I was at a local new year derby when Shire and Falkirk FC were playing. This was back a wee while when they were both in the 2nd Division. For half time entertainment there was a local schoolboy's game held, well the teams came out after their half time pep talk and cup of Bovril. The Referee looked at his watch and obviously was not going to be dragged of till these kids had the full time that was allotted to them. 10mins(?) So we had the crowd and 22 players watching this kids game, and their was a hush around the ground when a voice called out to the players on the sideline "A hope yer watching". Even the players had to smirk in discomfort.
My day out at Firs Park.... By Rob Garforth! EAST STIRLINGSHIRE 0 BERWICK RANGERS 1 SATURDAY 22ND APRIL 2006
Having adopted the 'Shire as one of our favourite teams, myself and a workmate (Graham) always said that we would one day go and watch them. And on Saturday 22nd April 2006, we did just that for the last home game of the 2005/06 season. Having been collected by taxi at 3.30am, the pair of us were driven to Gatwick Airport to catch the 6.30am flight to Edinburgh. Once landed, we hired a car and drove about to look at some other grounds first. In Coatbridge, the Albion Rovers groundsman came over to us for a chat. We expected a broad Scottish accent but instead he came from Gillingham! He tried to convince us to watch Albion v Montrose instead but to no avail, it had to be Firs Park. I had bought a 'Shire shirt through the post some months earlier and put it on when we parked the car. Walking towards the ground, a car driving past sounded it's horn and as we turned round, we were greeted by the sight of a husband and wife both sticking two fingers up at us! Charming I must say (Falkirk fans perhaps?). Arriving at Firs Park, we arrived at about 2.20pm to find the turnstiles were yet to open. But once inside, we headed straight for the club shop. Inside we were quite bemused to find a Littlehampton Town coffee mug on sale for 1.50! Littlehampton is just up the road from where we live and I know two of their players! (No we did not buy the mug) At the game, it appeared we were not by any means the only English people in the ground (Berwick is in England after all!). We saw a number of guys in white tops talking in Brummie accents. A closer look at their t-shirts read the words "East Stirling Supporters Club - Redditch Branch"! It appears they visit Firs Park twice a year. Members of the Exiles Club? A number of the 246 attendance were noisy Berwick supporters, armed with cheap supermarket toilet roll (which does not travel well when thrown!). They spent much of the first half taking the Michael out of one of the stewards. Before half-time, this particular steward was getting tired of it and very unwisely, pushed at one Berwick fan, which very nearly sparked off a riot - no exaggeration! However, with the intervention of other stewards and some home fans, order was soon restored. In my opinion, the game got better as it went on and East Stirling had chances to score before eventually being beaten 1-0 with a great strike from outside the box with just four minutes left. It was rough justice as a draw would have been much fairer. Goalkeeper Derek Jackson made a number of fine saves but stood no chance with the goal. No. 7 McKenzie impressed me the most out of the outfield players. We enjoyed our visit and will be back for more at some point next season. Maybe that will be the year the 'Shire reach the Promised Land (not finishing bottom!) - UP THE 'SHIRE!!! Memories of The Shire, By Simon Ratchford I have many memories and tales of visits to Firs Park some great wins,
some desperate defeats but usually an enjoyable afternoons
entertainment.
I particularly remember some older ladies that used to travel with
Albion Rovers who from their appearance looked like someones sweet old
nan until the game started when you would hear some of the foulest
language you could imagine. I wonder if they still go and if anyone
else remembers them?
I also remember one occasion probably around 1983-84 when St Johnstone
slipped all the way down to the bottom division and as expected brought
a fairly large travelling support. As a wee boy I used to collect the
ball from behind the goal for the away teams goalkeeper and punt it as
hard as I could back to him!!! On this particular day I collected the
ball and punted it as hard as I could back however miscued my kick so
bad that it shot down do the bottom of the terrace smacking a St
Johnstone fan on the back of the head knocking his hat over the
barrier!!!!! The roar of laughter from the covered terrace is
something I still smile about even now.....
A Trip To The Shire...... By Steve Wilson
Saturday 18th March 2006
The weekend began with a flight to an airport that surely goes against all Trade Descriptions Acts ever published. Quite how anybody can claim that Glasgow Prestwick International Airport is actually in Glasgow defies me. Still, I took the half an hour train journey to get from the airport to Glasgow, having arrived on time, early on Saturday morning. A short walk through Central Glasgow folllowed before the train to Falkirk Grahamston. Now, most trains, when at their terminating station, allow passengers a good few minutes to get off the train. Not this one. No sooner had I got up and retrieved my bag from the overhead compartment had the train doors shut and the train started to head off, presumably to the depot. Cue a dash to press the "Emergency Stop" button so that I could actually get off the train! This was not the only train drama that I would encounter this weekend either.
After a few hours, I found myself for the second time in my life at the entrance to the Holy Grail - Firs Park. I duly paid my entrance and managed to buy a programme this time - I couldn't buy one last time as they had sold out!
The game itself showed a fine battling performance from the Shire against their more illustrious opponents Queen's Park. I was told that the Shire were missing several of their first team players due to injuries and work commitments, so the fans were very pessimistic before the match. However, they dug in, and produced not a beautiful display, but a hard-worked gritty performance. Queen's Park rarely threatened the Shire goal, and on one of the few occasions that they did break through, Derek Jackson pulled off a magnificent save to deny them. There were few chances all the way through the game, but the Shire could have pulled off a fine victory in the last minutes as Marc McKenzie found himself through on goal, but unfortunately his shot was deflected wide for a corner. The game finished goal-less, but it was still a point very well earned from the Shires point of view.
Some people may say I'm crazy for travelling up from London to watch East Stirlingshire get a nil nil draw, but I don't care, this was a valuable nil nil draw for the Shire, which kept their hopes of avoiding the wooden spoon going for another week at least.
