East Stirling News Update
Coach Craig Tully will leave naming his team until late for Saturday’s SPFL Scottish League Two match against Annan Athletic at Ochilview.
Injury and illness may mean changes to the squad which played so well and brought back three valuable points from Montrose last weekend. However, the coaching staff are keen to give everyone a chance to participate.
One player who could win a recall is Steven Brisbane; the midfielder has now completed a two match ban following a red card in a recent under-20 game and at least provides an extra option if required.
The spirit in the Shire camp has been good this week following the 1-0 victory at Montrose which brought to an end a four game losing streak. The reward for following that up with another three points is obvious from a look at the league table, with so many teams bunched together and so little dividing them.
But for Shire to do that they will have to go against the prevailing trend. Annan Athletic have won both matches in the rubber this season although those games were contrasting affairs.
The first, at Ochilview in September, was a game short on chances for either side and was decided by just the one goal which itself came from a free-kick from just outside the box.
The return match at Galabank could not have differed any more. The game itself was decided by which team could turn the gale force wind to their advantage. Annan appeared to have won that hands down when they harnessed the wind power to score three first half goals.
When the teams swapped round Shire came back at Annan, narrowed their lead to just one goal and, if the game had gone on much longer, might have taken something but had to travel home having lost 4-3.
Annan’s recent good progress up the league table has been checked in recent weeks. It looked as though they might be the team to bridge the gap to the top three after a run of just two defeats in nine matches, but go into this weekend’s game having lost their last two.
Shire will take to the pitch in their traditional black and white hoops while Annan Athletic will be recognisable in their established first choice colours of gold jerseys and black shorts.
The match ball sponsors for the game are The Townsend Family and the club is grateful to them for this generous gesture. The match referee is Alan Newlands, admission prices are £5 for adults and £2 concessions and kick-off time is 3:00pm.