retired_destiny1124

1.10.05
East Stirling (3) East Fife (0)
It was interesting to see us return the favor as we handed 1st place East Fife their first loss in over a month, thanks to a fully focused match. After having lost to them 3-0, they were certainly the favorites according to the oddsmakers, but we kept them from exploiting our backline like they did in the first match. We took full advantage of our opportunities in this one, and Mark Batty gave us the lead going to the dressing room with his 1st goal for us when he scorched in a 25 yarder after a hurried clearing attempt from Euan Donaldson went right to him and left him with an open net. James Flood had caused the opportunity as he had forced Scott Morrison to make a difficult save. We played conservatively with the lead to start the second half. That paid off early when Stuart McGrady was in the right place to score his 1st goal for us as he looped a shot past Morrison after collecting a loose ball just inside the edge of the area. Dave McEwen capped off the scoring for us with his 1st goal at East Stirling. McEwen, who was filling the unfamiliar role of leftwing for the tiring McGrady, scored bizarrely when his centering pass caught Morrison leaning the wrong way and unable to react as the mishit ball dropped behind him. We have just went through a tough stretch of three difficult matches with fine results and I am pretty proud of the boys effort down this stretch. We now face three road matches in a row and will have to keep playing well if we want to get any results from them.

retired_destiny1124

15.10.05
Elgin (0) East Stirling (0)
We showed little of the assertive offensive play that had been the hallmark of our last three wins. Instead we continually bobbled short passes and didn't make the best of our opportunities. Steven van der Deyl earned MOM honours when he earned us at least a point by making a terrific one-on-one save against Mark Shirley in second half injury time. They also had a few lucky breaks and it was heartbreaking to see us lose what appeared to be a certain goal when Steve McDonald pushed a rebound at the open net, only to see Lee Marshall slide and clear it off the goal line at the last moment. We had earned at least a draw, but if the execution had been there it could have been a win. Dave McEwen suffered a badly broken foot toward the end of the match and will miss 3-5 months recovering from it- another bad blow for us to lose a player of his caliber.

retired_destiny1124

22.10.05
Montrose (1) East Stirling (1)
We managed to fight back to earn a 1-1 draw with Montrose after yielding an early goal to them. The match featured a flurry of yellow cards and we were forced to eventually play for the draw when Carl Laurie earned his 2nd yellow card at 88 minutes. They had struck early for the lead when Stewart Bertram had slipped in unmarked and knocked in a rebound after Aaron Gillespie couldn't hold Tate Hulbert's sharp shot. We scored our equalizer about 5 minutes later when Steve McDonald drilled a ball into the open net after Graham McWilliam headed down for him off a corner. Neither side really had great chances after that, but Matt Hodgson and Gillespie were solid in keeping the score locked at 1-1. Funnily enough, both those keepers had to leave with injuries. Ally Graham, on for Derek Ure, wasted our best chance when he never got a shot off after being put free on a through ball from Danny Black. It was a fair result in a match where we were slightly outplayed.

retired_destiny1124

29.10.05
Berwick (0) East Stirling (1)
Struggling Berwick got no favors from us as we used a first half goal and a strong defensive effort to smother them in an important 1-0 win at Shielfield Park. The lone goal of the match came from Steve McDonald as he scored his 5th of the season with a nice shot inside the right post after a good pass from James Flood set him up nicely. Danny Black earned MOM honours for leading our backline in a determined effort in support of Steven van der Deyl's clean sheet. With both Flood and Kenny McLean removed from the lineup at halftime due to niggling injuries, Iain Diack had a chance to show his abilities. Diack got free twice, but saw Stephen Mason come up with big stops both times to keep his club in the match. van der Deyl made a superb save in the closing moments when he pushed Kevin Haynes rising shot over the bar to preserve the win. Unfortunately, Kevin Howe strained his hamstring again and will miss at least a couple weeks, James Flood pulled his groin and should be out 3 weeks at minimum and Kenny McLean may miss a week or two with a badly bruised head- all of which put a strain on the club's depth.

retired_destiny1124

5.11.05
East Stirling (0) Cowdenbeath (1)
It was a bad time for us to run into the hottest club in the 3rd Division. Without James Flood, Kenny McLean and Kevin Howe we had a tough time generating offense against their determined defense. The first half was a see-saw as both sides battled in the midfield to control the flow of play. Cowdenbeath had the better chances as their play was more exact than ours, but David Hay had to be sharp in their net to stop Steve McDonald on our lone good chance. We were a bit gutted when they scored a fluke goal at the end of the half. Paul Black sent a centering pass toward the net and the win gusted and carried it over Steven van der Deyl for what would be the lone goal in the match. The second half saw us desperately trying to rally, but they were efficient in their defense. McDonald had a great chance to even it in injury time, but Hay's terrific save earned him MOM honours and us a disappointing 1-0 loss.

retired_destiny1124

19.11.05
East Stirling (7) Stirling (2) Scottish Cup 1st Round
We were given little chance in our derby matchup in the 1st round of the Scottish Cup. Stirling appeared a much stronger side and I knew going in that I wasn't helping our cause by taking this match as a chance to rest several regulars. Instead the improbable happened. It was a quick start to the match for us and Iain Diack gave us the lead at 15 minutes with a nicely directed half-volley. The elation didn't last long as Andy Brand earned a 2nd yellow card at 25 minutes and we seemed up against it. I didn't want to sub on a player at this early juncture, so I asked Derek Ure to play out of position on the right wing. That move seemed to befuddle our rivals and Ure setup Diack nicely to chip his 2nd goal of the match past Myles Hogarth. Less than two minutes later, Ure added to the total when he snapped home a rebound. Stirling seemed to recover a little life when John Paul McBride quickly answered Ure's goal with a free kick goal past Derek Jackson (making his 1st Senior side appearance). We quickly turned the tables on them and Ure whistled in a 20 yard shot past Hogarth to make it 4-1 at halftime. With only 10 men, we emphasized slow buildups in our dressing room talk and discussed that they would come after us to start the half. We just couldn't keep a handle on McBride and he scored his 2nd of the match as they started surging forward. Their hopes diminished just as quickly as we marched down the pitch and Diack finished off his hat-trick when 17 year old winger Gordon Rae (Note- Grey player signed to contract) headed down for him. Diack then stunned them with his 4th goal of the match as he was in the right place to pick up the ball when Hogarth mishandled a backpass. A long goal kick that got past Andy Brand was just right for Diack to run onto and fire past Hogarth to cap an amazing 5 goal match and MOM honours. The Board and our fans were delighted with how we manhandled our derby opponent. I remain completely amazed that our second line players- playing with only 10 men through 2/3 of the match- were able to destroy them like this.

retired_emsta12

Boo! My local side (Stirling) lose. A closer derby match would actually be East Stirlingshire v Falkirk, as both have grounds in Falkirk.

Just for future reference

Happy New Year Faramir!

retired_destiny1124

Simply- yes, I actually know that the true derby rivals for East Stirling are Stenhousemuir and Falkirk But the game insists that Stirling is also a derby rival in game commentary- so I treat it as such in the story

Happy New Year to you and any who happen to follow along on my stories- all the best

***

23.11.05
Albion Rovers (3) East Stirling (3)
It was a huge disappointment for us to walk away with the draw, but at least part of it was my fault. We took a 3-0 lead in the match as we rode the hot hand of Iain Diack in the first half. Despite not being fully fit, I wanted him in there and it paid off with him scoring a nice brace- the first when he deflected a cross from Stuart McGrady and the second after a nice pass from Steve McDonald. Those two gave Diack an amazing 7 goals in 1-1/2 matches and he became our top scorer with 8 goals. We jumped ahead 3-0 early in the second half when Ally Graham, on for Diack, picked out McDonald and he blasted a volley past Nick Baxter. We crumbled after that. I knew McGrady might run into fitness problems, and he did, but I had failed to properly address that on the bench and it cost us dearly. Phil Creaney, playing out of position, handed them their first goal- and the momentum- with a terrible pass. Chris Robertson then repeated that scenario less than 3 minutes later with an awful clearing pass. They capped their fightback with a harmless appearing shot that Steven van der Deyl misplayed into a goal. We wanted the win and tried for it, but Ross O'Donoghue was inches wide on a golden chance and then Kenny McLean's header drifted wide of the post and we were left with quiet trip home.

retired_destiny1124

26.11.05
East Stirling (2) Stenhousemuir (0)
We rebounded from the midweek falter to hand 1st place Stenhousemuir a stinging 2-0 loss at Firs Park in their derby matchup. From the opening whistle we played well, though it did take us some time to find an offensive rythym. We welcomed back James Flood from injury and he gave us the early lead with a well placed shot past Chris Fahey after Derek Ure picked him out with a good pass. It was even better to head to the dressing room with a 2-0 lead after Mick O'Brien deflected a Danny Black corner past Fahey. The second half was spent in a more conservative approach and Steven van der Deyl deserved his clean sheet as he made a difficult save on Frankie Carroll midway through the second half to blunt the visitors rally attempt. Injury claimed Gordon Rae for the next three weeks and I have to hope that Kevin Howe's health continues to rapidly improve, as we are very short of depth on our wings at present.

retired_destiny1124

3.12.05
East Stirling (1) Queens Park (1)
Queens Park was very ready for us this time and we spent the first half on our backheels, as they took the play to us while causing us many problems in trying to get our offense going. We were fortunate to be even with them at 1-1 at halftime. They took the lead when cagey Mike Sheron exploited Graham McWilliam's inexperience to gain enough space to snap a shot past Steven van der Deyl. They gifted us the equalizer as a terrible backpass from Chris Batey allowed Steve McDonald enough time to swoop in and hammer it past Nathan Freeman. Freeman earned his MOM honours in the second half though, as we came out of our funk and played much better on the ball. Freeman stopped both James Flood and McDonald on good chances and also tipped a rising shot from Mark Batty over the crossbar to help his side earn a point at Firs Park.