East Stirlingshire seal top-half spot after final day draw with University of Stirling

East Stirlingshire manager Pat Scullion says his side can be happy with a top-half finish in the Scottish Lowland Football League after a difficult start to the campaign (Photo: Michael Gillen)

East Stirlingshire boss Pat Scullion says his side can be pleased with a top-half finish in the Scottish Lowland Football League after overcoming a shocking start to the season.

The Falkirk side found themselves winless after the opening ten outings but they managed to then pick up 33 points in the following 20 outings to climb the table and overtake the likes of local rivals Bo’ness United.

And thanks to Ben Lamont’s leveller last Saturday away to the University of Stirling, the Shire managed to secure a ninth spot and a top-half berth. A 1-1 draw at Forthbank was enough to ensure they weren’t leapfrogged by fellow ex-SPFL foes Cowdenbeath – who won 2-0 at home to Berwick Rangers.

Speaking to the Falkirk Herald, Scullion said: “The game itself on Saturday wasn't a classic by any stretch of my imagination, we scored a good goal, they got a penalty, it would probably be a game that we could probably forget in a few years' time, it wouldn't be a classic.

"But we are so pleased that we’ve managed our objective which was to finish ninth. We thought that goal was doable a few weeks back and we’ve managed to achieve that. And if you had said to the players after ten games of the season that we would finish ninth, I think they'd probably be looking for the closest asylum at my house.

"In some ways I am thinking ‘what if?’ because if we started better we could have been right up there but overall I think it has been a good season. We’ve finished in a better position than last season and it’s the first time in a few years that the club has been in the top-half.”

Stuart Hunter’s Bo’ness United rounded off their campaign with a 3-1 defeat to champions East Kilbride at K Park. Dan Irving grabbed a consolation for the visitors with 15 minutes to go but a John Robertson hat-trick had EK out of sight.

It’s been a tough end to the campaign for the Newtown Park side. They’ve dropped down to 12th in the table after posting a top three finish last term. The BU have lost six on the spin to end the season, with one of those a defeat to EK in the Lowland League Cup final.

Elsewhere, in the East of Scotland League Cup third round, Dunipace exited the competition after a 4-2 defeat away to Hill of Beath Hawthorn. Bo’ness Athletic also lost out 2-0 in extra-time to Dunbar United.