SHIRE 0 ELGIN CITY 0

A goalless draw against one of the teams hoping to be in the end-of-season play-offs might, for a team at the bottom of the table, have seemed like a good result. But, for Shire, it still felt like a defeat.

Fans, management and players alike were left frustrated by a series of blown opportunities at the end of a tense and close-fought match.

Elgin gambled everything on a victory to keep their promotion dream alive, and took so many risks they left the door open for Shire to nip in and steal the points.

Alas, there was no-one in white to show the composure required and a great opportunity to close the gap on both Dumbarton and Forfar Athletic was gone.

Boss Jim McInally made just one change to the starting eleven that won so convincingly against Albion Rovers the previous week, with the fit-again Dean Richardson included at the expense of Craig Doanaldson.

Neither team seemed keen to give much away in the opening period of the match, with Shire sitting deep and their visitors playing an offside trap.

Elgin had the game's first real sight of goal after 10 minutes when Zander Sutherland threaded he ball through to Darren Shallicker but he had shut down by Michael Bolochoweckyj and the chance was gone.

After 16 minutes a great pass from David Nicholls sent Andy Rodgers clean through on goal but his effort was weak and wide of the target. Not long after Rodgers crossed for the unmarked Derek Ure in the middle but his shot was blocked.

Nicholls then sent Scott Gibb clear down the right but, with Rodgers and Ure waiting in the middle, the Ulsterman's cross went straight out of play.

Shire were forced into a change on the stroke of half-time when Richardson went down under what seemed a fairly harmless challenge. He had to leave the field on a stretcher and was replaced by Donaldson.

Just as they had the previous weekend, Shire upped the pace right at the start of the second half and, within a minute, could have been ahead.

Andrew Brand played the ball into the box and, under no pressure, Elgin's David Hind casually headed the ball back to his keeperwho was out of position and the ball trickled agonisingly wide of the target.

Six minutes later Rodgers tried his luck with a dipping volley that came down just too late to creep under the crossbar, but Shire were certainly getting closer.

A Kevin McBride corner was met by a glancing near post header from Rodgers after 57 minutes and the ball streaked across the goalmouth with no Shire player on hand to tap-in what would have been a certain goal.

Four minutes later Rodgers made a lung-bursting run from the halfway line into the Elgin box but he dragged his shot wide.

On 71 minutes Elgin keeper Ally Ridgers fumbled a McBride cross and Derek Ure picked up the pieces only to somehow direct his shot high and wide of the empty net.

Ure almost made amends three minutes after that with a perfect pass for Craig Donaldson but his angled drive was well-held by Ridgers at his near post.

Marc McKenzie replaced Rodgers, who had earlier received a nasty bang on the face, and within a few minutes the wee winger took the ball in behind the Elgin defence but dragged his 18 yards shot narrowly wide of target.

As time began to run out Shire's misses got more glaring. Donaldson was clean through with only Ridgers to beat but sent his shot across goal and wide, and in the third minute of injury time McKenzie looked odds on to score but before he could pull the trigger Hind got back to challenge and the danger was gone.

Shire : O'Connor, Gibb, K. McBride, Oates, Bolochoweckyj, King, Richardson(Donaldson 45), Brand(Black 80), Rodgers(McKenzie 70), Nicholls, Ure.

Elgin City : Ridgers, Niven, Dempsie, Hind, Kaczan(MacKay 59), Gilbert(Ross 82), Sutherland, Campbell, Shallicker, O'Donoghue, Frizzell.

Referee : J. McKendrick

Attendance : 467.