East Stirlingshire v Clyde

Recap

The Bully Wee secured an important away win at a cold Ochilview this afternoon, with second half goals from Stephen O’Donnell and Scott McManus proving to be decisive.

Barry Ferguson made one change to the starting line-up following the Arbroath match, as Mark McLaughlin made his return in a Clyde strip in defence. Fellow veteran Mark Roberts was also named on the bench as a trialist and went on to feature in the latter stages of the contest.

The first half of the match was generally disappointing in terms of quality and featured few chances on goal, but both sides did hit the bar; firstly Scott Ferguson for Clyde with a dipping shot from the edge of the box, before a free-kick led to The Shire hitting the underside of the bar from a header.

Scott Durie also saw his low drive well saved by Richie Barnard shortly before the half-time break.

Early in the second half, The Bully Wee managed to get in front when Ferguson fed O’Donnell and the midfielder found the net with a fine first-time shot with the outside of his foot.

However, only a few minutes later the hosts replied when another free-kick eluded the Clyde defence and the ball was bundled home from close range, with Neil McCabe being credited with the final touch.

East Stirling’s luck appeared to be out when they saw another shot crash off the underside of the bar and bounce down on the line, but McCabe only had himself to blame minutes later when he blazed the ball over from inside the box.

With ten minutes left on the clock, substitute Brian McQueen was able to bring Scott McManus into play and the forward scored with an excellent finish to restore Clyde’s advantage.

The Bully Wee took the second opportunity to hold onto the lead and, in injury time, McManus could have added a third goal but his low shot was blocked by Barnard.