Adam Out Of New Year Derby

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.