Vale of Leithen 0 East Stirlingshire 3: Ure hails excellent side

East Stirlingshire boss Derek Ure hailed his side’s “excellent” performance as they swept Vale of Leithen aside in a 3-0 victory at Victoria Park on Saturday.
Derek Ure. Pics by Alan MurrayDerek Ure. Pics by Alan Murray
Derek Ure. Pics by Alan Murray

Shire were desperate to bounce back having lost 4-3 to Civil Service Strollers last weekend but a visit to Innerleithen posed a major test against a Vale side who had edged a thrilling encounter at Falkirk Stadium earlier this season.

However, any memories of that victory were quickly extinguished when David McCaughie side footed his side into an early lead.

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McCaughie’s goal initiated a Shire onslaught as they sought to extend their advantage against a visibly shaken Vale side. However, profligate finishing from Allum, Steven Brisbane and Paul McCafferty denied the away side a vital cushion.

Connor Greene ensured there would be no surprise Vale equaliser, however, when he nodded Scott Gray’s excellent corner into the back of the net. Vale were lucky not to go into half time 3-0 down when Steven Brisbane failed to hit the target after some fine work on the wing by McCafferty.

While Shire’s impressive intensity carried on after the interval, so did their wastefulness.

However, Greene showed his misfiring teammates how it’s done by grabbing his second and Shire’s third of the afternoon when he poked in another Gray corner to put the result beyond doubt. Liam Allison’s sending off late on may have taken some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display, but it did little to affect the result.

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Shire remain in sixth position but Ure insists his side still have lots to play for. He said: “We’ve still got the league cup to look at which I really want to win, and I think that would be massive. The boys are playing for places for that but ultimately every game of football you want to win.

“It’s about personal pride and finishing as high up the table as we can because the position that we are in now isn’t the position we should or want to be in, so we need to show that on the park by winning games.”

Ure added: “Next week will be a very similar game at Whitehill and then we’ve got Spartans and BSC which are the type of games the boys will want to play in, the bigger games. Hopefully, we can go and finish the season on a high note, that’s really the aim.”

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