Reserves Win At Methil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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."