SHIRE 3 STENHOUSEMUIR 4

Indiscipline and wastefulness in front of goal cost Shire three points in a match even their opponents admitted they should have won.

The turning points of a topst-turvy game were undoubtedly Andy Rodgers' 24th minute penalty miss and Gordon Moffat's 62nd minute red card for a wild tackle on Stenhousemuir's Scott Dalziel.

If Rodgers had scored he would have put Shire 2-1 ahead and that, combined with Sean Simpson's goal four minutes later, might have put Shire out of reach.

By the time Moffat was sent to the stand by referee Steven McLean the score was 2-2 but Shire had the upper hand. Indeed, Joe Savage scored just two minutes later, but Moffat's loss resulted in a real weakening of the defence which, in the final quarter, worked against the team.

Caretaker boss, John Brownlie rung the changes. Back into the team came Andrew Brand, Scott gibb and, for the first time in months, Sean Simpson.

But it all appeared to be to little avail as Stenhousemuir took the lead after just eight minutes. Dalziel fed the ball wide to Ian Harty who crossed low from the right for the unmarked Willie Lyle to tap-in from just a couple of yards.

The Warriors must have thought that goal would set them up nicely, but Shire had other ideas. After ten minutes Joe Savage hit the side net when well-placed and two minutes later the Shire striker forced a decent save from Warriors keeper Ally Brown.

After 17 minutes Shire were back in the game with a sensational equaliser from skipper Andrew Brand. He picked up a loose ball 30 yards from goal, took one look up and then smashed a shot past the despairing dive of Brown high into the keeper's top left-hand corner of the goal.

The goal gave Shire all the confidence they needed to bombard the Stenhousemuir goal.  After 20 minutes Simpson floated a free-kick into the box which Savage headed goalwardsonly to see it strike the post before being cleared to safety.

Four minutes later a darting run from Rodgers into the box ended with him being hauled to the ground by Alan Gilbride. Referee McLean had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot.

Rodgers grabbed the ball himself, desperate to break his Shire scoring duck, but his penalty kick was poor, both high and wde of the target.

If Stenhousemuir thought that was a let-off they were wrong. Savage was fouled 20 yards from goal and somehow Simpson bent the resulting free-kick round the defensive walland into the net past Brown.

Shire's advantage didn't last long, though. On 36 minutes Harty rolled the ball across the face of the home penalty area and Paul Tyrrell blasted it past Gary O'Connor with the aid of a slight deflection.

The first action of the second half should have brought Shire the lead. Rodgers was clean through on goal with only Brown to beat but his shot was weak and, in any case, straight at the Stenhousemuir custodian.

After 62 minutes came the real turning point. Dalziel ran to pick up a loose pass on the left touchline and Moffat went through him with a very late challenge. Thr referee produced the red card and Shire were down to ten men.

But two minutes later the ten men were 3-2 ahead. A lovely bit of skill from Savage saw him dance past two bemused Warriors defenders before unleashing a superb shot from the edge of the box that left Brown beaten.

Shire threw on Gary Kelly for Sean Simpson in a bid to batten down the hatches but Stenhousemuir responded like the team desperate for points to maintain a play-off hope.

The home side were dong well to withstand the growing pressure until a mistake by O'Connor gave Stenhousemuir and equaliser on 77 minutes. The big keeper came to collect a cross at the edge of the six yard box but he was beaten to the ball by Warriors substitute Ross Hamilton, who headed into an empty net.

By the closing few minutes Shire were hanging on doggedly but a piece of skill by Harty four minutes from the end proved decisive. He collected the ball 20 yards from goal, turned David King inside out before unleashing a low curling drive that hit the inside of the post and crawled over the line.

Shire : O'Connor, Moffat, King, Gibb, Thywissen, Brownlie(Donaldson 84), Simpson(Kelly 65), Brand, Savage, Rodgers(McKenzie 70), Ure.

Stenhousemuir : Brown, McEwan, Dillon(Gibson 70), Gilbride, Mailey(Hamilton 46), McCulloch, Lyle, Tyrrell, Dalziel(Hampshire 82), Harty, McLaughlin.

Referee : S. McLean.

Attendance : 369.