SHIRE 0 ARBROATH 1

A momentary lapse in defence and an inability to break down Arbroath's reargaurd cost Shire at least a share of the spoils at Firs Park.

In truth, there was little to seperate the teams over 90 minutes in a poor quality encounter that will quickly be forgottten by both sets of players and fans.

Shire boss Gordon Wylde, as promised, gave Greig Mitchell his league debut in goal and, in a surprise move, brought in Graham Smith on the right side of midfield ahead of both Marc McKenzie and Craig Donaldson.

A quiet opening period was simply an indication of the dreadful fare that was to be served up by both teams, but after eight minutes Shire created the first real opening.

Kevin McBride swung over a free-kick which Joe Savage got his head to only for the ball to drift harmlessly wide.

Arbroath's Barry Sellars tends to be their danger man and he proved he was in the mood to get on the scoresheet with a long range effort on 13 minutes but that flew harmlessly over Mitchell's crossbar.

It was 16 minutes before either keeper was forced into a save. Again it was Sellars who was the instigator, curling a free-kick from wide on the right towards goal, but Mitchell was more than equal to it, palming the ball over the bar for a corner kick.

A minute later Shire's Andy Rodgers showed Stuart Ferguson a clean pair of heels and raced into the penalty box unmarked but his final shot did not live up to his approach play, although Darren Hill still had to get down quickly to block his effort with his legs.

Sellars continued his solo efort to get the game's opening goal but the Arbroath dangerman's radar was way off with a 25 yarder that flew well over the bar on 19 minutes.

After 24 minutes a good run and cross from Kevin McBride allowed Paul Brownlie to get a header in but there was no real power or direction and the ball drifted harmlessly wide.

It seemed the game was drifting towards stalemate when a long ball out of the Arbroath defence caught Shire napping. They failed to play Alan Brazil offside and the striker raced in on goal to shoot into the net to give the visitors the lead.

At half-time Scott Gibb was replaced by Marc McKenzie with Graham Smith filling in at right-back.

A minute after the re-start there was an indication of more urgency from Shire but Joe Savage's effort from the edge of the box shaved the top of Hill's crossbar.

There followed a turgid passage of play in which Shire simply failed to make any progress and, after 63 minutes, they could have fallen out of the game completely after Brazil broke clear.

However, Shire keeper Mitchell did the right thing  coming out to meet the striker and forcing him wide. Brazil still managed to get the ball to Sellars but his shot was way off target.

After 72 minutes Shire might have been level. Rodgers cleverly created some space for a shot at the edge of the box and curled a drive that smacked against Hill's left-hand post.

Shire grew desperate in the search for an equaliser. But the Arbroath defence stood firm as the pressure grew greater. Their only real scare came on 88 minutes when Shire were awarded a free-kick 20 yards out for handball but Andrew Brand drove the ball over the bar.

Shire : Mitchell, Gibb(McKenzie 46), King, Oates, Thywissen, Brownlie, Smith(Ure 79), Brand, Savage(P. McBride 61), Rodgers, K. McBride.

Arbroath : Hill, McMullan, Ferguson, Raeside, Rattray, Tully, Black,Tosh, Brazil(Scott 77), Sellars, Watson(McBride 58).

Referee : D. Somers

Attendance : 368.

Andy Rodgers challenges Craig Tully for the ball.

Skipper Andrew Brand beats Joe Savage to a header.

Debut boy Graham Smith had an impressive first match.

Photos : Falkirk Herald.

 

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