ALBION ROVERS 0 SHIRE 2

It certainly wasn’t the silky Shire of the previous Saturday, but it was three valuable points nevertheless.

The team showed a different set of qualities to maintain their great run of form, battling hard and defending in depth on a gluepot of a pitch at Cliftonhill.

And by giving nothing away Shire laid solid foundations for a victory which took them into second place in the league table. Goals from Brian Graham, his 14th of the season, and Paul Hay proved adequate to ease past a Rovers side who gave the team plenty of problems throughout a hard-fought 90 minutes.

Shire boss Jim McInally pulled a surprise before kick-off by naming the same starting eleven that had beaten Stenhousemuir so convincingly. Andy Rodgers, who had recovered from his hamstring problem, had to make do with a place on the substitutes bench.

And the same personnel lined up in exactly the same 3-5-2 as they had against the Warriors with Paul Hay playing in the right wing-back role and Jamie Stevenson paired up front with Brian Graham. Eddie Forrest, Michael Bolochoweckyj and Craig Tully picked up the Rovers front two.

McInally warned before the game that a trip to Cliftonhill was fraught with potential danger and he was proved right as Ciaran Donnelly was first to test Mark Peat with a shot from 30 yards that the visiting keeper did well to hold onto. And Rovers will feel as though they should have taken the lead after 17 minutes.

Marc Pollock was played clean through in the inside-right channel and his angled drive had to be turned round the post by Peat at full-stretch.

Shire had not shown much in the opening quarter as the midfield struggled to get the ball through to the front pair. The first time David Scott in the Rovers goal touched the ball came after 20 minutes when he grabbed Paul Weaver’s deflected effort at his near post.

But, as is often the case, the visitors scored just five minutes later. Graham picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and, with nothing else on, hit a low drive which beat Scott just inside his right-hand post.

That lit up Shire’s night and it might have been 2-0 when Sean Anderson crossed for Graham, who hit a shot on the turn that looked netbound until it was deflected for a fruitless corner. After 31 minutes a great one-two between Stevenson and Graham on the right hand edge of the box set up Graham but Scott pulled off a decent save.

Rovers had their chances too and Callan Adam’s shot  from wide on the right was spooned out for a corner by Forrest at the near post.

On the 40 minute mark there was another chance for Shire after Rovers defender Mark McGowan almost sliced a Stevenson left-wing cross into his own net but the ball went just wide.

In injury-time at the end of the first half Graham tried to weave his way past three Rovers defenders, and although is progress was halted on the 18 yard line the loose ball broke to Paul Hay who hit it first time past the despairing dive of Scott.

After 57 minutes Shire were presented with a great chance to make it 3-0 when Danny Ferry was judged to have passed the ball back to Scott. Graham took the free-kick from seven yards but couldn’t get it past the eleven Rovers players blocking the goal. Craig Donaldson picked up the rebound but his shot from inside the box cracked off the post and wide.

Rovers had by far and away the best of possession but they couldn’t turn it into any chances of note. Peat was rarely troubled though that was in part down to the protection he was given especially by Tully and Forrest who repeatedly blocked shots from the edge of the box.

Stevenson went off to be replaced by Marc McKenzie and after 68 minutes he might have scored the third after receiving a great pass from Weaver. The winger cut in from the left wing and hit a curling drive which was well saved by Scott.

Dean Richardson was the next Shire substitute to make an appearance and he enlivened proceedings with a great mazy run from midfield which left a trail of Rovers player in his wake. Deano’s shot was powerful enough but was well beaten away to safety by the Rovers’ keeper.

The best the home team could manage in the last few minutes was a McGowan shot from the edge of the box that went across the face of Peat’s goal and wide.

ALBION ROVERS : Scott, Reid(Ferry 52), Fleming, Adam(Crozier 67), McGowan, R. Walker, Harris(Archdeacon 70), Donnelly, Harty, Andreoni, Pollock.

SHIRE  : Peat, Hay, Forrest, Tully, Bolochoweckyj, Weaver, Donaldson(Richardson 70), Stevenson(McKenzie 61), Graham, Ure, Anderson(Dunn 85).

REFEREE : S. O’Reilly.

ATTENDANCE : 420.