SHIRE GO SECOND

“A great three points,” was how Jim McInally described Shire’s 1-0 victory at Berwick Rangers. The coach was full of praised for his battling team who didn’t get much of a chance to play their trademark flowing football, but who showed plenty of grit and determination.

It may not have been always pretty but that didn’t seem to matter much to the coach, who was full of admiration for the way his team toughed it out.

“We didn’t really create much but I still thought we deserved to win,” said Jim. “Defensively I thought we were great. Bolo had a good game and Eddie was magnificent at the back.

“It wasn’t a great day for football. The weather was poor, it was cold and the pitch wasn’t the best. And let’s not forget this is a hard place to come and win. Berwick have only lost once here all season, it’s their fortress and they use the pitch and the conditions to their benefit.

“So, all in all, it’s been a good day for us, especially with Livingston losing as well.”

And Jim has a warning for the rest of the division; he feels Shire have yet to hit the heights.

“We have now won ten of our sixteen league games and that is a good return given that we haven’t really got into our stride yet. But what we have been able to show is a lot of resilience. We have been able to battle it out in a lot of games and that’s what’s been getting us results.”

And he maintains Shire have the quality in the side who can make the difference, even if they can’t play the flowing football he would like them to.

“The thing is we have players who have the ability to change games. People like Simon Lynch have the class to shine through and he did that today.

“I know he’s been struggling and Simon is often his own worst critic. But I kept telling him to just keep working hard and he will be able to contribute. And he scored a great goal today.”

Simon agreed that it had been a difficult day for him and his striking partner Andy Rodgers. But he paid tribute to the players at the back who held firm late on when Berwick piled forward in search of an equaliser.

“I thought the guys at the back were great,” said the striker. “And Jamie Barclay made a fantastic save right at the end. There weren’t a lot of chances and the pitch was difficult which maybe explains a couple of the misses.

“But I’m delighted with the goal. Things have been hard lately but I always believe that I  can contribute something and, thankfully, I  did that today.”

The win was Shire’s fourth in a row and moves the team into second place, ahead of Berwick. It brings the Borderers six match unbeaten league run to an end. They last lost a Third Division match on October 10th when Andy Rodgers gave Shire a 1-0 victory at Ochilview.

Jim and Simon spoke to shireTV afterwards. You can watch the interviews on shireTV  now.

Highlights of the match are now available on shireTV.