ANNAN ATHLETIC 1 SHIRE 0

Shire have no-one but themselves to blame for their second round ALBA Challenge Cup exit at the hands of Annan Athletic.

As had happened just four days earlier in the league, there was little to separate the teams in a goalless, and almost chanceless, first half. But after the break it was Shire who came to the fore. The big difference from the weekend, though, was a failure to take any of a number of great opportunities to win the match.

And, as sometimes happens, that failure ended in a sucker punch when Peter Watson headed home from six yards to secure the win for Annan in the second minute of injury-time at the end of the regulation hour and a half. 

As expected, Shire restored Michael Bolochoweckyj and Jamie Stevenson to the team after missing out on Saturday’s 1-0 league win at Galabank.

David Dunn and Craig Tully were the players to make way. Andy Rodgers was ruled out of the team after being struck down with a stomach bug around two hours before kick-off and his place went to Marc McKenzie.

The game started in a torrential downpour and neither side adapted well to the slippery conditions. It all made for an uneventful first fifteen minutes and neither goalkeeper had so much as a touch of the ball in that time.

Annan full-back John McBeth cracked a cross-cum-shot wide of Barclay’s post and then the Shire keeper had his fingertips stung by a close-range shot from David Cox.

In response, Shire freed McKenzie down the left but his cross found no takers while both Stevenson and Dean Richardson had shots from the edge of the box blocked by defenders before keeper Greg Kelly could be called into action.

After 24 minutes a long ball out of defence released McKenzie but his shot from the edge of the six yard box was blocked for a corner. A minute later a foul on Richardson 20 yards from goal gave Stevenson the chance to try his luck but the free-kick was just too high.

Just after the half hour the home team enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure but for all that they couldn’t muster a clear shot on Barclay’s goal and Shire held out.

Shire almost took the lead after 36 minutes. Stevenson’s short corner found Donaldson and his ball into the box deflected off Annan midfielder Chris Jardine, forcing Kelly into a fine one-handed save.

A mistake by David King allowed Cox a clear view of goal from 20 yards and he cracked in a drive that hit off Paul Weaver and out for a corner, despite Annan’s claim that he had handled the ball.

Two minutes after the break a slip by Paul Hay let Lewis Sloan in down the left and his cross found Cox but his effort was blocked by Eddie Forrest at the back post.

After 52 minutes Squib missed a great chance to give Shire the lead when he was played clean through by Stevenson but although his shot was hard and true he was thwarted by a full-length diving save from Kelly.

Nine minutes later the Shire front man had an even better chance to score. A long ball from defence gave McKenzie the chance to beat the offside trap but his attempted lob  from 25 yards wasn’t high enough and Kelly tipped the ball clear.

After 71 minutes Annan had the ball in the back of the net when Scott Anson headed home Sloan’s left-wing cross but he was judged offside. Five minutes after that the visitors missed the best chance of the night.

Stevenson’s delightful through ball sent McKenzie streaking clear of the lumbering Annan defenders and he slipped his shot perfectly past the advancing Kelly but it went just the wrong side of the post.

McGuire then had a netbound shot on the turn blocked for a fruitless corner and a great Stevenson run ended with a ball across the face of goal with no Shire player on hand to tap the ball into the empty net.

The visitors were left exasperated at refereeing decisions that seemed to favour Annan in the final stages.

A number of hotly-contested free-kick decisions around the Shire box seemed to create pressure. And it was from one of those corners that the ball made its way out to Steven Sloan on the right wing who swung over a cross for Watson to rise unchallenged on the six yard line to head past Barclay for the winner.

ANNAN ATHLETIC : Kelly, S. Sloan, McBeth, Watson, Neilson, Gillfillan, Steele, Jardine, Cox, Anson, L. Sloan.

SHIRE : Barclay, Hay, Forrest, Bolochoweckyj(Tully 62), King, Weaver, Donaldson(Elliott 80), Richardson, McGuir(Johnston 80), Stevenson, McKenzie.

REFEREE : T. Robertson

ATTENDANCE : 352.