Their TENTH successive league defeat may have helped bring about a sixth wooden spoon in a row which will, no doubt, mean even less public sympathy.

But you would have to have a heart of stone not to feel sorry for them at Stair Park.

Jim McInally's side were the superior team against promotion-chasing Stranraer from start to finish. They hit the post, they hit the crossbar, they had shots cleared off the line by desperate Stranraer defenders – and that wasn't the half of it.

The goals they conceded, had they been scored in an Old Firm match, would have caused a riot.

Having established a deserved lead through Craig Donaldson, Shire saw it snatched away on 22 minutes when home winger Gregory Tade batted in
Michael Mullen's cross with an outstretched arm.

Despite furious protests from the visitors, referee Steven Nicholls refused to re-consider his decision to award a goal and Shire had to start again. Afterwards, the anger was still palpable.

"The referee and linesman seemed to be the only people on the pitch that didn't see him use his hand," claimed Shire keeper Gary O'Connor.

"But there was no changing his mind, and that's just the kind of luck you get when you are at the bottom of the league."

"It certainly didn't help us," said coach Jim McInally. "If it hadn't been allowed we would still have had the lead and it would have been a very different game.

"I suppose the referee and the linesman were both on the blind side, if you want to see it from their point of view, but I thought he put it in with his hand."

The Frenchman was honest enough to admit he had used his hand, but claimed it was accidental.

However, there was more controversy on 78 minutes when Stranraer broke Shire hearts with another goal of dubious legality.

A long ball dropped out of the sky and when David King went to claim possession he was clearly fouled by Steven McConologue.

The challenge sent the ball skywards again and when it dropped a second time Mullen volleyed spectacularly into the net.

No foul was given, though, and the referee again pointed to the centre spot.

"I felt sorry for the players and the fans, who put so much into the game but got no reward," said McInally.

"But I reminded them that if they were capable of that and were still bottom of the league then they have been selling themselves, and the club, short."

McInally's only hope of avoiding another last place finish is that they find the same form in their remaining matches.

"Realistically we have to win four games to stand a chance," he said.

"It could have been worse, though, because Dumbarton and Forfar only drew."

A draw was the least Shire deserved from a game they dominated.

It may have been a different story if Andy Rodgers had managed to break his scoring duck on three minutes but, despite breaking clear with only the keeper to beat, he fired high over the bar.

Rodgers was genuinely unlucky on seven minutes to see his net-bound near post header brilliantly saved by home keeper Scott Black but, from the resulting corner, Shire took the lead.

Kevin McBride's flag kick gave Andrew Brand a clear header which was hacked off the line but only as far as Donaldson who fired into the net through a ruck of players from just inside the box.

Not long after, a run from Paul McBride saw the striker cut the ball back across the face of goal with no-one to tap-in, and the same player hit the side net when well placed.

In the second period Donaldson released Rodgers who again only had Black to beat but his effort was straight at the keeper, who blocked with his legs.

After 77 minutes Derek Ure's free-kick reached the outstretched boot of Scott Gibb but his effort shaved the outside of the post.

And another Ure free-kick, this time in the third minute of injury-time, took a deflection and hit Black's knees before looping up and hitting the crossbar.

"The ball wouldn't even fall for us inside the box," added McInally. "It was that kind of day."

East Stirlingshire: O'Connor 7, Gibb 7, K. McBride 7 (McKenzie 89, 1), Oates 7, Bolocheweckyj 7, King 7, Donaldson 8, Brand 7, Rodgers 7, P. McBride 7 (Brownlie 71, 3), Ure 8
Not used: McIntyre, Thywissen, Moffat
Booked: None

Referee: Steven Nicholls

STRANRAER 2
Tade 21, Mullen 78

EAST STIRLINGSHIRE 1
Donaldson 8
(HT 1-1)
Attendance: 298