back.

That didn''t stop Shire looking for goals and they might have taken the lead after ten minutes. A dreadful clearance from Elgin keeper Scott Bain landed at the feet of Kevin Cawley who attempted to lob the ball into the net but Bain got back in time to tip it over the bar.

Apart from Jamie Duff's diving header which Andrews did well to save after 22 minutes there was nothing of note until Elgin's 33rd minute goal. And even after that the remainder of the first half was devoid of attacking ideas.

Shire certainly picked up the pace after the interval and four minutes into the second half Cawley cracked in a 20 yarder that flew just over the crossbar. Trialist Charlie Grant also tried his luck from long-range but was no more accurate.

Eventually McGuire and Johnston was called from the substitutes bench and Shire played with a bit more attacking intent but there was a real lack of clear-cut scoring opportunities.

It was Elgin substitute Paul Millar who made a more positive contribution. His first intervention was to send a left-wing corner goalward which forced a Shire boot to hack the ball off the line.

His next touch proved crucial. After 82 minutes Bain launched a huge clearance, Millar flicked on and Craig Frizzell latched onto the loose ball, ghosted past Kelly and dinked a shot over the advancing Andrews into the net.

The giant Millar then missed a chance to make it 3-0 in the closing few minutes but somehow managed to shoot wide of goal with only Andrews to beat.

SHIRE : Andrews, Donaldson(Team 10), Richardson, Hay, Weaver, Cawley, Trialist, Watt(McGuire 59), Dunn(Johnston 69), Kelly.

ELGIN CITY : Bain, Niven, Inglis, Kaczan, Duff(Edwards 27), Crooks, Gunn(Millar 77), O'Donoghue(MacDonald 46), Cameron, Nicolson, Frizzell.

REFEREE : A. Law.

ATTENDANCE : 243.

Elgin City Preview

2010-11-12T17:49:00.002Z

Craig Donaldson and Alex Walker will return from injury to face Elgin City at Ochilview on Saturday.

Donaldson has missed the last two games with a recurrence of his ankle injury while Walker was forced to sit out the midweek defeat at the hands of Arbroath on doctor's orders following the clash of heads at Clyde which forced him to leave the field on a stretcher.

There is also the chance that Paul Weaver may be included in the squad as he continues to recover from his chest infection.

"Wee Craigy is an important player for us and we have missed him over the last two games," said coach Jim McInally. "So it will certainly be good to get him back. Alex Walker brings experience and organisation and being able to bring him back into the team will also make us stronger.

"I have spoken to Paul Weaver and he is OK but we will have to wait to see what kind of shape he is in after being laid low in bed for a week. We missed all three against Arbroath and not having them there was perhaps more than we could cope with."

Trialist Charlie Grant will play his final game for us that is allowable under the rules, while John Neill is struggling to be fit after complaining of a sore back.

"I will see what kind of options we have closer to the match and if we are covered then we may just opt to give John a rest," he said.

Shire will be looking to notch up another win after the midweek disappointment but the coach knows that will be easier said than done. Elgin have one of the best recent records in the league.

"They have put together a great wee run and they are in the kind of position we would like to be," said the coach. Elgin have won five of their last eight league games after starting the season with four straight defeats and will be full of confidence after beating Annan Athletic last week.

"We know it will be tough," said Jim. "But we want to prove that Wednesday night was just one of those things. Certainly we should be in a much stronger position as regards having players to choose from and that gives me hope."

The two teams have already met twice this season, both times at Borough Briggs. In August, a second half penalty from David Dunn and a brilliant Jamie Stevenson free-kick gave Shire a deserved 2-0 victory.

In October Shire travelled back to Elgin in a match brought forward from 2nd January. But before they could get a kick of the ball they fell behind to Craig Gunn's 2nd minute goal and despite dominating the rest of the game couldn't score. Barry Wilson added a late penalty goal to give Elgin a 2-0 win.

Kick-off at Ochilview is 3:00pm.

Jim Laments Absent Friends

2010-11-11T09:48:00.002Z

Shire coach Jim McInally was left to contemplate the lack of key players as his side went down to a 3-1 defeat against Arbroath at Ochilview on Wednesday evening.

Although they made a bright opening, Shire were eventually undone by a vastly more experienced Arbroath team. The coach believed, however, that his side might have been able to cope had it been anywhere near full-strength.

Already without Derek Ure, Paul Weaver and Craig Donaldson, Shire were forced to do without the services of Alex Walker who withdrew from the match on doctor's orders following his head knock at Clyde on Saturday.

"They are all key men for us who we can't really afford to be without," said Jim. "We struggled without them and although we made a good start to the game we were a bit flat after it.

"Arbroath are a very experienced team who are full of players who have played at a much higher standard earlier in their careers. They used that experience well after they went behind and there is no doubt they deserved to win in the end.

"We just didn't have that wee bit of sparkle about us. In addition to the four players who were out injured, John Neill was playing with a bad back and we didn't get the best out of him."

But Jim refused to be too critical of the team's overall performance.

"There wasn't a great deal of difference between the teams. But when they scored their second goal that's where the know-how of people like Gavin Swankie and Kieran McAnespie kicked in and they took control a bit.

"We started chasing the game and I put extra strikers on to see if we could get back in it, but that is a gamble and it left us a wee bit exposed at the back and that told when they scored their third goal."

Shire 1 Arbroath 3

2010-11-11T09:25:00.002Z

Despite making an explosive start Shire were eventually beaten by a better, more experienced, Arbroath team at Ochilview on Wenesday evening.

Kevin Cawley's eighth goal of the season gave the home team an early lead but they could not build on it. Instead, the visitors took control, levellled the scores after quarter of an hour and took the lead less than two minutes into the second half. They never looked back from there and added a third late on.

Coach Jim McInally's team selection problems were added to before kick-off when Alex Walker pulled out of the game on doctor's orders following his nasty clash of heads at Clyde on Saturday.

That left Shire without four key players; already absent through injury were Derek Ure, Paul Weaver and Craig Donaldson.

Craig Tully started his first game since Shire's trip to Gayfield in August while trialist midfielder, Charlie Grant. continued in the holding role.

It was Grant who set Shire on their way after just four minutes. His defence-splitting pass sent Scott Johnston racing down the left and his cross was met by Cawley who rammed the ball into the net from close range at the near post.

But the early promise of Shire's play was not to last. After 15 minutes they failed to clear a corner properly and Kieran McAnespie played the ball down the line to Josh Falkingham.

The winger swung over a cross from the right which Keith Gibson met with a near post header that flew into the roof of the net.

It was evens-stevens until half-time as the game went through an uninspiring phase with neither side able to create any chances of note, although Tully had to look smart to clear a Ross Chisholm cross before any in-rushing Arbroath forward could get on the end of it.

The outcome of the match was effectively decided 90 seconds after the start of the second half. Chisholm's cross from wide on the left found Falkingham unmarked at the back post and he headed the ball back across the face of goal and into the net at the far corner.

Arbroath took control of the match after that without creating a great deal of problems for Shire. But the home team looked lost for ideas on how to break Arbroath down at the back.

Kevin Cawley had one great chance to bring the scores level after 77 minutes.

His mazy run from deep ended with a shot at the edge of the box that had Arbroath keeper Darren Hill diving full-length to make a great save.

However, Shire threw caution to the wind and brought on extra forwards in Darren Kelly and Kevin Watt in an attempt to get back inton things. But it left holes at the back and Arbroath were able to exploit that on 82 minutes. Chisholm ran unchecked from midfield into the Shire box and hit a near post shot that crashed off the upright. Substitute David McGowan was waiting in the right place at the right time to collect the rebound and guide it into the empty net.

SHIRE : Andrews, Neill(Kelly 58), Richardson, Hay, Beveridge, Tully, Cawley, Trialist, McGuire(Watt 58), Dunn(Team 71), Johnston.

ARBROATH : Hill, Rattray(Deane 22), McAnespie, Chisholm, Malcolm, Durnan, Falkingham, Gibson, Doris(McGowan 79), Swankie(McMullan 87), Sheerin.

REFEREE : T. Robertson

ATTENDANCE : 228.

Arbroath Preview

2010-11-10T08:53:00.002Z

It will be a case of same again for Shire when they face Arbroath at Ochilview later in their re-arranged Third Division clash.

Coach Jim McInally is set to name the same squad of players who brought the club a welcome 2-1 victory over Clyde on Saturday.

That means there will be a place for Alex Walker despite the nasty clash of heads at Broadwood on Saturday which saw him leave the field on a stretcher.

"Alex has made a full recovery and is showing no signs of any problems following the incident," said Jim. "So we intend to include him in the squad for the game."

Also making a return will be trialist Charlie Grant. The former Dundee midfielder pleased Jim with his display against Clyde and will make another trialist appearance. "He is a reallly good player," said the coach. "On Saturday he kept it nice and simple, breaking up their play and finding our players with simple, but effective, passes."

However, Craig Donaldson and Paul Weaver will be left out despite making some progress in the last few days. "There is no need to take any risks with these players. I would much rather not play them and have them ready for Saturday," said Jim.

The match is an important one for the club following wins over Forres Mechanics in the Scottish Cup and Clyde in the league.

"You can see the confidence starting to return," said he coach. "But what we really need to do is try to build up a bit of momentum. After a bad spell we could do with going on a run of results. We believe we are in a false position in the league but it is up to everyone to prove that."

He is well aware of the dangers that Arbroath will pose. "They have some really good players going forward so that is something we will have to be aware of and deal with. They certainly have the players who can punish you if you make mistakes."

Kick-off at Ochilview is 7:45pm.

Under-17's Suffer Defeat

2010-11-08T16:55:00.002Z

Shire's under-17 team suffered a disappointing defeat against Arbroath at the weekend.

They went down 3-0 in a league game played at Stirling University on Sunday afternoon.

Coach Craig Tully put the blame at the door of individual errors which cost the team two of the three goals.

The under-19's had no game at the weekend because opponents Annan Athletic were involved in the Scottish Cup.

Both teams are scheduled to visit Ayr United this week in league matches.

Andrews Called Up

2010-11-08T16:47:00.003Z

Shire's on-loan keeper Michael Andrews has been included in the Scotland under-21 squad for the forthcoming friendly match with Northern Ireland.

It's the first time the 20 year-old goalie has made it into Billy Stark's pool at this level. Michael has won some great reviews for his play with Shire this season and this is his reward for the progress he has been making.

Falkirk recently allowed Michael to extend his loan with the club until the end of the season. He was due to return to Westfield in December but persuaded manager Steven Pressley to allow him to stay with Shire until May.

Jamie Barclay, who was on loan at Shire last season from Falkirk, is also in the squad. Also getting a call-up is Gregg Wylde, the son of former Shire player and manager, Gordon Wylde.

The match with Northern Ireland goes ahead on Wednesday 17th November at Partick Thistle's Firhill Stadium.

Clyde 1 Shire 2

2010-11-07T08:55:00.005Z

Shire maintained their proud boast of having won every match they have played at Clyde's Broadwood Stadium with a solid performance in the bottom-of the-table clash.

First half goals from David Dunn and Kevin Cawley were the main building blocks in a 2-1 win but the defence played its part as well, holding the Bully Wee at bay in a tense second half in which Michael Andrews was forced to make a couple of brilliant saves ro preserve the lead.

Coach Jim McInally had real selection problems in the run-up to the match. Derek Ure was already ruled out but Paul Weaver withdrew due to a chest infection and Craig Donaldson's ankle injury forced him to miss the match.

John Neill came back into the starting eleven while the coach pulled a rabbit out of the hat by enlisting the services of former Dundee midfielder Charlie Grant for the day as a trialist.

Torrential rain and the first real chill of winter greeted the teams at kick-off and although the game meant a lot to both sides it was a shapeless opening period with neither set of players able to create anything of note.

That changed on nine minutes when Shire were awarded a corner kick on the right. The now well-established short corner rountine was put to good use as Stephen McGuire fired the ball low across the face of goal and Dunn was in the right place at the edge of the six yard box to ram it high into the roof of the net.

But there was a setback for Shire just after the quarter hour when Alex Walker fell to the ground after a clash of heads and had to be carried from the field on a stretcher. Craig Tully, in the squad for the first time since August, replaced him from the bench.

It wasn't long before the club captain was in the action, hacking a Scott Anson header off the line after 19 minutes.

But Clyde's equaliser was not long in coming. Some slick midfield passing opened up the newly-constructed Shire defence all too easily and Stuart Mills raced clear into the box to slot the ball into the net past Andrews.

However, Shire got through a wobbly patch as the team re-adjusted to the absence of Walker from the defence and hit the front again after 35 minutes with a beautifully-worked goal. McGuire's pass forward was backheeled by Scott Johnston into the path of Dean Richardson who crossed low from wide on the left for Cawley to gather and shoot past the keeper from seven yards out to claim his seventh goal of the season.

Clyde knew then they had to go for goals or be left stranded at the foot of the league table and after 38 minutes Adam Strachan produced a dangerous cross which flew across goal and wide when a touch would have taken the ball into the net.

Clyde started the second half dominating possession but they failed to trouble the Shire goal. Andrews made a comfortable save from a long-range Murray Henderson effort but was otherwise not unduly overworked.

At the other end, Shire's lightning counter-atttacks carried far more threat. After 54 minutes a great run from Johnston ended with a fierce shot from the edge of the box which the Clyde keeper did well to hold.

On 63 minutes a brave block by Alan Lithgow managed to divert a net-bound Cawley shot which again followed a great flowing, passing move from the visitors.

Clyde were resticted to shots from distance and Lithgow tried his luck on 71 minutes but Andrews made a comfortable save. Six minutes later Dunn was fractionally away from adding his second goal of the game with a powerful shot from the 18 yard line that flew just wide of the post.

After 80 minutes Shire substitute Fraser Team should have added to the advantage. Cawley's brilliant run down the left ended with a perfect cross for the youngster but he sent his point-blank header wide of the target.

The home team threw everything at Shire in the closing few minutes and Andrews twice had to come to the rescue. First he made a great stop from substitute John Stewart at his near post, then dived full-length to push a powerful 25 yarder from John Sweeney round the post with six minutes to go.

In injury-time referee John Beaton showed Clyde's Stewart a straight red card for elbowing Paul Hay in the face as they both tried to reach a free-kick which was swung high into the Shire penalty area.

CLYDE : Allan, Gray, McGowan, McMillan, Lithgow, Waddell(Stevenson 82), Mills, Paterson, Trialist(Stewart 72), Sweeney, Strachan(Cochrane 72).

SHIRE : Andrews, Neill(Watt 72), Richardson, Hay, Beveridge, Walker(Tully 18), Cawley, Trialist, McGuire(Team 59), Dunn, Johnston.

REFEREE : J. Beaton

ATTENDANCE : 652.

Jim Delighted With Clyde Win

2010-11-07T08:35:00.003Z

Coach Jim McInally claims if his players show a bit more self-belief then they will be on the road to better results.

Even after a 2-1 win at Clyde that puts five points between Shire and the league's bottom team there were criticisms from the coach of the performance, especially in the first period at Broadwood.

"I didn't think they showed enough belief in the first half," said Jim. "It was almost as though they were waiting for Clyde to come at us and they got on top a bit. But you only need to look at the goals we scored to see what we have in us.

"The goals were brilliant and that is the kind of thing we are capable of but we need to show a bit more confidence to do it more often.

"In they second half they were on top of us too much and I put some extra forwards on to try and hit them on the break and that seemed to work. I thought we were comfortable and the longer the game went on the better we were at keeping possession and moving it about. All-in-all it was a good win."

And there was good news on Alex Walker who was carried from the pitch in a stretcher after a clash of heads in the first half.

"He hurt himself in the fall," said Jim. "But he seems to be OK and was sitting in the dressing room after the match. It's good news because you do worry about these situations but he's now probably more worried about keeping his place in the team for Wednesday night."

Club captain Craig Tully replaced Walker from the bench. It was his first serious football since August and the coach said he did not let anyone down.

"I don't think Tully put a foot wrong. But that's where his experience comes in. If you have that know-how about where to stand and where to be then that will carry you a long way. Overall, I thought the back three were terrific."

Jim was also pleased with the contribution of trialist Charlie Grant. The former Dundee player has been without a club since being made redundant by the Dens Park club following its fall into administration.

"I don't know how many games he has played in the last wee while because he has had a serious injury," said Jim of Grant. "You could see the effort he put in throughout the game. He just shuffles about the park destroying things and breaking things up and he did a great job for us."

There was no doubting the sense of elation at the full-time whistle. The victory lifts Shire one place in the league ladder and puts five points between them and the bottom side.

"This was a massive result for us," said the coach. "You could see what it meant to the players after the game, how imp;ortant it was to them. We have a young bunch of boys who are capable of achieving lots if they believe in themselves."

Berwick Rangers Preview

2007-03-30T23:10:00.000+01:00

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

2007-03-29T22:23:00.000+01:00

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

2007-03-26T20:50:00.000+01:00

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

2007-03-21T20:45:00.000Z

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

2007-03-19T20:14:00.000Z

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

2007-03-17T21:08:00.001Z

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

2007-03-15T20:22:00.000Z

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.

Shire 0 East Fife 2

2007-03-10T21:59:00.000Z

Same old story. Just as Shire should have beaten Stenhousemuir in midweek, so they should have taken something from this game too. There was plenty of hard work, good play and some decent chances. What was lacking was a killer touch in front of goal. Shire have now gone eleven games without scoring a home goal and the fact that it was good goalkeeping rather than poor finishing that kept the record intacts makes it no less bearable.

Gordon Wylde made just one change to the starting eleven from Tuesday;'s disappointing defeat against Stenhouisemuir; Paul McBride came into the team in place of Joe Boyle to partner Paul Tweedie up front. But before he, or any other Shire player, had a chance to influence the game the team was already behind.

Fewer than two minutes were on the clock when Paul Walker took a flick on into his stride and beat the advancing Anton Nugent with a clever lob from just outside the penalty box. But Shire took hte setback in their stride for once and started to hog possession and create chances. Marc McKenzie was playing as though attempting to win the game single handed. After 25 minutes he sent in a superb half volley that flew just wide, had it gone in it would have been contender for goal of the season. The wee winger also tried his luck with two more efforts but they gave John Dodds in the East Fife goal the opportunity to make good saves.

The keeper should have been left with no chance just seconds into the second half when Paul Stewart's pinpoint cross was headed goalwards by McBride but his effort just shaved the top of the crossbar.

After 57 minutes everyone thought McBride had at last broken Shire's home scoring duck. Steven Learmonth whipped over the ball to the near post and McBride's stooping header was netbound all the way until Dodds managed to pull off a miraculous save. Minutes later skipper Andrew Brand tried his luck and against Dodds made a great save.

Shire had all the possession and were starting to look really dangerous but the more desperate they got the easier it was for East Fife to pick holes in their rearguard. Walker should have added a second East Fife goal eight minutes from the end but he was denied by a great save from Nugent.

Shire went for the kamikaze approach in the final few minutes and that ended up costing them dear. A simple ball over the top of the defence sent Craig O'Reilly clear and even though his first shot was saved by Nugent, he had enough time and space to collect the rebound and clinch the three points.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney, Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates, Brand, McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie(Brownlie 83), McBride(Dymock 83), Ure(Trialist 73).

East Fife : Dodds, E. Smith, McBride, J. Smart, Doyle, McDonald, Gibson(Jablonski 54), Blackadder(Gordon 54), Ritchie, O'Reilly(Nicholas 88), Walker.

Referee : A. Law

Attendance : 358

East Fife Preview

2007-03-10T10:04:00.000Z

Stephen Adam and Paul Brownlie will miss out on the crucial fixture against East Fife at Firs Park. Both are suffering from leg injuries and, with Shire in goalscoring crisis, boss Gordon Wylde will breathe a sigh of relief at the return of Steven Dymock to the squad.

He is free of the work commitments that forced him to miss Tuesday night's 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Stenhousemuir. There could be changes in the forward line. Paul McBride's brief cameo on Tuesday brightened up a lacklustre display and he may be in with a chance of starting.

The match is of real importance to Shire. For one thing they must bring thrir Firs Park goal drought to an end. It's 30th September last year since the team scoerd at home a statistic which now seems to be playing on Wylde's mind. Beyond that, at least a point from the match would come in handy. Elgin City face Stenhousemuir at Borough Briggs and some Shire folk who witnessed the derby double header with the Warriors are worried Robbie Williamson's men may stand a decent chance of winning. If that were to happen Shire would need to beat East Fife to avoid ending up bottom of the league for the first time this season. At least Shire have proof that it can be done; the last meeting between the teams ended in a 2-0 win at New Bayview, although East Fife have recovered their form since then, beatign Albion Rovers 3-0 and Elgin 3-1 in their last two outings. By contrast, Shire's victory against the Fifers, secured with goals from Joe Savage and Paul Stewart back on January 13th, was the last time they tasted victory.

Shire 0 Stenhousemuir 1

2007-03-07T19:52:00.000Z

A frightening lack of composure in front of goal cost Shire dear in the latest local derby with Stenhousemuir. Despite carving the Warriors back line open time and again the Firs Parker could not find the target. No wonder they have now gone 914 minutes without scoring a goal at home. With finishing as woeful as this, all it takes to beat Shire is one goal.

That duly arrived after 17 minutes. A bit of penalty box bagatelle ended with the ball sqirming to the back edge of the area where veteran striker, Gareth Hutchison was waiting, unmarked, to ram it past the exposed Anton Nuent. The goal finished the match as a contest and only some pretty poor finishing from the visitors prevented them from expanding their advantage.

But the true story of the night was how Stenhousemuir should have been dead and buried even before Hutchison was allowed to score what turned out to be the game winning goal. After just two minutes a powerful Paul Tweedie run towards the box ended with a shot from the 18 yard line that whizzed just wide of Willie McCulloch's left-hand post.

The Stenhousemuir defence was a disaster area and a pas across the box almost let emergency striker, Joe Boyle in, but McCulloch got there in the nick of time to clear. After seven minutes Tweedie beat a dodgy offside trap and raced in on goal. He seemed certain to score but instead hammered his shot straight at McCulloch. The ball ballooned into the air and as it fell the Shire man headed towards what was an empty net. To everyone's amazement it drifted wide for a goal kick, setting the tone for Shire's night.

As is so often the case when you can't score with easy chances you leave yourself open to the sucker punch and Shire were given an early warning when John Paul McBride's 20 yard feee-kick skimmmed the top of the bar. After 17 minutes there was no saving Shire. They could not check Dempster's run into the box and the home defence made a terrible hash of trying to clear his shot. In the end they failed completely and the ball broke to Hutchison who scored with a low drive.

Things threatened to unravel for Shire but they held things together just enough to go in at the interval just one goal down.

Five minutes after the break it should have been two but Nugent came to the rescue with a great save from Hutchison after he had been sent clear by Dempster. Shire were simply not able to get past McCulloch; Tweedie found himself again with only the keper to beat but shot straight at him. Andrew Brand's later effort had a bit more venom but was not good enough to get past him.

With 15 minutes left Shire gambled and took off Paul McAloney, replacing him with Paul McBride. The forward for a defender switch almost had an instant impact but McBride's shot from the six yard box was saved.

The Warriors were not out of things and Hutchison should have put the issue beyond doubt on 81 minutes but shot over the bar from inside the six yard box. Then Shire managed one final effort. With three minutes to go McKenzie passed up a great chance to equalise, shooting straight at McCulloch. Both Tweedie amd McBride also missed good chances before the close.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney(McBride 75), Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates, Boyle, McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie, Brand, Ure.

Stenhousemuir : W. McCulloch, McLeish, Menzies, Aitken, Murphy, S. McCulloch, Sinclair, Dempster, Hutchison, Tyrrell, McBride.

Referee : John McKendrick

Attendance : 256

Stenhousemuir Preview

2007-03-05T21:01:00.000Z

Overnight weather conditions will determine whether or not Firs Park will be playable for the second leg of this week's derby double header. Athough Monday was dry, the forecast was for heavy rain through the night. With the pitch already very soft it would come as no surprise were there to be another pitch inspection on Tuesday.

And Shire coach Gordon Wylde believes heavy underfoot conditions may favour the visitors. "If the pitch is soft it will make the game slower and I have no doubt that will be to their advantage," he told Zebra Diary. "That said I don't think they will relish playing us again after what happened on Saturday.

"I felt it was two points thrown away, especially with the chances we had. The first half I thought we shaded but after the interval we had the better chances and gave them a bit of a battering. The way we conceded the equaliser was avoidable and unfortunate for Carl Thywissen who otherwisse had another great game for us.

"We need to be positive and move on, we must try to get hte goals that will allow us to pick up all three points. On Saturday we created more chances in a signle game than we have in months and that is a good sign. We have to believe we can win."

Shire will be able to welcome back Derek Ure after suspension but Stephen Adam is still ruled out by injury.

Stenhousemuir 1 Shire 1

2007-03-04T21:19:00.000Z

A draw would have been seen by Shire fans as a good result before kick-off at Ochilview, but at the conclusion of this ninety minutes it felt very much like two points dropped. Gordon Wylde was left to bemoan his team's lack of a finishing touch as they passed up some glorious opportunities to kill off their local rivals and record their second win over them this season.

But perhaps it was not so surprising that Shire couldn't claim the victory. Scoring goals has been a problem all season and it was very evident on this showing. In particular, they will look back ruefully on two chances in the second half that should have resulted in the goals that would have won the match.

And at the other end there were regrets too. Carl Thywissen, otherwise Shire's best player on display, will wish he had not been so keen to clear from Stenhousemuir's Tommy Sinclair and that he had not directed the ball past his own keeper to cancel out Marc McKenzie's 45th minute opener for Shire.

Wylde again was forced into changes to his starting line-up. In the main that was down to the absence of Derek Ure through suspension. Steven Learmonth returned for the first time in four weeks to his customary left-back role while Paul McBride took up Ure's more regular beat wide on the left of midfield while trying to support solitary striker Paul Tweedie. As expected, skipper Andrew Brand moved from defence into midfield while Joe Boyle retained his place despite a poor showing against Dumbarton.

The home team had lost four on the bounce but were determined to make amends. After nine minutes Thywissen was quick to snuff out the first genuine hint of trouble with a superb saving tackle as Andy Thomson bore down on goal. Both teams huffed and puffed and generally failed to create much in the way olf scoring chances, although Scott McCulloch came close with a 20 yard free kick that struck the top of Anton Nugent's crossbar. Thomson had a worthwhile effort too, a snapshot on the turn after John Paul McBride's cutback.

Shire had to come up with a tactic to win the game and the one they devised was simple enough; give the ball to McKenzie. The wee winger was not scared to run at people but for all the posession and enterprising wing play he created almost nothing because the final delivery into the box was either poor or there was no Shire player in the box to recieve it. That was a common problem and so, despite having most of the possession and territory, Shire hardly created a worrying moment for Warriors keeper Willie McCulloch.

That changed on the stroke of half-time when a clever pass from Tweedie released McKenzie down the right. He cut inside instead of crossing, drew the lkeeper and slotted the ball under McCulloch's body to make it 1-0 Shire.

The second period began in controversy when the Warriors' Murphy was judged, harshly, to have passed back to his keeper who picked the ball up. From five yards out McKenzie blasted the indirect free kick straight against Stenhousemuir's eleven man wall standing on the goalline. That was a chance gone.

Not long after Tweedie won the ball in a tackle inside the box and it broke to McKenzie. Just seven yards out and with only the keeper to beat he seemed certain to score but, leaning back, he blasted the ball miles over the bar. Three minutes later only a brilliant save from Nugent prevented Murphy equalising with a header from McBride's corner kick.

After 58 minutes substitute Tommy Sinclair broke clear down the Shire right. He looked certain to score but Thywissen attempted a last ditch tackle. He won the ball cleanly but only succeeded in prodding it past Nugent into his own net for the equaliser.

Five minutes after that Shire passed up another great chance. Paul Stewart found McKenzie unmarked at the back post. His shot was saved well by McCulloch but the rebound fell for Paul McBride who made a real mess of turning the ball into the empty net. After 71 minutes Tweedie shrugged off the challenge of Menzie and was clean through with only the keeper to beat but he shot straight at McCulloch and could not gather the rebound. Shire were left cursing their bad luck again.

Two minutes later the Warriors Craig McEwan was strechered off and, having used all three subs, Stenhousemuir had to soldier on with ten men but they held out comfortably for a draw.

Stenhousemuir : W. McCulloch, McEwan, D. Henderson(Menzies 51), Tyrrell, Murphy, S. McCulloch, McLeish, Dempster, Thomson(McManus 72), R. Henderson(Sinclair 38), McBride.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney(Galloway 87), Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates, Boyle, McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie, Brand, McBride(Dymock 88).

Referee : M. Sproule

Attendance : 421.

Stenhousemuir Preview

2007-03-02T21:13:00.000Z

Derek Ure and Paul Brownlie will both be missing from the team that will make the shortest trip of the season to Ochilview. Ure has to serve a one match ban as a result of going over 18 disciplinary points while Brownlie is still sufferiing the effects of his knee injury suffered against Albion Rovers three weeks ago.

Shire will travel in reasonable mood even though they lost at Dumbarton last week. Boss Gordon Wylde revealed the players held a clear the air meeting in the aftermath of that disappinting defeat and feels it may have done them some good. But he is dismissing any notion that Senhousemuir's poor run of results makes Shire job any easier. "To be honest I have not been paying attention to Stenhousemuir's results. I know Campbell Money has made changes to the squad and htey will be dangerous opponents.

"But we have beaten them already 5-0 this season so the players know they are capable of it. In our last game there it was fairly even but they got the breaks and we did not. We had a goal disallowed in the first half and had that gone in it might have been different. As it was they got two lucky goals in the second half and won the game."

Wylde knows anything other than defeat at Ochilview would probably mean another week for Shire off the bottom of the table. He has also called for the midfield to help the forwards out by creating a bit more of a goal threat but also wants the strikers to hold the ball in more when they are in possession. "They players had a go at each other after the Dumbarton game and sometimes that can make you stronger," said Wylde. "They want to win as much as everybody else and I know what it would mean to the loyal supporters who have backed us this season. We want to send them home happy on Saturday."

Berwick Game Off

2007-02-27T10:31:00.000Z

Tonight's scheduled Third Division match with Berwick Rangers has been postponed. Torrential overnight rain, which continued into the morning, has left the Firs Park pitch unplayable. It's the fifth time the match, originally scheduled for 18th November, has been called off.

No new date has been confirmed for the game, but it cannot be played until at least Tuesday 20th March because of Shire's other midweek commitments.

Berwick Rangers Preview

2007-02-26T20:13:00.000Z

Shire welcome Berwick Rangers to Firs Park for the first time this season tomorrow night with both sides looking for a tonic after weekend disappintments. Gordon Wylde's men really need cheering up after a disastrous second half at Dumbarton on Saturday saw what seemed an almost certain victory slip from their grasp.

For their part, Berwick saw the gap at the top of the Third Division cut to three points by an Andy Reilly goal deep into injury time which gave Arbroath a precious 1-0 win at Gayfield; it was only the second defeat in twelve matches for the Borderers.

Almost the entire length of the league table seperates the teams but Wylde is confident his team can move further away from Elgin at the bottom, while throwing the race at the top wide open. "It will be tough for sure, but I know for a fact that Berwick don't like coming here. The pitch is much tighter than their own and if we can get at them from the start then who knows what will happen."

Wylde is also telling his players to lose the fear factor that overcame them at Dumbarton. "Sometimes they appar to be afraid of winning," he said. "It's as though it's too much for them and they can't cope. But we will have to go out and be positive and if we can get at them then we may have a chance of taking something from the game."

A 0-0 draw with Albion Rovers may have stopped Shire's losing run at home at eight matches, but it continued the scoring drought. September 30th was the last time Shire managed to find the back of the net at Firs Park and that's something Wylde knows will have to change. "The midfield players need to take a gamble and get forward if they sense the strikers aren't going to find the net. They all have to chip in."

Shire will welcome back Steven Learmonth to the squad after a two match suspension, but Stephen Adam will struggle to make it. Fans should note the game has a 7:45pm kick-off.

Dumbarton 2 Shire 1

2007-02-24T22:15:00.001Z

Shire threw away three points as carelessly as a sweetie wrapper in the street at the Strathclyde Homes Stadium. The visitors held all the aces at the interval; their opponents had been reduced to ten men and Paul Stewart had equalised Tommy Coyne's early penalty kick for the Sons. They were playing the better football and would, surely, make that tell in the xsecond half with more goals and a preciousd three points.

But, unbelievably, Shire collapsed under the weight of their own expectations. They became more concerned with trying to avoid defeat rather than build for victory, a dangerous game against a Dumbarton team who, although down to ten men, showed far more desire. Substitute Chris Gentile's 73rd minute header proved the folly of the Shire team's ways and delivered the defeat their lack of ambition deserved.

Stephen Adam was ruled out of Gordon Wylde's starting line-up through injury although Paul Stewart did manage to shrug off his own injury concerns to play. Stephen Oates was pushed out to play left-back with Derek Ure pushed further up the pitch. Steven Dymock was recalled to partner Paul Tweedie up front.

It was a nervy opening from Shire and Anton Nugent had to make a brilliant save from Boyle to prevent Dumbarton taking the lead inside the first minute. But the visitors settled and should have taken the lead on 15 minutes when Tweedie burst clear but shot weakly at Sons' keeper Grindlay and although the goalie failed to hold the shot Ure couldn't direct the rebound into the net.

Two minutes later referee Colin Brown saw an infringement inside the Shire box that no-one else did as the ball entered the penalty area from a Craig Brittain free-kick. Despite furious Shire protests Mr Brown insisted on giving Dumbarton the softest of penalty kicks and Coyne sent Nugent the wrong way.

But that spurred Shire on and they began to show signs that they would recover. After 21 minutes Mr Brown was again the centre of attention, dishing out a red card to Dumbarton's Ryan Borris for a wild, over-the-ball lunge on Oates which could well have resulted in serious injury for the Shire man if he had not managed to take evasive action in the nick of time.

With their opponents down to ten men Shire got the bit between the teeth. Paul McAloney sent over a free-kick which Ure somehow managed to head wide and both Dymock and Ure had good efforts saved. There was a moment of panic when Nugent let a David Craig header slip through his hands but Oates cleared off the line.

After 36 minutes Shire got a deserved equaliser. Marc McKenzie broke clear and played the ball square to Stewart who raced past his defender, nudged the ball past the outrushing keeper before sliding it into the empty net. Two minutes before the interval Tweedie came close with an effort from just outside the box and Dymock brought a good save from Grindlay with a near post shot from the edge of the six yard box.

Andrew Brand had the first effort of the second half and it was a good one. He cracked the ball in from 25 yards and Grindlay did well to save after it took a deflection off a home defender. Bt Dumbarton flooded the midfield and Shire's middle line could not cope. The home team began to enjoy more possession than they had until that point and Shire drifted out of a game that was theirs to win.

Nugent was not inspiring any confidence in his defenders and he almost dropped a harmless Boyle shot over his own line but Oates hacked the ball clar. Dumbarton sensed Shire were crumbling under the weight of expectation and on 70 minutes Coyne should have fired them back in front but his effort went across the face of goal and wide. However, Dumbarton had to wait just three more minutes for the winner. No-one bothered to mark up Gentile for a corner and when the ball was delivered by Boyle the Sons substitute was left with a free header from the 18 yard line which flew past the unprotected Nugent.

Shire played with more urgency after that but the closest they came to equalising was a McAloney effort which skimmed the bar with the game's last kick.

Dumbarton : Grindlay, Geggan, Brittain, Canning, Craig, Bagan(Gentile 57), Borris, McNaught(McQuilkin 79), Coyne, Boyle, Hamilton.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney,Oates(McBride 78), Thywissen,Brand, Boyle(Trialist 78), McKenzie, Stewart, Dymock, Tweedie, Ure.

Referee : Colin Brown

Attendance : 729.

Dumbarton Preview

2007-02-23T20:23:00.000Z

Paul Stewart is the main injury doubt for the trip to the Strathclyde Homes Stadium.The club's vice-captain will be given a late fitness test before being risked, but there is no chance of Stephen Adam taking part after he picked up an injury last week. Stephen Learmonth remains suspended, but Paul Brownlie should have recovered from his knee troubles which he suffered in last week's 0-0 draw with Albion Rovers.

Dumbarton has not been a happy hunting ground for Shire over the years, and the club's only previous victory at their "new" venue was in the Stirlingshire Cup at the start of last season.

Nevertheless, coach Gordon Wylde is in upbeat mood. "We are due something against Dumbarton," he told Zebra Diary. "The first game there was a scrappy affair which we lost because we threw the ball in the back of the net twice. And through here it was a mucky, rainy day when there wasn't much to seperate the teams."

Wylde says it will be a different proposition to last week's game against Albion Rovers. "I don't think they are as hard a working team as Albion Rovers but they have better players in most positions. That will create problems.

"But I am looking for the defence to show the same kind of form they did last week and if they do then it is game we can take something from."

Young trialist, Craig Galloway, who made his debut last week, will again be included in the squad.

Shire 0 Albion Rovers 0

2007-02-17T18:06:00.003Z

Shire had to be satisfied with a point after a moment of high farce at Firs Park which first raised, then dashed, their hopes of recording a first victory at home since September.

After 58 scoreless minutes Andrew Brand cracked in a shot which Rovers keeper Lee Thompson saved but couldn't hold. Referee Colin Hardie appeared to over rule his lineman who raised his flag to indicate Paul Tweedie was in an offside position at the original shot, and the Shire man collected the rebound before being tripped by the keeper.The ref then awarded a penalty and all hell broke loose. The Rovers players demanded Hardie accept the linesman's original decision while Shire's Paul Stewart placed the ball on the penalty spot and the linesman took up his position for the penalty.

Then Hardie had a change of heart, talked once more to his assiatant and, after two minutes of discussions, gave Rovers a free-kick for offside. The drama had the 300 spectators absolutely confused, although it was credit to the Shire team that they accepted the outcome. Maybe that's because they knew Tweedie was offside, something the club's own video proves conclusively.

That strange incident aside, neither club could complain about the outcome of a game that had more incident and action than the scoreline suggests. The home team went back to a 4-4-2, with Derek Ure filling in at left-back for the suspended Steven Learmonth, and began like a house on fire.

After five minutes Stephen Adam swung over a left wing cross which Thompson could only palm as far as Tweedie but the Shire man's header hit the side net. A minute later Tweedie's turn and shot inside the penalty box had the Rovers keeper diving full-length to push the ball round the post for a corner.

Shire suffered an early setback when Paul Brownlie landed awkwardly after a tackle and had to be carried off an a stretcher. He was replaced by Marc McKenzie.

Rovers were dangerous too. Brian Smith made a long run and burst into the box but his effort was saved by Anton Nugent. After 16 minutes Nugent's clearance rebounded off Phil Creaney and the ball was headed goalwards and then cleared off the line by Paul McAloney. But the loose ball fell back to Creaney who blasted over when it seemed easier to score.

After 41 minutes a clever pass from Scott Chaplain sent Smith clear. The winger rounded a hestitant Nugent but somehow managed to shoot high and wide of the empty net. A minute later a cross-cum-shot from Adam flew across the face of the Rovers goal when a simple touch would have guided it in. McKenzie, waiting at the back post, just couldn't get close enough to the ball.

Shire started the second half brightest and Andrew Brand strode forward b efore firing in a ppowerful shot which flew just wide but had the keeper scrambling nevertheless. Then Thompson was again in action, saving a Tweedie near post header from Adam's cross.

After the penalty incident the game started to take on all the hallmarks of a goalless contest. But Shire had a late chance when a Stewart effort fizzed past the post. Then, with six minutes to go,Smith broke clear down Shire's right and cut inside. It was a decent chance to snatch a late winner but he skewed his shot so badly he almost hit the corner flag.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney(Trialist 75), Ure, Thywissen, Oates, Brand, McBride(Dymock 65), Stewart, Tweedie, Brownlie(McKenzie 15), Adam.

Rovers : Thompson, Moffat, Lennox, Lennon, Donnelly, Creaney(Nicoll 68), Thomson(Sim 68), Chaplain, McFarlane, Walker(Chisholm 78), McGoldrick.

Referee : Colin Hardie

Attendance : 298.

Albion Rovers Preview

2007-02-16T23:44:00.000Z

Shire boss Gordon Wylde says he will scrap last week's 3-5-2 experiment for the game with Albion Rovers at Firs Park. Instead, he will revert at a 4-4-2 formation and has told his players to play "route one" if necessary.

"We have sometimes played passing football and not really got anywhere," he told Zebra Diary. "What we have to do is hold a solid defensive line and get the ball forward as quickly as we can in the hope of troubling them.

"I have to say I don't like playing against Albion Rovers. They work hard, they are in your face for ninety minutesamd they also have good players. They are also on a good run of form at the moment."

Shire have a full squad to choose from, which leaves Wylde some selection dilemmas the most pressing of which is how to accomodate three centre halves in the system. This could mean Andrew Brand partnering Stephen Oates with Carl Thywissen moving into midfield. It is a nice problem for the coach to have, but he also knows the biggest problem he has is how to score goals. "If the forwards aren't scoring thten maybe we have to ask the midfield men to take a gamble and get into scoring positions," he said. Shire will have to score their first home goal since 30th September to stand any chance of winning. Rovers, who have won five of their last seven games, have beaten Shire twice already this season, 1-0 at Firs Park in August and 4-0 at Cliftonhill at the end of December. Kick-off is 3:00pm.

Molloy Leaves

2007-02-14T21:02:00.000Z

The club has announced that midfielder Mark Molloy has been released from his contract by mutual consent. Mark was only an occasional player with the side this season after being more regularly in the starting eleven last term.

The former Celtic, Hibs and Barry Town player made his debut in the 4-2 defeat at Albion Rovers in January 2006 and by strangew co-incidence his final one was also at Cliftonhill on 30th December, in a 4-0 defeat. Since signing he made twenty two starts and three substitute appearances.

Shire 0 Queen's Park 2

2007-02-10T20:27:00.000Z

A deeply disappointing afternoon at Firs Park as Shire made their home debut in 2007. There was almost nothing to cheer in this display and the visitors had the points wrapped up less than halfway through the match without having to play well or do much.

Just about the only positives Gordon Wylde can take were hte five star display of keeper Anton Nugent, who stopped the Spiders going home to Glasgow with a bigger win, and the return to the heart of the defence of Stephen Oates, who played his own part in keeping the score respectable.

There was a surprise before kick-off as Wylde announced his team minus full-backs Steven Learmonth and Paul McAloney. Instead, he opted for a 3-5-2 formation with Oates, skipper Andrew Brand and Carl Thywissen as the back three. Paul Brownlie made a rare start up front with te re-called Steven Dymock while Paul Tweedie was a surprise inclusion in the five man midfield.

A fairly flat opening period gave the advantage to neither side but, after 12 minutes, Thywissen was short with a pass on the half-way line and Queens' David Weatherston pucked up the ball , outsprinted Brand and cut into the penalty box before beating Ngent with a low angled drive that crept into the net at the far post. A fine solo effort and the visitors were 1-0 up.

After 21 minutes it should have been 2-0 as Robert Dunn picked up the loose ball on the six yard line but his effort was brilliantly blocked by Nugent's legs.The Shire keeper was a busy man as the half wore on. He had to dive low to smother Paul Paton's free-kick and dived full stretch to push a Mark Ferry effort wide for a coerner kick.

But on 36 minutes not even Nugent could stop Shire falling two goals behind. The home defence were caught sleeping at a throw in, which Paul Ronald collected before racing down the byline and cutting back for the unmarked Stuart Ketrtlewell to stroke home.

Nugent's one man quest to stop Queen's Park running up a rugby score carried on after the interval. After 49 minutes Ferry was clean through but the keeper denied him with a brave block wirth his legs. That said, Paton should have scored with the rebound but blasted the ball over. Two minutes later the visitors squandered another chance when Ronald sent a free header wide from Mick Dunlop's cross.

Soon after the 3-5-2 experiment was abandoned with the introduction of McAloney for Joe Boyle. He went to right-back, Derek Ure switched to left-back, Thywissen and Oates filled the central defensive roles, with Brand moving into a four man midfield. Brownlie was withdrawn from the forward line to play wide on the left with Tweedie partnering Dymock in attack.

The transformation was immediate. With a couple of miuntes Shire created their first real chance of the game and Dymock ought to have scored with a diving header from a pinpoint McAloney cross. But at the other end Nugent was covering himself in glory. His one handed tip over the bar from Weatherston was the save of the match, but even better was his miraculous double block from Ferry when it seemed certain the Queens man would score.

It was small conso;lation but Shire finished the game on top. Inside the final five minutes David Crawford had to make a good save from Paul Stewart's long range effort and, in injury time, Marc McKenzie burst into the box and fired goalwards only to be denied by a decent smothering save.

Shire : Nugent, Boyle(McAloney 52), Oates, Brand, Thywissen, Tweedie, McKenzie, Stewart, Dymock(Adam 73), Brownlie(McBride 64), Ure.

Queen's Park : Crawford, Paton, Dunlop, Canning, Agostini, Cairney(Quinn 71), Kettlewell, Dunn(Carroll 71), Ronald(Bowers 80), Weatherston, Ferry.

Referee : Steven O'Reilly

Attendance : 292

Spiders Game Gets Go Ahead

2007-02-10T10:48:00.000Z

Match referee Steven O'Reilly inspected the Firs Park pitch at 10:45 this morning and ruled Shire's scheduled Third Division match with Queen's Park will go ahead as planned.

Overnight conditions were much milder than forecast which allowed the pitch to thaw out sufficently for the match to be on.

It will be Shire's first home match of 2007, the last time they managed to play at Firs Park was the 2-0 defeat against Elgin City on 23rd December last year.

Kick-off is 3:00pm.

Queen's Park Game A Doubt

2007-02-09T22:59:00.000Z

A week of heavy frost has made the scheduled match with Queen's Park a serious doubt. The club has called a 10:45 am pitch inspection tomorrow, but there seems little doubt, with temperatures set to dip to -3C overnight, that the game will fall victim to the weather.

This is, in itself, a serious problem for the club. It will mean there will have been no Shire match at Firs Park since the 2-0 defeat against Elgin City on 23rd December 2006, a period of seven weeks. And it will also mean having to fit inanother midweek fixture.

So far two of the three outstanding matches have re-arranged dates. The match against Berwick Rangers, which should have been played in November and was postponed three times before Christmas, will now go ahead on Tuesday 27th February with a 7:30 pm start. And the Arbroath home game, postponed on 20th January because of a waterlogged pitch, will be played on Wednesday 14th March again with a 7:30pm kick-off.

Zebra Diary will bring you first news of the outcome of the pitch inspection tomorrow morning.

Montrose 4 Shire 0

2007-02-03T21:30:00.000Z

Shire’s Links Park hoodoo continues. It’s six years since the team last recorded a win there and right from the off it never seemed likely they would bring that sequence to an end.
The team only got in at the interval all square thanks to a missed Andy Rodgers penalty and it was all downhill from there as Shire, swamped in midfield, lost goals and heart in equal measure. By full-time they were lucky to have escaped with a 4-0 defeat.
Andrew Brand won his race against time to make Links Park and the skipper took his place at the centre of the Shire defence alongside Carl Thywissen in place of the suspended Stephen Oates.
Coach Gordon Wylde made just one other change to the team that started the previous week’s match at Berwick, Joe Boyle’s place in midfield going to Paul McBride. There was one positional change, Marc McKenzie partnering Paul Tweedie in attack as Shire abandoned their normal 4-5-1 away formation.
The visitors had lost 12 of their last 13 visits to Links Park but began brightly enough. Paul Stewart saw an early opportunity to shoot from well ot but his effort was wide of the target. Two minutes later Tweedie saw a half chance and hit a well-struck volley but his effort went just over the bar.
Paul Napier was an early threat for Montrose. The winger set off on a mazy run after 13 minutes but he shanked his shot well wide of the target. Thee minutes later Napier was again bearing down on the Shire goal after Stewart was dispossessed in midfield but once again his final attempt did not match the quality of his approach play.
After 25 minutes t was Stephen Black’s turn to have a crack at goal but after some decent approach work his shot flew well wide. Five minutes later Shire carved out what was their best attempt of the first half. Derek Ure laid the ball back into the path of Stewart who crossed for the unmarked Tweedie who could not direct his free header anywhere near the target.
Shire had a lucky escape on 39 minutes when Black’s corner was headed goalwards by McLeod and headed off the line via the underside of the crossbar by Paul McAloney. On the stroke of half-time Montrose’s Michie fell inside the penalty box under a challenge from Steven Learmonth and referee McKendrick awarded a rather soft penalty kick. Justice was done when Rodgers sent the spot kick both high and wide.
Two minutes after the break a long ball out of the Montrose defence sent Rodgers clear but Learmonth seemed to get back to ward off any danger. The Shire man appeared to be fouled by the home forward but the referee waved play on and although Rodgers’ shot was saved by the legs of Shire keeper Anton Nugent, he picked up the rebound to shoot Montrose ahead from a tight angle.
Four minutes later Shire had a chance to get back into the game when Ure connected with a long ball out of defence from Learmonth but he hit his shot straight at Montrose keeper, Andy Reid.
Montrose, not surprisingly, took heart from their lead and became more adventurous. Black made a good run into the box but his effort flew wide. Thee minutes later the young winger tried his luck from 20 yards out and this time the ball flew past Nugent low into the keeper’s left-hand corner.
A minute later Ure was given a gift chance after McLeod gave him possession but he shot wide with the goal at his mercy. The game was put beyond their reach on 74 minutes. Black’s corner was headed towards goal by Neil Stephen and despite Learmonth’s desperate attempt to keep the ball from crossing the line both referee and standside linesman awarded the goal.
Shire brought on trialist, Chris Hughes, to partner Thywissen and moved Brand into midfield. It made no difference. Four minutes before the end the misery was completed when Jed Stirling floated over a free kick from wide on the right and substitute Greg Henslee threw himself to head the ball into the net.
Montrose : A.Reid, Tawse(Cumming 79), Stirling, Stephen, McLeod, Donanchie, Napier(Henslee 71), Davidson, Rodgers, Michie(P. Reid 82), Black.
Shire : Nugent, McAloney(Livingstone 70), Learmonth, Brand, Thywissen, Adam(Brownlie 70), McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie, McBride(Trialist 81), Ure.
Referee : John McKendrick
Attendance : 323.

Montrose Preview

2007-02-02T21:27:00.000Z

Shire have been dealt a potential blow ahead of the vital visit to Links Park with the news that skipper Andrew Brand could miss the match.

Work commitments on Saturday morning will leave Brand with a race against the clock to make it to the game. A contingency plan has been drawn up but there is a fear that he may have to sit this one out. With Stephen Oates suspended the news gives Gordon Wylde a major headache of who to pair with Carl Thywissen at the centre of defence.

Nevertheless the boss is upbeat. "It's a must win game for us," he told Zebra Diary. "We will go there in a positive frame of mind and we will put our most attack-minded team out. Some of the players who have been sitting on the sidelines could find themselves back in contention.

"It is a match very much at our level. Montrose are at the bottom end of the table for a reason. They are not Berwick Rangers and we have a decent chance of victory. But we will have to play really well because we have struggled against them in the past."

It's thought Wylde will switch from the 4-5-1 system he has favoured in recent away matches, and there could be a surprise inclusion of Marc McKenzie among the forwards with Wylde hoping his pace can cause Montrose problems. Steven Dymock and Mark Molloy are two other players set for a return. Anton Nugent will continue in goal.

Berwick Rangers 2 Shire 0

2007-01-28T10:58:00.000Z

An act of wilful thuggery upstaged what had been a fairly uneventful match at Berwick. Kevin Haynes’ punch in the face of Shire full-back Steven Learmonth at least provided the match with a talking point, which it would have lacked had he not done it. Shire will feel aggrieved on a number of counts; that Stephen Oates’ unmerited red card denied them a man advantage for the last half hour, that the referee failed to spot a blatant handball in the run up to Berwick’s first goal were just two. But ultimately, Shire did not do enough to merit anything from the match.
Boss, Gordon Wylde stuck with ten of the eleven players who beat East Fife in their last outing a fortnight ago. The only change saw Joe Boyle replace the now departed Joe Savage. Boyle slotted into the midfield while Paul McBride, who had played in the middle four at New Bayview, moved up the pitch to partner Paul Tweedie in attack.
It was McBride who should have given Shire the lead after just two minutes. Berwick conceded a needless corner which Marc McKenzie floated over to the near post. McBride made the highest jump and directed his header towards goal but was unlucky to see his effort cannon of the post.
If that was an early indication that this wasn’t going to be Shire’s day we didn’t have long to wait for the next one. A cross from the right was brought under control by Stuart Noble’s hand, but the Berwick man was allowed to continue and although his shot was well saved by Shire keeper Anton Nugent, not one white shirted defender could scramble the ball clear and Darren Greenhill collected the rebound to shoot home. Eight minutes gone and Berwick were one up.
The swirling wind was making good football difficult but, as usual, Shire skipper Paul Stewart was trying to be constructive and he could well have equalised on 18 minutes but his netbound effort from the edge of the box was deflected over the bar by Jordan Smith.
After 29 minutes Stephen Oates gave away a poor free-kick wide on the Shire right and was booked for his troubles. Worse was to follow when the ball was played across. Smith headed goalwards and although Nugent saved Iain Diack scrambled the ball over the line to give the home team a two goal lead.
A minute later McKenzie made good progress down Berwick’s right and cut the ball back perfectly for McBride but the Shire striker hit a weak effort which Gary O’Connor in the home goal saved with ease. After 36 minutes more clever work from Stewart put Tweedie clean through but the Shire striker chose to shot early and his effort blazed over the crossbar.
Shire started the second half in positive fashion and were awarded a free-kick right on the edge of the box after McBride was fouled. Stewart’s effort was well-hit but was deflected for a corner by Berwick’s defensive wall.
The home team were comfortable without creating too much although they were unlucky not to add to their lead in 52 minutes when Jordan Smith smacked a shot from 25 yards off Anton Nugent’s crossbar. The game seemed to be drifting aimlessly towards an inevitable conclusion when it took a rather unsavoury twist on 56 minutes.
Berwick’s Kevin Haynes was challenged down by the corner flag by Steven Learmonth. There was something the burly Berwick man took objection to because when the ball moved away he pushed Learmonth to the ground. The Shire man got up, said something, at which Haynes turned round and punched him in the face.
The usual melee followed with several players from both sides getting involved. The referee, who could not have seen Haynes actions, consulted his linesman, who couldn’t have failed to miss them, and the Berwick man was shown a straight red card.
Then Oates, who seemed to have done nothing wrong, was shown his second yellow and sent-off too. There seemed absolutely no justification for Oates’s punishment and Shire were deprived of an extra man advantage for the last half hour, and any chance of getting back into the match.
Berwick Rangers : O’Connor, McNicoll, McGroarty, Horn, Smith, G. Greenhill, Thomson, D. Greenhill(Manson 64), Haynes, Diack(Shand 77), Noble.
Shire : Nugent, McAloney(Livingstone 81), Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates, Boyle(Brand 58), McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie, McBride(Dymock 65), Ure.
Referee : S. Nicholls
Attendance : 512

Berwick Rangers Preview

2007-01-26T21:21:00.000Z

Shire face their toughest test so far when they head south of the border to Northumbria for a match with league leaders Berwick Rangers. But despite having won eight games in a row, Berwick do not frighten Shire boss, Gordon Wylde.

"Why should we fear the game ?," he asked. "We have beaten the last league leaders before Berwick and ended their unbeaten home run into the bargain. But it is all about consistency, which we don't seem to have. A lot will depend on which Shire turns up. Will it be the team that won at East Fife or will it be the won that lost against Elgin City or Albion Rovers ? A lot of it depends on how they get out of bed in the morning and we will take it from there."

The Firs Parkers scored a creditable 2-2 draw at Berwick on their last visit in September. "We played well that day," said Wylde "And don't forget at the end of the game it was Berwick who were hanging on for the draw."

Wylde is likely to continue with the team which won so surprisingly, but deservedly, at East Fife in the last game the team played a fortnight ago. The only change will come up front where Steven Dymock is likely to take the place of the now departed Joe Savage. "Berwick like to play with three at the back, so the best way to hurt them is to try to get balls in behind the defence. We will have to alter our style because East Fife ike to get the ball back to front quickly while Berwick are happier passing it," said Wylde.

The only possible change could mean a starting place for Andrew Brand who has another week of training now under his belt. A decision on the starting eleven will be made later.

Arbroath Game Off

2007-01-20T09:17:00.000Z

Saturday, 20th January, 9:20 am : The scheduled Third Division match between East Stirlingshire and Arbroath has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. No new date, as yet, has been set for the game.

The recent bad weather has meant Shire have not played a home game since the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Egin City on 23rd December 2006. Arbroath becomes the third outstanding home fixture still to be played. Shire'll face Berwick Rangers on Tuesday 27th February, while no date has yet been re-arranged for the postponed New Year derby with Stenhousemuir.

Arbroath Preview

2007-01-19T22:35:00.000Z

Shire will aim to build on last week's shock win over league leaders East Fife when they face another promotion chasing team, Arbroath, at Firs Park tomorrow.

Firs Park boss Gordon Wylde has shaken off the disappointment of losing out on the signature of Joe Savage ad instead says the club will carry on trying to get the best out of the players already at the club. "I will make just one change from the East Fife team," Wylde said earlier. "Steven Dymock will come into the team in the place of Joe Savage and the rest of the team will be the same."

Shire beat Arbroath 2-1 at Gayfield in November the last time the teams met and will be out for revenge. "If they players show the same spirit and enthusiasm they showed last week we will be all right. I believe we will get something out of the game," said the Firs Park boss.

The pitch was deemed playable early on Friday morning but whether the games goes ahead will depend entirely on overnight conditions. Widespread overnight rain was predicted and a morning pitch inspection should be anticipated.

Shire Issue "Hands Off Stewart" Warning

2007-01-19T22:29:00.000Z

East Stirlingshire Football Club has denied in the strongest terms media reports that Paul Stewart has signed a pre-contract agreement with East Fife for next season.

"I don't know where they got this from but it's wrong," Shire boss Gordon Wylde told Zebra Diary. "Paul Stewart will definately be with us until the end of the season when we will sit down with him and discuss a very good new deal to stay for next season."

Shire have confirmed they have turned down at least one immediate transfer bid from East Fife as they attempt to hold on to the club's influential midfielder. It's believed the pre-contract story may have been circulated to the media in a bid to force Shire's hand into accepting a transfer bid for the player's immediate transfer. Shire have again stated they will not allow this to happen unless the price is right.

Savage Won't Sign

2007-01-19T22:25:00.000Z

The club has confirmed that Joe Savage will not be signing with the club and won't play any more trial games. The scorer of Shire's opening goal in last week's 2-0 win over East Fife has apparently accepted a better ofer to play for another Third Division team.

"It is disapponting," Shire boss Gordon Wylde told Zebra Diary. "We had given Joe training facilities and put him in the shop window and it seemed he wanted to commit to us, but that's football and we will just have to get on with it."

East Fife 0 Shire 2

2007-01-13T19:51:00.000Z

If only Shire could come up with results like this against Montrose and Elgin they wouldn't have to think about a fifth last place finish in the Third Division, never mind worry about it.

Gordon Wylde promised a more robust, physical Shire with less emphasis on playing fancy football and more focus on getting a result. The weather, torrential rain and a swirling, gale force wind, vindicated the approach. Shire revereted to a standard 4-4-2 with trialist, Joe Savage partnering a recalled Paul Tweedie in attack. Skipper Paul Stewart was restored to midfield, Paul McBride who had played the last three games as a striker partnered him in the middle while Paul McAloney, a fish out of water at centre-half, looked much more at home at right-back. Stephen Oates made a welcome return to the centre of defence and Anton Nugent was recalled in goal for the first time in months.

The visitors started really brightly and created the game's first half chances inside the first five minutes, but Oates narrowly missed Savage's cross at the back post and Derek Ure couldn't finish despite being well-placed.

East Fife, the league leaders who hadn't lost at home this season, found the going tough but they settled down and started to dominate the midfield although their only worthwhile effort in the first half came when Shire centre-half Carl Thywissen sent a brilliant header towards his own goal and had his blushes saved by a super tip over the bar from Nugent.

Shire's containment and counter attack game came into its own in the second half and they started to look far more purposeful than their opponents who hogged much of the possession but rarely threatened Nugent's goal with anything more dangerous than the occasional long-range effort. Savage was having an increasing influence on the game and he was unlucky to see a netbound effort deflected wide for a fruitless corner after 54 minutes.

There was a real scare for Shire two minutes later when Kevin Gordon burst clear but his shot went into the side net when it seemed he would opening the scoring. But as the game developed it turned into the Joe Savage show. He set up Marc McKenzie who was unlucky to see a shot from the edge of the box go just wide and then produced a decent save from Ian Ross with a shot on the turn from just inside the area.

Just when it seemed a draw would be a good result for Shire they broke upfield to score in styleafter 78 minutes. Steven Learmonth's run down the left sent Savage clear. The striker checked, cut inside and went on a slalom run into the box which left two home defenders in his wake before finishing specuacularly with the outside of his right foot.

East Fife could have equalised on 83 minutes but their trialist, Steven Nicholas, was denied by a superb point-blank save by Nugent. There were cheers from the away fans when Andrew Brand came on four minutes from time to replace McAloney, the club captain's first game since September. The icing was placed on the cake in the game's final minute when McKenzie broke the offside trap and slipped the ball to Stewart who danced past two home defenders before firing home the clincher.

East Fife : Ross, Smith, Hampshire, Smart, Doyle, Courts, Gordon(Martin 69), Jablonski, Ritchie(O'Reilly 69), Gibson, Trialist.

Shire : Nugent, McAloney(Brand 86), Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates, McBride, McKenzie, Stewart, Savage, Tweedie, Ure(Adam 87).

Referee : Alan Muir

Attendance : 552.

East Fife Preview

2007-01-12T21:01:00.000Z

Shire travel to New Bayview tomorrow, weather permitting, to play current Third Division Leaders East Fife. Despite two chastening defeat at the hands of Dave Baikie's team this season Firs Park coach, Gordon Wylde, is approaching the match in confident mood.

"We know it will be difficult and we will certainly have to match East Fife in the physical department, something we have not managed to do. If we are to take anything out of the game we may have to change our approach and become a bit more direct. East Fife like to get the ball over the top and in quickly and they have been very successful at it. But we can go there and take something from the match," he said.

Wylde will give Joe Savage a game as a trialist, flu permitting and will welcome back Steven Dymock after his one game ban. He is also hoping a number of the players who missed out at Albion Rovers because of illness will come back into the reckoning. But out of consideration are Paul Brownlie and Stephen Adam who have not recovered from their injuries at Cliftonhill.

The weather has been poor over the last few days but there is no word on whether there will be a pitch inspection at Methil. A decision will most likely be taken in the morning.

Shire fans should note that the seating arrangements in the stand at New Bayview have been changed, which means visiting supporters will be placed in the seats at the sea endf of the ground.

Savage Still In Plans

2007-01-10T19:32:00.000Z

Joe Savage should make his long-awaited Shire debut at East Fife on Saturday, provided he shakes off a dose of the flu. Boss Gordon Wylde insists the former Stenhouisemuir striker is "still in our plans" despite being unable to play for the club because games have been postponed by the weather.

"Joe is still with us," Wylde told Zebra Diary this week. "We have three games to assess him and to find out if he likes us and we like him. He is a big, awkward player and will provide us with a badly needed physical presence up front. He certainly will come into the reckoning for the East Fife game but he has been suffering from the flu so we will just have to wait to see how his is.

Shire were interested in taking Savage to Firs Park last season as part of the deal which delivered Iain Diack to Stenhousemuir, but the striker opted for East Fife. He was released by Dave Baikie in the summer and signed for Albion Rovers where he started the season as a regular before falling out of Jim Chapman's plans. He has been a free agent since November and is currently weighing up one or two options although he has been training with Shire for the past three weeks.

Wylde Hints At Brand Return

2007-01-06T19:52:00.001Z

A Zebra Diary Exclusive : Shire Coach Gordon Wylde has raised the hope that club captain Andrew Brand will return to the team in the next few weeks. The skipper seemed on the verge of giving up football completely after the operation on his wrist failed to heal as well as he had expected. But now it seems as though he has had a change of heart.

"Andrew came to me and said he was still feeling sore from the operation and was understandably reluctant to risk breaking his wrist again," Wylde told Zebra Diary. "He had started a new job which involved him working on Saturdays and he did appear to be at the stage of giving up football completely.

"I told him to go away and think about it and come back and see me in the New Year. On the morning of the Albion Rovers game I got a message from him to say he wanted to come back to the club and give it another go. I am more than happy to have him back. I am hoping he will be in training this week and it should not be too long before he is ready to come into the team."

The club captain had been in fine form in the first month of the season. But at the start of September he went into hospital for surgery to strengthen the joint in his left wrist. Brand broke the joint twice playing for Shire last term and was worried that without the operation he would do so again.

However the prodecure did not go as well as Andrew had hoped and although he started training his comeback never materialised due to his own concerns about the operation. Andtrew was due to be out for six weeks but he last played for Shire in the 5-0 defeat at East Fife on 1st September last year.

The Game's Off

2007-01-02T19:42:00.000Z

The photos taken just as the referee was inspecting the pitch tell their own story of the New Year Derby against Stenhousemuir which should have taken place this afternoon. Match off, waterlogged pitch and a free afternoon for everyone involved. The match will now be re-scheduled for February.

Warriors Match Is Off

2007-01-02T09:38:00.000Z

Tuesday 2nd January 2007 9:40 am : Shire's New Year Derby match with Stenhousemuir, scheduled for Firs Park this afternoon, has been postponed. Three days of heavy rain have left parts of the pitch flooded. Local referee David Somers made a full inspection and decided the match could not go ahead. No new date has been set, but it looks as though the game will now be played some time in February.

Derby Game Doubt

2007-01-01T18:56:00.000Z

It is already looking unlikely that tomorrow's scheduled New Year Derby with Stenhousemuir will be on. Shire have called a 9:30 am pitch inspection and it seems only a dry, windy night will give the game some sort of chance of going ahead.

However, after two days of heavy downpours one club official described the surface as "like porridge". Should the game be postponed it is most likely to be played in the first available midweek in January.

With no fixture for this coming weekend, Shire are next scheduled to be in action on Saturday 13th January when the team vist New Bayview to take on current Third Division leaders, East Fife.

Adam Out Of New Year Derby

2006-12-31T13:34:00.000Z

Shire winger, Stephen Adam, has been ruled out of Tuesday's New Year Derby match with Stenhousemuir at Firs Park. It's feared he may have suffered a broken elbow in the 4-0 defeat at Albion Rovers on Saturday. Adam landed heavily following a midfield challenge with Rovers' skipper Gordon Lennon just a few minutes into the second half.

The former Livingston player damaged the same left elbow joint in a match at Montrose earlier in the season. Then it was the ligaments that were strained, but this time it could be a lot worse.

"We will have to wait and see what the x-ray tells us," sad Shire fitness coach Iain MacIver. "It could be broken but it is difficult to assess just now with so much swelling. But even if it's not broken there is no way he will be able to play on Tuesday," said MacIver.

Albion Rovers 4 Shire 0

2006-12-30T20:56:00.000Z

A real disaster day at Coatbridge as defensive blunders in the opening three minutes left the game as good as dead. Shire may have been ravaged by a flu bug which forced Gordon Wylde into a number of key personnel changes but there was no legislating for the clumsy errors which gifted the home team the lead after just 27 seconds, then left things almost beyond their reach as soon as Rovers made it 2-0 with barely three minutes on the clock.

The team was much changed from the previous week out of necessity. Steven Dymock was suspended after his red card aganst Elgin City, but it was illness which did the real damage. Importantly, skipper Paul Stewart had failed to shake off the effects of the flu bug which had left him in bed all week, Gary Wild dropped out of the eam for the same reason and although Derek Ure travelled to Coatbridge he wasn't well enough for a place in the starting eleven.

All of which meant Scott Livingstone's return at right-back, with Paul McAloney in the centre of defence while Paul Brownlie made his first start since signing for the club, partnering Paul McBride up front.

But things went wrong right from the kick-off. A shot from Andy Sim should have been dealt with by Robert Tiroupolos but the Shire keeper was left juggling the ball, and as he fought for control of it, Dave McFarlane barged in to knock it over the line.

Things went from bad to worse on three minutes. McAloney, under no real pressure, decided to knock the ball back to his keeper. But there was no weight on the pass and that alowed Rovers' striker Pat Walker to nip in and score with a neatly-executed lob over the advancing keeper.

Thoughts were turning to the recent defeat against Montrose when Shire conceded three inside the opening quarter hour, but this time the opposition was held at bay. Shire might have pulled a goal back on eight minutes after some smart work down the left by Stephen Adam but Joe Boyle fluffed his shot when it seemed easier to score. The play got much more even as the first half wore on and it could have been a different story if Brownlie had managed to pull a goal back on 39 minutes, but his header from Steven Learmnth's header shaved the top of the crossbar and went over.

Such was Shire's luck that three minutes later Rovers increased their lead to 3-0. This time it was good play rather than blunders which set Walker up and he finished nicely, despite a despairing attempt by skipper for the day Carl Thywissen to prevent him getting his shot away.

The second period started poorly too. After 51 minutes Adam fell awkwardly in a midfield challenge with Rovers' Lennon and went off clutching his elbow, the same one he injured at Montrose in September. It was immediately clear he couldn't continue and was immediately replaced by Ure, who was by no means fit himself.

Two minutes later Brownlie pulled up with a leg injury and was withdrawn in favour of Stephen Oates, returning to the side after a month out with a knee problem. The game had petered out by the hour mark with both teams realising the points were in the bag. Shire might have pulled a late goal back after Ure's run down the left ended with a cross which Marc McKenzie couldn't turn into the net at the back post. But it was the home team who had the final say. Substitute Iain Chisholm crossed from the right for fellow replacement Bryan Felvus to shoot high into the net with for minute left.

Albion Rovers: Ewings, Moffat, Lennox, Lennon, Donnelly, Nicoll, Sim(Chisholm 58), Trialist,McFarlane(Felvus 74), Walker(McBride 81), Smith.

Shire : Tiroupolos, Livingstone, Learmonth, McAloney, Thywissen, Boyle, McKenzie, Molloy, Brownlie(Oates 57),McBride, Adam(Ure 51).

Referee : Martin Sproule

Attendance : 518.

Shire 0 Elgin City 2

2006-12-24T08:44:00.000Z

So it seems the battle to avoid the season with the wooden spoon is not over yet. Shire deserved all they got out of this pre-Christmas clash of the Third Division's bottom two - nothing. And Steven Dymock should consider himself lucky if the club choose to take no action over his indiscipline which led to a totally justified 18th minute red card which destroyed the superiority his team had enjoyed until that point.

Boss Gordon Wylde decided to keep the faith withmost of the players who had played so well at Hampden a week earlier. The only change came at right-back, where Scott Livingstone dropped out to be replaced by Paul McAloney. The 4-1-4-1 formation was also retained, but Shire showed straight from the kick-off that just one man up front did not mean any sign of caution.

Paul Stewart stole the ball right from Elgin's kick-off and within seconds the home team were down Elgin's throat with a Dymock effort that went just wide. After eight minutes Stewart played a superb pass through to the lone striker and he was only prevented from scoring by a brave diving save from Elgin keeper, Tim Brewin.

It was one-way traffic as Elgin could not get the ball off Shire. Stephen Adam cracked in a shot which shaved the upright and Stewart tried his luck from long range but narrowly missed the target. A Joe Boyle free-kick wasn't far away either.

There wasn't anyone in the ground at that point who didn't think Shire were going to blow Elgin away. That was until the 18th minute when Elgin's Hind came right through the back of Dymock. When the ball moved out to the wing the Shire man took his revenge by aiming a kick at the defender right in front of the referee.

Ref Colin Brown showed a red card, correctly, but Shire fans were nevertheless left wondering why the Elgin player's constant manhandling of Dymock went unpunished. Being reduced to en men should have made no difference, but Shire were guilty of simply giving up. Stephen Adam was sacrified to put Paul McBride up front but the big trialist had a very poor day. He wasn't the only one.

Stephen Learmonth kept getting posted missing on the left side of defence. The warning signs were there when Elgin's Adam Moffat cracked a 20 yard effort off the crossbar on 38 minutes, but four minutes later the chickens came home to roost when the home side seemed again to lack cover on the left flank. The ball was played out to Chris Gardiner who just had to brush off Learmonth before planting the ball into the net.

By that point Shire had fallen to bits and things only got worse after the interval. Martin Johnston should have made it 2-0 on 47 minutes but he somehow skewed his shot wide when it seemed easier to score.

MacKay down Elgin's left was causing plenty of problems and he thought he had won his team a penalty when he was brought down by Learmonth. The ref pointed to the spot but changed his mind when his far side linesman pointed out the Elgin man had been in an offside position.

Elgin didn't have long to wait to double their advantage, though. Some defensive dithering on the edge of their own box put Shire in trouble and once the ball had been fed to Johnston he wasted no time at all in hitting what was his 20th career goal against Shire. Marc McKenzi's introduction at least gave Shire some forward momentum, but the problem remained that they had no real out-and-out striker to finish any of his neat runs. Worryoingly, Shire had no shots at goal in the entire second half.

Shire : Tiroupolos, McAloney(Livingstone 64), Learmonth, Thywissen, Wild, Boyle, Dymock, Stewart, Ure(McKenzie 54), Molloy, Adam(McBride 23).

Elgin City : Brewin, Campbell(Easton 90), McGraw, Gardiner(Nelson 84), Dickson, Hind, Docherty, Moffat, Johnston, Charlesworth, MacKay.

Referee : Colin Brown

Attendance : 396.

Elgin City Preview

2006-12-22T19:39:00.000Z

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The old adage could well apply to Shire tomorrow. This is without doubt the club's biggest game of the season. After the welcome 3-1 win over Queen's Park, a victory against bottom side, Elgin City, would begin to remove some of the doubt about another last place finish. It would put Shire twelve points clear of the bottom side, their biggest advantage of the season and they would have two matches in hand.

With the Hampden performance in mind Gordon Wylde is likely to leave things as they were for the Queen's Park win. That means Steven Dymock playing along up front ahead of a five-man midfield with a back four sitting in behind them. Only one personnel change is currently being considered and that could mean a first start for Paul McAloney in the right-back slot, although Wylde could also opt to bring Marc McKenzie into the team after missing last week through suspension.

Mark Molloy, who was injured in a horror tackle last week, and would have missed the Berwick game on Tuesday night had it not been postponed, is, thanfully, fit again and will probably be included in the starting eleven.

"This is a vital game for us," Wylde told Zebra Diary. "The club is giving everyone free admission and I hope that attracts a few more people in to cheer us on. We are trying to play good football, and while we may not be the best in the vworld, I want people to know that things are improving here and we are not just prepared to sit at the bottom of the table forever."

Paul Brownlie and trialist Paul McBride will again be included in the squad, although both will probably sit on the bench. Fans taking advantage of the free entry offer should note the game has a 2:00p.m. kick -off, one hour earlier than normal.

Berwick Game Off, Again.

2006-12-19T19:25:00.000Z

Overnight frost means this evening's scheduled Third Division match with Berwick Rangers at Firs Park was postponed following a mid-afternoon inspection carried out by local ref, David Somers. Shire and Berwick have now re-arranged the game for at fifth time, the new date is Tuesday 27th February 2007 with a 7:30p.m. kick-off.

Berwick Rangers Preview

2006-12-18T18:47:00.000Z

A decision will be made tomorrow (Tuesday) morning on whether the three times postponed match wih Berwick Rangers can at last get the go ahead. Frost on Monday has made the Bison End goalmouth very hard and, with overnight temperatures forecast to tumble as low as -3 tonight there must be severe doubt over the game taking place.

Shire are promising an early inspection, if that proves necessary, to prevent Berwick players and fans making an uneccesary trip north.

A postponement would be a big blow to Shire who want to capitalise on Saturday's resounding 3-1 away win at Queen's Park. Berwick are one of the league's form teams but Shire boss, Gordon Wylde, believes his team has what it takes to get something from the match.

Wylde will make just one change to the squad which won at Hampden. Mark Molloy has failed to recover from the horror challenge which saw Queen's Park's Paul Paton sent-off on Saturday. His place will go to Marc McKenzie who missed the Hampden victory due to suspension.

Queen's Park 1 Shire 3

2006-12-16T21:39:00.000Z

As welcome as it was unexpected, Shire claimed all three points with a great display of passing football at Hampden. It was a game that contained the Firs Parker’s first penalty of the season, three red cards for the home team and plenty of other incident too. But, in the long run, it may turn out to be the club’s most important victory of the season on a day when Elgin lost, leaving them trailing by nine points.
Gordon Wylde made two personnel changes to the team which lost to Montrose in their last outing with Scott Livingstone and Stephen Adam coming into the team in place of Alan Ward and the suspended Marc McKenzie. There were also places on the subs bench for new signings Paul McAloney and Paul Brownlie along with trialist Paul McBride.
Wylde opted to change formation, Shire lined up 4-5-1 with Steven Dymock at the sole striker with Derek Ure starting off wide on the left and Adam on the opposite wing.
Much was made of the need to pass the ball on Hampden’s wide open spaces and the visitors set their stall out in the opening five minutes. After three minutes a nice bit of Shire passing gave the ball to Dymock, who was crudely fouled from behind and Paul Stewart went close with the resulting free-kick. Two minutes later a slick move sent Ure clear down the left but his cross was too near keeper Mark Cairns.
The home team hardly seemed the force they had been built up to be before the start but they still provided a couple of early danger moments with two shots, one from Quinn and another from Trouten going just wide.
Shire were playing the better football and after 19 minutes Ure stole the ball from Reilly’s chest down and volleyed just over. The Firs Parkers could not believe how much space they were getting in midfield and on 21 minutes Ure was again clear down the left wing. His cross was great but Adam couldn’t get a decent connection and the chance was gone.
It really was turning into a super Shire show and things got better on 23 minutes when Reilly held back Dymock in the act of shooting. A penalty said the ref, Shire’s first of the season, and Stewart gave them the lead from the spot.
The chances of victory improved three minutes when the home team’s Paul Paton was sent-off for a wild over the ball lunge on Mark Molloy, who required some lengthy treatment before he was able to continue. The extra man was a huge boost for Gordon Wylde’s men and they were able to continue passing their way through the home team with even greater effect. On the stroke of half-time it should have been 2-0, but Dymock’s drive flew across the face of goal and wide.
Molloy’s injury forced his withdrawal during the break and trialist Paul McBride came on as the sole striker with Dymock dropping to midfield. It seemed, on the face of it, a less effective combination and Queens, clearly stung by their first half showing, put a far bigger effort in. It paid dividends on 63 minutes when Shire keeper Robert Tiroupolos failed to hold a 20 yard free kick. Spiders’ substitute Paul Ronald got to the ball first and crossed for David Weatherston to bundle it over the line.
For the first time Shire were in retreat and Weatherston thought he had won a penalty on 65 minutes when it looked like Tiroupolos brought him down. But the referee booked him for diving.
Four minutes on a bad defensive blunder put McBride clean through on the Spiders’ goal and his progress was stopped by a deliberate trip by Sinclair. The defender was the last man and therefore was automatically red carded and to make matters worse Joe Boyle found the net with a superb strike from the resulting free-kick.
Against nine men the game was over and that was confirmed on 73 minutes when Adam collected the ball after a goalmouth stramash and fed Ure who made it 3-1 with a close range effort. Two minutes from time there was further controversy when Queens’ Alan Trouten was sent-off for elbowing Paul Stewart in the face.
Queen’s Park : Cairns, Paton, Dunlop, Reilly, Sinclair, Trouten, Kettlewell, Ouinn(Ronald 46), Dunn(Canning 76), Weatherston, Ferry.
Shire : Tiroupolos, Livingstone(McAloney 76), Learmonth, Thywissen, Wild, Boyle, Dymock(Brownlie 72), Stewart, Ure, Molloy(McBride 46), Adam.
Referee : S. Nicholls
Attendance : 458.

Queen's Park Preview

2006-12-15T20:07:00.000Z

Boss Gordon Wylde will add three new faces to the Shire squad for the game against Queen's Park at Hampden. This week's new signings, Paul Brownlie and Paul McAloney will be joined by trialist striker, Paul McBride, who was released by Cowdenbeath at the start of the month.

On the down side, Marc McKenzie is suspended and on loan Gary McPhee will again miss out through injury, but Wylde is determined to take something from the game. "I have told the players we have nine points to play for over the next week," he told Zebra Diary. "And we have to take at least four or five. If we get any more than that I will be delighted."

Of his new faces Wylde said it was essential he freshened things up. "Some plauers were taking it for granted they would get a place in the team and that was no good. There are some who will sit in the stand tomorrow and will be disappinted but while we have done well up to now by keeping six points clear of Elgin I want to start kicking on. Once the transfer window opens I have my eye on at least two more players."

Wylde knows the Hampden trip will be a difficult one. "Queen's Park will come at us, but we will set our stall out to take something from the game. We will certainly have to combat their full-backs who like to push on a bit and that might mean bringing five players into midfield, but we will still be positive."

Another Brownlie Arrives

2006-12-15T20:01:00.000Z

Shire have added another Brownlie to the cast list by signing 29 year old Paul Brownlie, the son of John Brownlie, part of the club's current coaching triumverate. Paul has been out of football for the past year but has a good pedigree as a striker with Clyde, Raith Rovers, Stranraer and Arbroath. He dropped out of senior football after being released by the Gayfield team three years ago and gave up the game completely last year.

However, he has shown a real appetite for the game since coming back and training with Shire more than a month ago. Paul enjoyed the experience so much he has decided to retrieve his boots from the cupboard. He will be included in the squad for tomorrow's trip to Queen's Park.

Wylde Acts To Freshen Squad

2006-12-13T18:09:00.000Z

Shire boss Gordon Wylde has signed former Falkirk youth team player, Paul McAloney, until the end of the season. The 20 year old defender was released by Falkirk in the summer and went junior but didn't like the experience and now wants back into league football.

The Firs Park coach is delighted with his capture, who is a right-back but who can also play wing-back or even centre-half if need be. "He is a hard-tackling, no-nonsense kind of boy which is just what we need," Wylde told Zebra Diary. "He had signed junior after being released by John Hughes but didn't fancy it in the lower ranks. He was highly thought of by Falkirk but just wasn't able to make the jump from their under-19's to the next level."

Wylde was keen to sign McAloney in the summer but was beaten to his signature by a junior side offering money. "Paul's here now and he will be a good addition to the squad," he said.

Because he was released by another club before the transfer window Paul cannot sign professional forms with Shire until January, but has underlined his commitment to the club, and his determination to play, by getting round the rule and signing as an amateur.

The coach says his signing plans will no end with Paul. He has two trialist strikers at the club and is keen to get both signed up. He also has his eye on a defender currently with a Second Division club and a Third Division centre-half.

Berwick Game Off Again

2006-12-11T19:09:00.000Z

The wait to play Berwick Rangers continues. The re-scheduled clash at Firs Park, scheduled for tomorrow night (12th December) has been postpopned due to another waterlogged pitch. The hard work Jimmy and Robert did on Friday and Saturday went for nothing as forty millimetres of rain fell on the pitch during the course of Sunday and more inclement weather throughout Monday left the club with little choice but to call an inspection. The referee had no hesitation in calling the game off.

A fourth attempt to play the match will be made on Tuesday 19th December, kick-off 7:30p.m.

Shire Versus Elgin City Is Free

2006-12-06T20:39:00.000Z

Fans of Shire and Elgin City have been given a pre-Christmas present with the news that the Firs Park clash on 23rd December will be FREE ADMISSION. There will be no admission charge to any spectators who turn up to the game. It's a reward to the long suffering faithful for their loyal support throught the year, and may also give an extra incentive to fotball fans who don't want to consider last minute Christmas shopping.

Those planning on attending should note that, as previously mentioned, the game has been moved from Boxing Day (Tuesday 26th December) to Saturday 23rd. You should also note that the kick-off time will be ONE HOUR EARLIER THAN NORMAL at 2:00p.m.

Berwick Game Update

2006-12-05T20:25:00.000Z

The twice postponed home match with Berwick Rangers has a new date. The match will go ahead on Tuesday 12th December with a 7:30p.m. kick-off, depending on the outcome of Berwick's Scottish Cup tie with Arbroath on Saturday.

If Saturday's cup match has a positive result (i.e. if either Berwick or Arbroath win) then the Wee Rangers will be heading to Firs Park on the 12th. However, if the game is either postponed or ends in a draw, the Shielfielders will have the right to call the Shire game off under Scottish Cup rules until after the tie is decided.

If a replay or re-scheduled fixture is required then Berwick and Arbroath would meet on Saturday 16th December, so the Shire game could, theoretically, switch to the 19th, although this is unconfirmed.

Bad News On Brand

2006-12-05T20:01:00.000Z

Shire skipper Andrew Brand will remain out of action for the forseeable future. After initial reports that his operation to strengthen his left wrist had been a success, it now seems there have been complications. Boss Gordon Wylde admits both he and the club captain are "frustrated" at the news.

"It was quite a serious operation," Wylde told Zebra Diary. "And Andrew is still feeling a bit of soreness. He isn't confident yet to make a return, and the doctors have, aparently, advised against it for the time being.

"He is obviously frustrated because he wants to play. It is a big blow for us because we had expected he would be back in the team just now. Andrew is a good guy to have around the club, but he has also started a new job and wants to concentrate on that just now. With no prospect of him playing, or even training, we won't see him until the new year and then we will take it from there."

Brand went for surgery in the first week in September. The operation was due to strengthen the joint and prevent any further breaks. He twice suffered a broken wrist playing for Shire last season. He said at the time that without it he risked serious health problems, including arthritis, later in life.

Berwick Game Off

2006-12-04T19:06:00.000Z

Shire's re-scheduled meeting with Berwick Rangers, due to take place on Tuesday 5th December has been postponed. The pitch has been left waterlogged after the storms which visited Falkirk on Sunday and Monday.

No new date has been set for the match. It's the second time the fixture has been postponed. It was moved to accomodate the Stirling Albion Scottish Cup tie, which was played a week late on 25th November.

Shire 0 Montrose 3

2006-12-02T20:01:00.000Z

Not for the first time when the stakes were highest for Shire they somehow managed to mess up. A win against Montrose would have broadened the Firs Parkers' horizons and increased greatly their opportunities for some social mobility.

They certainly had spent the week prior to the match raising their hopes. After all Montrose were a team who had lost seven on the bounce. In their last six league games they had scored just one goal. Surely here was a chance for Shire to capitalise on the good result at Arbroath in their last league outing ? Most believed so, but it did not stop this match becoming a complete write-off in just the first fourteen minutes.

By that stage three Jed Stirling corner kicks had produced three goals and Shire's dream of catching their opponents and overtaking them seemed just an illusion. Their hopes were hit even before kick-off when on-loan Stranraer man, Gary McPhee had to pull out of the squad with a thigh strain. Scott Livingstone dropped out of the eleven which began the cup tie against Stirling Albion with Mark Molloy taking his place.

But before Molloy, or anyone else in a white shirt, had a chance to influence the game Shire were a goal down. After two minutes Paul Stewart conceded a needless corner which Stirling whipped in to the near post. Robert Tiroupolos caught the ball, then let it escape from his grasp and the Shire faithful could only watch in horror as the ball dropped over the line.

Worse was to follow. After seven minutes Montrose was another corner and Stirling hit an identical ball into the near post. This time Shire defender Carl Thywissen headed it as far as the edge of the box where Craig Higgins, completely unmarked hit it back through a ruck of players and high into the net.

It took another seven minutes for Montrose to win another corner but everyone in the crowd knew what was going to happen. Exactly the same near post ball and this time Jim Mercer beat Thywissen to the header at the near post and with no further ado it was 3-0. At least Shire might have reflected that there was still plenty of time to score three of their own.

They might have had a chance of doing just that had Marc McKenzie scored on 38 minutes, as he should have done. It was his pass which sent Molloy clear down the right and when Molloy crossed the ball back McKenzie was waiting in plenty of space. He fluffed his first shot but should have buried the second. Instead, he hit it tamely at the keeper. A minute before the interval Gary Wild hit a deep ball to the unmarked Alan Ward at the back edge of the penalty area and his looping header would have gone in had it not been for a great save from Reid.

The second half opened in positive fashion and within a couple of minutes Derek Ure had sent a shot flashing across the face of the Montrose goal. But Shire were always at risk of Montrose's break and twice tackles from Wild and Thywissen stopped Andy Rodgers breaking clean through on goal.

Shire passed the ball around nicely while Montrose brought ten men behind the ball simply to protect their lead. Reid was by the far the busirt of the two keepers and he needed to be alert to beat away a point-blank effort from Ward and he also made a fine save from Steven Dymock eight minutes from the end.

But the visitors had late chances too. Substitute Graeme Stewart should have made the result more emphatic but his run into the box ended with a shot which struck the post. A minute later another sub, Steve Kerrigan, sent a powerful drive across the face of goal and wide.

Shire : Tiroupolos, Boyle, Learmonth, Thywissen, Wild, Molloy(Adam 62), McKenzie, Stewart, Dymock, Ward(Tweedie 68), Ure.

Montrose : Reid, Cumming, Stirling, Higgins, McLeod, Donachie(Adam 74), Henslee, Davidson, Rodgers, Michie(Stewart 62), Mercer(Kerrigan 78).

Referee : C. Hardie.

Attendance : 173.

Shire 0 Stirling Albion 2

2006-11-25T18:29:00.000Z

Shire's wait for a Scottish Cup win goes on. Stirling Albion's clinical finishing combinded with some abject home defending eased the visitors into a Second Round meeting with Edinburgh City. A match against a team sitting second in the Second Division was never going to be easy. But Gordon Wylde's team still managed to make it difficult for themselves.

They could not hold their defensive discipline when it mattered most and gifted their visitors two early goals. Although Shire redeemed themselves with a hard-working second half it simply was too much of an ask to haul themselves back into the match.

As expected, Scott Livingstone was drafted into the team at right-back to cover for the cup-tied Gary McPhee and Alan Ward and Steven Dymock came in for Mark Molloy and Paul Tweedie. Otherwise, Wylde stood by the players who had won so wonderfully at Arbroath. And they were quickly in action. Marc McKenzie skinned left-back Forsyth inside the first minute but his cross could find no takers and was hacked behind for a corner kick. A minute later Derek Ure beat a ropey looking Albion offside trap and crossed for Alan Ward but the Shire man was not expecting such an easy chance and the ball bounced off his shins and wide.

Albion's best openings early were two free-kicks but Forsyth sent both high and wide. But he did better on 16 minutes, swining over a free-kick which found the unmarked Colin Cramb at the back post. His first shot was saved by Robert Tiroupolos but he swept the rebound high into the net. Shire were unsettled and, within three minutes they should have been further behind but Cramb missed an absolute sitter, blasting over the bar from inside the six yard box.

After 25 minutes it was 2-0. This time Shire failed to halt Steven Bell's progress down the right and when he shot for goal Tiroupolos saved but couldn't hold onto the ball and Dean Shields rammed the rebound home. The wheels were coming off the wagon and a poor Livingstone pass left Nathan Taggart in the clear but he rather wasted what seemed like a good opening. Shire spent he remainder of the half having to repulse a never-ending flow of Stirling Albion attacks. And Tiroupolos made one marvellous save from a Paul Hay half-volley to keep the lead to two.

Livingstone went off at the interval to be replaced by Molloy and Shire changed shape, going three at the back and pushing an extra man into midfield. That, and perhaps a gale force wind at their backs rather than in their faces, made all the difference.

For the first time Shire were taking the game to their visitors and it was Albion on the backfoot. After 58 minutes they should have had a lifeline back into the game. Derek Ure's run and cross ended with a netbound header from Ward which, somehow, Myles Hogarth in the Albion goal tipped onto the crossbar and the chance was gone. Ward was clean through on goal minutes later but his effort lacked real power and Hogarth saved. Derek Ure tried his luck from long range but found Hogarth up to the task. There were many goalmouth stramashes inside the Albion box but the ball never seemed to sit kindly for a white jersey., otherwise it may have been a different story.

Shire : Tiroupolos, Livingstone(Molloy 46), Learmonth, Thywissen, Boyle(Tweedie 73), Wild, McKenzie, Stewart, Dymock, Ward, Ure.

Stirling Albion : Hogarth, Hay, Forsyth, McNally, Roycroft(Devine 50), Aitken, Bell, Tomana, Cramb(Cashmore 78), Shields, Taggart(Malseed 78).

Referee : Dean John

Attendance : 550.

Weather Watch

2006-11-25T10:28:00.000Z

Firs Park, Saturday 25th November 2006, 10:20 am : The Firs Park pitch is playable after the predicted overnight wind and rain failed to materialise. Consequently the club will NOT require a morning pitch inspection and this afternoon's re-scheduled Scottish Cup First Round tie with Stirling Albion WILL go ahead as planned with a 3:00p.m. kick-off.

Stirling Albion Preview

2006-11-24T21:40:00.000Z

A decision will be taken early on Saturday morning about a pitch inspection for Shire's re-arranged Scottish Cup-tie with Stirling Albion. The Firs Park pitch has taken another battering from the rain and much will depend on overnight conditions. Shire fans are being asked to get their wellington boots and pitchforks at the ready for a spot of spiking just in case the weather makes tomorrow's game touch-and-go.

Should it get the go ahead, the match will mean one enforced team change for Gordon Wylde. Loan signing Gary McPhee will not be allowed to play, a direct consequence of Stranraer's 4-2 cup win over Alloa last week. They do not want him cup-tied after he returns to Stair Park in December. Stephen Oates' knee injury has not sufficently recovered so it is unlikely he will be part of the squad either. Everyone else, apart, of course, from Andrew Brand, should be available for selection. After Shire's 2-1 win over Arbroath in their last outing a fortnight ago, there should not be too many changes, although the right-back position is causing some concern. Joe Boyle was tried unsuccessfully in that position at Gayfield before McGhee slotted in with the minimum of fuss. With the on-loan Stranraer man unavailable it seems that position will be a toss up between Boyle and Scott Livingstone, with Gary Wild partnering Carl Thywissen in the centre of defence.

"It's not a game that has any fears for us," boss Gordon Wylde told Zebra Diary. "Stirling Albion have the best record of any team in Britain at the moment, so we don't have to be told how difficult it will be. All we can ask of the players is that they give it one hunded per cent effort and you never know, we might have a wee chance."

Berwick Game Re-Arranged

2006-11-21T19:19:00.000Z

The home Third Division match with Berwick Rangers which should have gone ahead this Saturday now has a new date. The match will be played on Tuesday 5th December with a 7:30p.m. kick-off.

The match has had to make way for the re-arranged Scottish Cup tie with Stirling Albion, which was postponed last week.

Cup Tie Postponed

2006-11-17T16:11:00.000Z

The Scottish Cup first round tie against Stirling Albion for tomorrow (Saturday 18th November) has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. The game will now go ahead on Saturday 25th November with a 3:00p.m. kick-off.

Five days of contstant, torrential rain have left the Firs Park pitch flooded in many areas and, with the weather only likely to get worse, the decision was made to call a 3:30p.m pitch inspection on Friday afternoon. The decision to call the game off was a formality.

Boxing Day Date Change

2006-11-14T21:51:00.000Z

Shire's scheduled league meeting with Elgin City at Firs Park, scheduled for Tuesday 26th December has been moved forward by the Scottish League at the request of both teams. The match will now be played on Saturday 23rd December with the usual 3:00p.m. kick-off time. This is to allow the players of both Shire and Elgin the chance to be with their families a bit more during thefestive period. It also gives fans of both teams a valid excuse to skip last-minute Christmas shopping.

Arbroath 1 Shire 2

2006-11-11T19:33:00.000Z

There can’t have been many Shire fans who travelled to Gayfield with any degree of optimism. And they could hardly be blamed. Four defeats in a row and no goals into the bargain and a trip ahead to a ground where the club have a poor record. It seemed a recipe for disaster.
But Shire knew defeat could leave them bottom of the league and, in the end, it was that sense of pride which brought the Firs Parkers their most unexpected. and welcome, three points of the season. Even conceding the first goal, which in recent weeks has been their biggest downfall, proved no obstacle to gaining a most valuable victory. But perhaps a bigger factor in the win was a fantastic display by keeper Robert Tiroupolos. The goalie had been left out in the cold over the last few weeks but grabbed his chance with a string of fine saves.
Tiroupolos wasn’t the only change to the Shire line-up. New loan signing from Stranraer, Gary McPhee, came into the midfield and Gary Wild replaced the injured Stephen Oates. Stephen Adam was relegated to the bench.
If Shire expected an Arbroath onslaught from the start they were wrong. The home team was slow out of the traps and it gave Shire a vital foothold in the game. That wasn’t to say that Arbroath didn’t have the better of the chances early on but Tiroupolos was equal to it, especially a header from Dobbins which he dived full-length to push wide. The Shire keeper’s handling of the many crosses into the box was also first class.
But it would not be Shire if there wasn’t a defensive disaster somewhere along the line. It came on 31 minutes when Arbroath’s Reilly hoofed the ball into the box, the Shire defence failed to hold its line, and as a result Sellars, who should have been played offside, stroked the ball home.
Shire certainly didn’t give up and were unlucky not to equalise seven minutes later when Paul Tweedie headed goalwards from Derek Ure’s cross. Only a superb one handed save from Mark Peat kept Arbroath ahead at the half-time interval.
The second half held more potential for Shire, although Tiroupolos was again the hero to touch a Sellars shot onto the post., and made an even better stop four minutes later from a Sellars header, tipping a netbound effort over the bar.
But Shire kept passing the ball, Paul Stewart was getting more room to operate in he middle of the park and the replacement of the strike force of Tweedie and Molloy with Ward and Dymock created a goal threat that hadn’t existed up until that point. But the chances which started to come were being squandered, especially a McPhee effort which he fired well over the bar when well-placed.
There was no doubt Shire were getting back into the game and they demonstrated that by hitting a well-merited equaliser on 73 minutes. A free-kick from wide on the right was missed by the Arbroath central defence and, Dymock, lurking unmarked on the back edge of the six yard box nodded home. Arbroath put on the dangerous Barry Scott and he forced Tiroupolos into one really fine save as the Shire goal came in for a pounding for the first time in the match.
But Arbroath’s determination to get in front left the back door open. Although Shire’s 90th minute winner was a pure freak. Tiroupolos launched a long wind-assisted clearance which Robbie Raeside meant to head clear upfield. Except the ball sclaffed off his head and ballooned over Peat and into his own net. Cue celebrations.
Arbroath : Peat, McMullen, McCulloch, Raeside, Bishop, Dobbins(Smith 73), Reilly(Scott 69), Black, Brazil, Sellars, Stein/
Shire: Tiroupolos, McPhee, Learmonth, Thywisen, Wild, Boyle, McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie(Ward 63), Molloy(Dymock 64), Ure.

Referee: S. McDonald.

Arbroath Preview

2006-11-10T20:23:00.000Z

Shire boss Gordon Wylde has bolstered the squad by bringing in Stranraer midfielder Gary McPhee on a one month loan deal. The 27 year old was part of Stranraer's first team squad until injury struck, and part of the rationale behind Gerry Britton's decision to send him to Firs Park was to get him match fit for a return to Second Division action. McPhee, who is described by the Shire boss as, "having a bit of devilment in him", was previously with Clyde and Forfar Athletic and will go straight into the Shire midfield at Arbroath.

Now for the bad news. Andrew Brand will not feature at Gayfield. He doesn't yet feel confident enough to make his return to action following his wrist operation and will put off a decision on his return date until next week. Stephen Oates' knee problem has also ruled him out of the match. Stephen has been carrying the injury for a number of weeks and will require a scan to find the true nature of the injury.The trialist striker who joined the club this week needs to gain more fitness before being considered. It could be another week before we see him in action. Everyone else in the squad will travel.

Brand Set For Return ?

2006-11-08T19:22:00.000Z

Shire skipper, Andrew Brand, may be added to the squad for Saturday's trip to Arbroath. He returned to training two weeks ago following his wrist operation and his fitness work is progressing well. But with the club facing a slump in form he may be asked to think about a return to the fold.

"We are certainly not putting any pressure on him," coach Gordon Wylde told Zebra Diary. "Andrewc will make his comeback when he is comfortable doing so, but he is a big player for us and we are really keen to see him back in the teamas quickly as possible."

Wylde had also revealed he has brought in a trialist striker with a view to signing him. The player, who has experience of playing the the First Division, will train with the team initially. "We will talk to him and see how he feels about playing for us," he said. "He's been out of the senior game for a year but he has played at a higher level than this and I am sure if he wants to join us and gets match fit then he will score goals for us."

There is one real injury concern for the Gayfield trip. It surrounds Stephen Oates who has been carrying a knee injury for some time. He is starting to feel the effects and may not be risked for the trip to Angus.

Stenhousemuir 2 Shire 0

2006-11-05T08:34:00.000Z

Defeat seems a matter of course for Shire at the moment and that was never better illustrated than in this latest reverse at Ochilview. No matter how hard they battled and kept managerless Stenhousemuir at bay there was something all too inevitable about the final outcome.

When your defence continues to give away the daftest of goals and the forwards go through ninety minutes without having at least one worthwhile chance to score you tend to be in trouble and Shire are in serious bother at the moment. Elgin City's 1-1 draw at league leaders East Fife has cut the gap between the Firs Parkers and the league's bottom team to three points. A defeat for Shire at Arbroath next week and an Elgin win over Albion Rovers would see Gordon Wylde's team slump to the foot of the table.

Injuries and other issues limited the changes Wylde could make to the starting line-up but out went Joe Boyle and Scot Livingstone in a straight swap for Mark Molloy and Gary Wild. And, at least in the opening stages, it seemed to make a difference. Paul Stewart was getting plenty of the ball and the signs were encouraging, Paul Tweedie hit a cracking shot past Willie McCulloch after just nine minutes but he was corrently judged to be offside. At the other end only a goalline clearance from Wild stopped Kevin McLeish the home team the lead after Anton Nugent has unwisely come racing out of goal.

But if the first few minutes gave the impression that the rest of the game would be a cracker we were wrong. Midfield medocrity ensused although Shire by no means looked out of things and a goalless first half, with, in truth, very few chances at either end, was just about right.

Shire might have had ambitions to go on and win the game from there but they were undone just seconds after the re-start. John Baird was given far too much room after receiving a free-kick , he shot and although Nugent did well to save, he could do nothing to stop David Templeton firing home the rebound. The game was as good as over at that oint because Shire never looked capable of even getting a shot on target, never mind scoring a goal.

And they made things a lot worse for themselves on 63 minutes. A John Paul McBride free-kick from wide on the left looked routine enough, but no Shire player matched the late run of McLeish into the box and he was allowed a free header past Nugent to make it 2-0.

The visitors might have dragged themselves back into the game on 70 minutes. A Marc McKenzie free-kicked was fired goalwards by Tweedie and although home Keeper Willie McCulloch saved, the ball fell to Gary Wild, who should have burst the net. Instead he blazed the ball miles over the bar.

Stenhousemuir : McCulloch, Menzies, Dillon, Henderson, Cowan, Connell, McLeish, McBride, Hutchison, Templeton(Diack 84), Baird(McLuaghlin 58).

Shire : Nugent, Wild, Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates(Livingstone 85), Molloy(Boyle 66), McKenzie, Stewart, Adam, Tweedie, Ure(Dymock 83).

Referee : A. Boyd

Attendance : 563.

Stenhousemuir Preview

2006-11-03T20:51:00.000Z

The team enters one of its most important games of the season with another player shortage. Just as the visit to Elgin was blighted by injuries and illness, Shire will be severely depleted for the trip to Ochilview tomorrow. Andrew Brand has returned to training but is nowhere near match fit. Andy Smith is unlikely to appear either, and Alan Ward, Steven Dymock and Steven Blair have not recovered from their injuries and will not be considered.

Manager Gordon Wylde is promising to abandon the long ball approach adopted rather unsuccessfully for the East Fife game. His game plan will be influenced by the Warriors' plastic pitch. Wylde is a fan of the surface and believes it will suit the instincts of his better players.

One major factor will be how Stenhousemuir react to the midweek resignation of manager Des McKeown. They will have McKeown's assistant, Paul Smith, in charge for the game and he is promising to adopt his own approach. One thing that still hurt them is Shire's 5-0 win over the Warriors at Firs Park in August. They want revenge.

Midweek Update

2006-11-01T19:07:00.000Z

Shire could be forced to draft in at least one trialist for the visit to Stenhousemuir. The squad has been depleted further following the 4-0 defeat against East Fife last weekend, with Alan Ward already ruled out of the trip to Ochilview and Steven Dymock very doubtful.

Ward sustained a nasty leg knock in a collision with East Fife's keeper, John Dodds, which forced his substitution by Dymock after 34 minutes. The blond striker was himself forced to retire after sustaining a knee injury, which was first thought to have been a medial ligament strain, although that is still unconfirmed.

Both Ward and Dymock will be added to an injury list that already includes Steven Blair, who has a hamstring injury and won't make Stenhousemuir either. Added to that it is also unlikely that Andy Smith will make an appearance, taking the squad down to fifteen, which includes two goalkeepers.Extra help could be called for.

Shire 0 East Fife 4

2006-10-28T18:15:00.000+01:00

The Shire slump shows no sign of letting up. They were never really at the races against Third Division leaders East Fife, especially after losing the opening goal in just eight minutes. For all that they went on to lose four goals it could have been more, ironically, had it not been for some very good Shire defending.

Manager Gordon Wylde re-introduced Carl Thywissen to the heart of defence after the previous week's 2-0 defeat against Dumbarton, and there was also a place in the starting line-up for Paul Tweedie, who replaced Steven Dymock.

The Shire striker might have broken the deadlock inside the opening five minutes but he fluffed his chance after some good work down the left by Alan Ward. But Shire's bright opening went for nothing when the visitors took the lead with a very easy goal after just eight minutes. A simple thrown in found Craig Smart who fed Craig O'Brien and he simply sidefooted the shot past Nugent from inside the box.

That settled the visiting team down anmd they went on to play some decent spells of attacking football. Nugent had to look smart to save a Ryan Blackadder free-kick and a Kevin Gordon cross flew across the face of goal with no takers when a simple touch would have added to the lead.

For their part, Shire might have equalised on 17 minutes when some trickery from Marc McKenzie created the space for a cross which Stephen Oates headed wide. There was bad news on 28 minutes when Ward was injured after a collision with the keeper. He tried to keep going after treatment but was substituted by Steven Dymock.

That had no more happened than East Fife increased the lead with a freak goal. The ball was fed out to Neil Jablonski, his shot was no more than speculative but took a huge deflection off Oates and ended up in the back of the net.

Shire were creaking from then on and East Fife always seemed able to take advantage. After 56 minutes they increased their advantage to three. A simple cross from Ellliot Smith down the right should have been cleared but O'Reilly beat Thywissen to the near post header and the ball looped over Nugent into the net. Two minutes leter there was even worse when Blackadder volleyed a poor clearance past Nugent off the post for number four.

East Fife threatened even more goals but the Shire defence, which had seemed on the verge of imploding, found some self-respect late on. Under the cosh for long spells they at least managed to prevent the lead increasing. Special mention must go to two Oates tackles, one on O'Reilly and the other on Craig Smart, which prevented even further ambarrassment. One late worry was an injury to Dymock which saw him carried from the pitch on a stretcher.

Shire : Nugent, Livingstone, Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates, Boyle, McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie, Ward(Dymock 34(Molloy 82), Adam(Ure 62).

East Fife: Dodds, Smith, Linton, J. Smart, Doyle, Courts(Hampshire 76), Gordon, Jablonski, O'Reilly(Crabbe 82), C. Smart(Martin 82), Blackadder.

Referee ; S. Nicholls

Attendance : 378

East Fife Preview

2006-10-27T20:11:00.000+01:00

Shire boss Gordon Wylde remains confident the team can take something from tomorrow's visit of league leaders East Fife, but knows it will be very difficult. "I know the games don't get any easier but we have to go into them with optimism," he told Zebra Diary. "What worries me most about East Fife is their physical strength. We have the ability to play football against them but whether we can compete physically is another matter. That's why we lost 5-0 at New Bayview. It wasn't as though they played us off the park, but they used their phyisical edge to their advantage."

Wylde wants his team to be ready for a bit of muscle. "We have to win the battle before we start playing the football. I know it's a cliche but it's also true."

He will have almost a full squad to chhose from. Andrew Brand is still out and Steven Blair has a hamstring injury. "We are going through a bit of a rut at the moment," said Wylde. "But I am sure we will come out the other end better for it."

Andrew Brand Winning Fitness Battle

2006-10-25T08:46:00.000+01:00

Shire skipper, Andrew Brand, is winning his battle to regain full fitness after his wrist operation. He has now had the plaster cast removed from his left wrist and coach Gordon Wylde has already pencilled in his return to training.

If everything goes according to plan Andrew will take part in his first training session a week on Thursday. It will then be a matter of getting his match fitness back before re-claiming his place in the starting eleven.

He played his last match at East Fife on 1st September before entering hospital for an operation to strengthen his wrist joint. The complex procedure involved taking a bone graft from his hip. Andrew broke the joint twice playing for Shire last season and feared if he suffered a repeat without the operation it would finish his playing days.

Shire 0 Dumbarton 2

2006-10-21T19:25:00.000+01:00

Shire's hopes of bouncing back from the previous week's debacle at Elgin City died of self-inflicted wounds as Dumbarton stole off to the west with the three points in a bag marked "swag".

Gordon Wylde's men only have themselves to blame for not taking at least a draw from the match which never amounted to much of a spectacle. There were changes after the Bourough Briggs defeat with Anton Nugent replacing Robert Tiroupolos in goal and Scott Livingstone taking the place of the absent Carl Thywissen. However, there was no place in the starting line-up for Paul Tweedie, Steven Dymock being preferred to partner Marc McKenzie up front with Derek Ure dropping back into midfield.

The first real incident of the match brought a goal. After 13 minutes Dumbarton's Geggan made a strong run into the box which was ended by Steven Learmonth's challenge. There seemed little in it, but the referee penalised the Shire man then, after consultation with the far side linesman, awarded a penalty kick which Steven Dobbie converted.

Dumbarton had plenty of possession but really failed to turn that into concerted pressure although the lively Boyle shot wide from 20 yards and Boris had a cross-cum-shot cleared off the line by Livingstone. Four minutes before the break Shire should have equalised. Stephen Adam swung over a right-wing free-kick and Dymock blazed over from six yards when it seemed easier to score.

The game was put beyond Shire ten minutes after the break. Adam dithered on the edge of the box when he really should have cleared his lines. David Bagan picked his pocket and was left with the easiest job in the world to shot past Nugent to make it 2-0. On the hour mark Boyle was unlucky not to make it 3-0 with a header from a Hamilton cross which hit the Shire crossbar. But the game was over and the last half hour was sleep-inducing stuff, enlivened only by the sending-off of Dumbarton's Craig Winter for swearing at the stand side linesman.

Shire : Nugent, Livingstone, Learmonth, Oates, Wild(Blair 67(Molloy 79), Boyle,McKenzie, Stewart,Ure(Tweedie 56), Adam.

Dumbarton : Grindlay, Geggan,Brittain, Canning, Craig, Bagan, Borris(Dillon 82), Winter, Dobbie(McQuilken 85), Hamilton(McNaught 69), Boyle.

Referee : Steven O'Reilly

Attendance : 395.

Dumbarton Preview

2006-10-20T19:23:00.000+01:00

It should be a very different Shire that takes the field against Dumbarton tomorrow from the one which lost so abjectly at Elgin City last Saturday. For a start, Gordon Wylde will have more than ten fit outfield players to choose from. Back into the reckoning will come Andy Smith, Paul Tweedie, Steven Dymock, Steven Blair and, if he recovers enough from a recent bout of the flu, Mark Molloy. Those who played at Elgin who should have been at home in bed have also had an extra week to recover from the flu. Stephen Oates is carrying a leg knock but will be fit enough to play, which means the only absentee will be skipper Andrew Brand.

Dumbarton have hit a bit of form of late, winning four of their last five matches but Shire always seem to have the ability to recover after a really bad defeat, so it should be an interesting game. Wylde has told the players they will all have to fight for a place in the team. "If those players who missed the Elgin game are walking around with a smirk thinking they'll get straight back into the team, they won't. They have to prove they are worthy of inclusion, but there will certainly be some changes."

It's Dumbarton's first league visit to Firs Park since April 2002, when an inspired goalkeeping display by Chris Todd and a second half strike from Derek Ure gave Shire a 1-0 win. Here's hoping that's an omen.

Scottish Cup Draw

2006-10-19T20:26:00.000+01:00

Shire have drawn Stirling Albion in the first round of the Scottish Cup. The tie will go ahead at Firs Park on Saturday 18th November. It'll be Albion's first visit to the ground since last season's Stirlingshire Cup Final, and their first Scottish Cup match there since 1989/90 season.

Allan Moore's team are going well in the Second Division, they are currently unbeaten in nine matches and lie second in the league table. They have a good mixture of youth and experience with their best-known player Colin Cramb. The winners will be away to Edinburgh City in round two.

Elgin City 5 Shire 0

2006-10-14T21:57:00.000+01:00

The one thing Shire should not do after this disaster at Borough Briggs is panic. Failure to treat this as anything other than a one off could send the season into complete freefall and Shire know all about that.
On reflection, they should have known something like this would happen. Elgin, with no points from ten games, were always going to be souped up for the game against the team that had the worst record in Scottish football over the last four seasons. Shire had a player crisis; they didn’t have any. Andy Smith was suspended, Paul Tweedie was in Canada at his cousin’s wedding, Andrew Brand’s still recovering after an operation, Steven Dymock was working, Steven Blair and Mark Molloy were both in bed with the flu. Of the 19 man squad only thirteen available players travelled, and some of them were still suffering the effects of the flu bug.
But even then Shire would have been expecting to compete against a pointless Elgin team whose confidence surely must have been at the lowest of ebbs. There was no doubt Elgin were nervous, making mistake after mistake in the opening quarter. By contrast, Shire, with a strike force of Alan Ward and Derek Ure, looked quite enterprising. There was no hint of the disappointment to come, especially after Ward had shot narrowly past and Marc McKenzie had missed a golden opportunity to put the visitors in front. Sixteen minutes were on the clock when Stephen Adam swung over the perfect left wing cross for the unmarked McKenzie. But the wee winger mis-hit his shot back across goal when it seemed easier to score. It was a scorned opportunity that Shire were to regret just three minutes later.
Elgin’s Campbell cracked in a shot from the edge of the box which Robert Tiroupolos did well tip round the post for a corner. From the resulting flag kick, Shire’s nemesis from days gone by, Martin Johnston, best Carl Thywissen to a near post header and the ball flashed into the net. Worse was to follow three minutes later. Dempsie crossed from the left and Campbell sent the lamest of headers in the direction of Tiroupolos but the Shire keeper made a hash of collecting the ball, allowing it to squirm from his grasp into the net.
Given Shire’s selection problems that was as good as game over. But it got worse. Joe Boyle got himself in a fanckle trying the guide the ball back to the keeper and MacKay nipped into the available space to make the interval score 3-0.
There was no way back after that. MacKay should have made it four but his shot hit the bar. Kaczan’s header would had ended up in the net if Steven Learmonth hadn’t cleared off the goalline but Elgin were always going to score more. Johnston headed home his second in 67 minutes, again he was picked out unmarked at the back post. More dodgy keeping from Tiroupolos handed him his hat-trick on full-time.
Shire remain seven points clear of last place Elgin with a game in hand and they know that can be a big gap to close. Boss Gordon Wylde has some of his better players waiting to return. A quick return to form would probably bring Elgin’s elation to a swift end. But any dwelling on what happened at Borough Briggs could have exactly the kind of consequence no-one connect with the club even wants to contemplate.
Elgin City : Renton, Kaczan(Bazie 64), Dempsie, Easton, Dickson, Hind, Campbell, Moffat( Docherty 82), Johnston, Gardiner(Charlesworth 75), MacKay.
Shire : Tiroupolos, Wild, Learmonth, Oates(Livingstone 73), Thywissen, Boyle, McKenzie, Stewart, Ward, Ure, Adam.
Referee : C. MacKay
Atendance : 423.

Elgin City Preview

2006-10-13T20:28:00.000+01:00

According to Shire boss, Gordon Wylde, the rest of the division will be watching events at Borough Briggs tomorrow. And they will be watching for a reason; they will be waiting to find out if Elgin can take their first points of the season. Many are expecting a home win, after a run of ten successive defeats but Wylde says Shire are not going there to be Elgin's fall guys.

Shire will need to be wary and will be without key personnel. Andrew Brand is still recovering from his wrist operation while Andy Smith serves the second of his two game ban after his red card at Montrose. In addition, Paul Tweedie is in Canada attending his cousin's wedding while Steven Dymock will be missing because of work commitments.

There is also a doubt over one or two others, including Mark Molloy, who are suffering from a flu bug. But on the positive side Marc McKenzie is back and is certain to play after sitting out the 2-1 win over Queen's Park because of suspension.

Wylde expects Elgin to be far more adventurous at home than they were at Firs Park. "They scored their goal early and then had a man sent-off and just sat in and we were able to score twice," he said of August's 2-1 win. "But they will want to give their fans something to shout about. After that game they said they were embarrassed to lose to the worst team in Scottish football. Well, now they are the worst team and we don't intend to be their fall guys."

Shire 2 Queen's Park 1

2006-09-30T18:27:00.001+01:00

Weakened they may have been by inhury and suspension but Shire still managed to come up with the goods to claim a welcome three points. The team may not have played much of the free flowing football Gordon Wylde wants, they may have been under the cosh for a good part of the second half and they did have keeper Robert Tiroupolos to thank fore some good saves, but they deserved their win for sheer hard work.

The team was deprived of Andy Smith, Marc McKenzie and Mark Molloy. Stephen Adam and Steven Learmonth played on after last week's knocks, while Stephen Oates was carrying a knee injury and Alan Ward was playing his first match in two months.

Shire certainly didn't make the best of openings and twice the keeper came to their rescue to keep the scoreline blank. The first was a great save from a Steven Canning free-kick, the second a great near post stop from David Weatherston's venomous shot. But on 31 minutes Shire did hit the front.

The visitors disputed the award of a free-kick after a Queens player showed his studs to Alan Ward. Joe Boyle took the kick, slipping the ball to Paul Stewart who rifled in a 20 yarder which deflected off the defensive wall past a wrong-footed Mark Cairns.

Queen's chad plenty of the ball but could not make it tell. The re-organised Shire defence, with Stephen Oates commanding at its heart, easily thwarted the Spiders as they tried to walk the ball into the net in search of the perfect goal.

The Spiders certainly upped the pace at the start of the second period but for all their pretty passing patterns they rarely got a decent ball into the box. That said, Shire were starting to struggle and the blue tide surging towards the home goal was making the Firs Park support morte than a bit edgy. It wasn't by any mean inevitable that Queen's Park would equalise but when they did, after 68 minutes, there was a sense of inevitability about it.

Steven Blair, who had replaced the struggling Gary Wild at the interval, should have cleared the ball but instead simply invited former Shire man Paul Ronald to have a shot at goal. His effort was hopelessly weak but Tiropouolos's effort at saving it was just hopeless, as he let the ball slip under his body into the net.

A betting man may, at that point, have had his money on an away win but it was Shire who started to show more initiative, partly thanks to the introduction of Paul Tweedie for Alan Ward. And that enterprise was rewarded after 76 minutes when Shire re-took the lead. Some good work down the left gave Stewart some room inside the box. He picked out Boyle at the back post who re-directed the ball across goal only for Canning, in attempting to clear for a corner, to head spectacularly into his own net. Shire had more chances to add to the lead and both Stewart and Tweedie came close, but a 2-1 advantage turned out to be enough.

Shire : Tiroupolos, Wild(Blair 46), Learmonth, Thywissen, Oates, Boyle, Ward(Tweedie 62), Stewart, Ure(Livingstone 77), Dymock, Adam.

Queen's Park : Cairns, Paton, Dunlop, Reilly, Ronald, Canning, Kettlewell, Quinn(Bowers 86), Dunn(Trouten 62), Weatherston, Ferry.

Referee : C. Charleston

Attendance : 354.

Queen's Park Preview

2006-09-29T20:04:00.000+01:00

Some late fitness tests will determine the Shire team to face Queen's Park tomorrow (Saturday). We know for sure neither Marc McKenzie or Andy Smith will play, both are suspended after being sent-off at Montrose last weekend. Added to the list of absentees is Mark Molloy who has flu.

Physio Iain MacIver is still working with four other players who are struggling with injuries. Steven Learmonth and Stephen Adam were both hurt at Links Park. Learmonth has not trained this week but will be given a fitness test on Saturday morning, while Adam's elbow injury, although not as bad as first feared could still sideline him. Paul Tweedie and Stephen Oates are also receiving treatment and neither can be sure of shaking off their injuries until last-minute checks are done.

It seems certain Scott Livingstone will be brought in as cover for Smith, while McKenzie's midfield berth is likely to go to Steven Blair. If Oates fails to make it Gary Wild will cover while Alan Ward could fill Tweedie's position if need be.

Shire will be looking for revenge after losing 5-0 to the Spiders in the Challenge Cup at Firs Park in August, but the visitors will be inspired by last week's 3-0 win over league leaders East Fife. They will add Damiano Agostini to an otherwise unchanged squad.

Injury Update

2006-09-27T20:03:00.000+01:00

There is more hopeful news ahead of the Queen's Park game on Saturday. Shire are hoping both Steven Learmonth and Stephen Adam will be fit to play. It was feared Adam had broken his elbow after falling awkwardly eight seconds into Saturday's 1-0 defeat against Montrose. But it now appears to be a case of bad bruising. He has not required any hospital treatment so far and physion Iain MacIver will assess the situation tomorrow (Thursday) when the players meet up for training.

Learmonth's leg injury will, it is hoped, respond to rest. It was described as an "impact injury" by MacIver after the Links Park defeat and he was optimistic the ex-Alloa defender would have shaken the effects off in time to face the Spiders.

There are no other injury worries among the rest of the squad, apart from what boss Gordon Wylde described as "the usual bumps and grinds". He cancelled training on Tuesday to give everyone some rest, but will put the squad through their paces on Thursday, when the shape of the team to face Queen's Park will be worked on.

Montrose 1 Shire 0

2006-09-23T19:57:00.000+01:00

Shire are to make an official protest to the SFA over the performance of referee Colin Brown, who sent two Firs Park players off in the 1-0 defeat at Links Park.
Brown’s afternoon could at best be described as erratic before he produced a red card for Andy Smith nine minutes from full-time for as harmless looking foul. But he enraged Shire by dismissing Marc McKenzie in injury-time. The winger, justifiably, believed he had won a corner and Shire’s last chance to equalise Andy Rogers’ 80th minute goal.
But, to his annoyance, the referee awarded a goal kick. The Shire winger was booked for spiking the ball in frustration, but moments later was shown a red card. Club officials afterwards confirmed his dismissal was for using, “foul and abusive language.”
There could also be big trouble for Smith. He was called into the referee’s room after the final whistle and shown a SECOND red card, again for swearing at the referee. Both players protested their innocence, but could face long bans, especially Smith who already has a poor disciplinary record.
But it’s not just suspensions which will hurt Shire. Injuries could also mean a spell on the sidelines for Stephen Adam and Steven Learmonth. The former Livingston winger landed awkwardly on his elbow just EIGHT SECONDS into the match and suffered ligament damage. Learmonth’s problem has been described as an “impact injury” by physio, Iain MacIver and he is expected to make a speedy recovery.
There was no hiding Shire’s disappointment at failing to take at least a draw from the game. They were the better side, but failed to turn that superiority into goals. Despite having a stonewall penalty denied and striking the woodwork through McKenzie’s free-kick their hard work went for nothing simply because of a moment of madness from keeper, Robert Tiroupolos.
The Firs Park custodian should have allowed Carl Thywissen to clear a long, high ball. Instead he called to take it but couldn’t. He then tried to boot the ball upfield but it clattered off the Norwegian centre-half right into the path of Rodgers who rolled it into the unguarded net.
Any chance of a Shire comeback ended a minute later when Smith received his second yellow card for a 50-50 challenge in which he was every bit sinned against as sinner.
Shire’s day of woe started straight from kick-off when Adam jumped for a high ball and landed heavily on his arm. He tried to continue but was eventally replaced by Derek Ure.
Paul Tweedie flashed a shot wide of the post and Joe Boyle and Steven Learmonth tried long-range efforts which were just a fraction too high. Montrose failed to force Tiroupolos into a single first half save. Shire should have had a penalty on the stroke of half-time when Boyle was poleaxed by Higgins, but the referee waved play on.
Learmonth’s leg knock meant he failed to appear after the break, replaced during the interval by Steven Dymock. Shire’s domination continued and after Montrose keeper, Andy Reid had been penalised for handling the ball outside the box, McKenzie cracked the resulting free-kick against the keeper’s left-hand post.
Shire simply never saw Montrose as an attacking force until the closing few minutes. Michie had a shot which Tiropoulos saved easily and moments later the Shire man was again in action saving a Rodger’s effort from the edge of the box.. There was, at that point, no hint that Shire would leave Links Park with anything less than a point.
Montrose : Reid, Stewart(Adam 56), Stirling, Higgins, McLeod, Donachie, Henslee, Kerrigan(Napier 10), Rodgers, Michie, Davidson(Cumming 59)
Shire : Tiroupolos, Smith, Learmonth(Dymock 46), Thywissen, Oates, Boyle, McKenzie, Stewart, Tweedie, Molloy(Wild 78), Adam(Ure 19).
Referee : Colin Brown
Attendance : 280.

McKenzie Young Player Of The Month

2006-09-21T22:01:00.000+01:00

Hat-trick hero Marc McKenzie's picked up the SFL's first Young Player of the Month awardfor the 206/07 season. It's recognition for his fine performances for Shire, especialy the hat-trick he scored in the 5-0 defeat against Stenhousemuir.
But the accolade is also recognition from the wider football community that Shire are getting better. Two wind and a draw from seven matches represents Shire's best start in years.

Wylde Upbeat After Bounce Game

2006-09-21T21:54:00.000+01:00

Tuesday's closed door match with Morton has given Shire boss, Gordon Wylde, something to think about when he sits down to pick his team for the trip to Montrose. There were one of two decent performances from certain members of the team. The Shire side was a mixture of regulars and fringe players alongside Australian trialist David Dodd. The team went 2-0 down to goals inside the first ten minutes but recovered and, thanks to strikes from Steven Dymock and Joe Boyle, were level at the interval.

Morton included a few first team squad members but they by no means had it all their own way. In the end a fine piece of individal skill eight minutes from the end from one of their substitutes sealed a 3-2 Morton victory.

Shire : Nugent, Livingstone, Learmonth, Trialist, Oates(Adam 46), Blair, Stewart, Boyle, Ward, Dymock, Ure.