EAST FIFE 3 SHIRE 1

The opening day of the 2007/08 season failed to bring Shire any joy but the team will at least be able to say that the line which divided success from failure was a very thin one at New Bayview.

Joe Savage had equalised Steven Nicholas's opener for the Methil team and the Firs Parkers looked set fair to take at least a draw from the match when the old Shire rough luck made an unwelcome appearance.

There seemed little in a centre circle challenge involving visiting substitute Kevin Struthers and a home defender. Despite this ref John McKendrick awarded a free-kick which was hit long and deliberately into the Shire lef-back area.

Deliberately because Shire full-back Kevin McBride was off the pitch at the time receiving treatment, leaving the visitors down to ten men and short of defensive cover.

The result, given the old Shire luck, was inevitable. Grieg McDonald, despite being forced wide by Shire keeper, Darren Hill, still somehow managed to squeese his shot over the line.

A goal behind with less than a quarter of an hour to play and Shire's prospects of taking something, which were reasonably high until that point, seemed to evapourate.

Paul Stewart added a third with four minutes remaining and that served only to make Shire's disappointment all the more severe; they left New Bayview not only convinced that there was never two goals between the teams but that they should not have lost at all.

There had certainly been little to pick between the teams for the first 77 minutes. Shire could claim to have had the better chances in a first half of low quality football.

Savage in particular could have got hteir season off to a flying start with a shot after just five minutes which flew across the face of Willie McCulloch's goal and wide.

Two minutes later a cross-cum-shot from Marc McKenzie rattled the top of McCulloch's crossbar with the keeper looking far from comfortable.

But Shire really ought to have taken the lead on 16 minutes when Savage sent skipper Andrew Brand clean through. The club captain later admitted he should have done far better than hit the keeper's legs with his shot.

East Fife were held at arms length , altough Steven Tweed did send a free header from Douglas Cameron's corner over when well-placed and, on the stroke of half-time, Brand blocked a netbound effort from Nicholas.

Barely a minute into the second period some poor marking allowed McDonald to get a cross in which Nicholas fired into the net despite Kevin McBride's effort to keep the ball out.

Minutes later Cameron could have made it 2-0 but his effort went narrowly over.

On 58 minutes Shire brought the game level. A long ball from Carl Thywissen released Savage in behind the East Fife defence and he raced away from the lumbering Tweed to send an unstoppable shot past the keeper.

The advanture seemed to leave both teams after that. As things wore on there was a real sense they would simply let the game drift. Until a decision to award East Fife a 76th minute free-kick changed everything.

Stewart, as many Shire folk feared, had the last laugh. The ex-Firs Parker hit one of those shots that either ends up out the ground or in the back of the net. Typically, for him it was the latter.

EAST FIFE : McCulloch, Guy(McDonald 13), Fotheringham, Smart, Tweed, Young, Blackadder(Walker 88), Stewart, O'Reilly(Gordon 88), Nicholas, Cameron.

SHIRE : Hill, Doyle, K. McBride, King, Thywissen, Kelly, McKenzie, Brand, Savage, McLaren(Struthers 66), Ure(Moffat 74).

REFEREE : John McKendrick.

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