AlansHotBath

What a league. Congratulations on the cup win anyway.

I wouldn't be shocked if Open Goal Broomhill FC got more people through the door with this, but I also think it would be similar to the Colts, in that it's a) mainly weirdos and b) will taper off once the novelty dies down and people realise the ability to hear some of that fabled Open Goal patter live is not that great at Broadwood.

Some great drama in tonight's big X Match at Ochilview

I can't see any relegated team coming back up any time soon - I think if Shire had a chance it was in the first or second season we were in the league, that window has closed now imo. Eventually, if the pyramid relegation process involves automatic relegation and the quality of the 4th and 5th tiers starts to level out you might see teams moving up and down, but at the current rate that's maybe a decade away at least. Anyway, congratulations to Bonnyrigg on the impending promotion. I thought the tie was going to closer but, barring something incredible on Saturday, this looks like a forgone conclusion now. Glad we won't have to play you again next season.

I'm not sure how a linesman getting offside calls wrong is one team cheating? Unless we paid him off, in which case we should've paid him more

Yeah, really no way to look at the result today as anything but a disappointment. We could've had the game won in the first half and couldn't lift our performance again in the second the way Bo'ness did. I thought the game was still fairly equal in the second half, but those two goals in 5 minutes killed us, and as Bo'ness figured out a way to keep Offerd quiet we had no real attacking threat and no clear way back into the game, especially in the later sections when Bo'ness went into full game management/cheating mode (delete as appropriate depending on your club allegiance).

Well, I am very excited to attend today's big game in the 5th tier, the one everyone is talking about - East Stirlingshire vs Bo'ness United in the LL Cup semi-final. Based on the previous two I'm sure it will be a good game, although I've no idea what result to expect - Bo'ness recent good form has given me cause for concern, but Shire have routinely surprised in big moments this season and are a match for any team in the league on their day.

Calling yourself Open Goal Broomhill FC is somehow worse than just Open Goal FC imo. Anyway, I'm sure I speak for many of us when I say - it will be very funny if Ferry is a shit manager and a club named after his own podcast have to sack him half way through the season.

Results of the fan-voted LL team of the year: Not sure why they have went for a massive squad rather than an 11 plus subs, maybe a concern a smaller group would end up dominated by OF fans voting?

Fair enough then. I'd also completely forgotten about the Open Goal rumours, which I think is what the Broomhill statement is referring to in terms of changes for next season, which may have influenced this decision in some way.

I don't dislike Broomhill in the same way a lot of people on here do, so I'm not concern trolling here - but it does set alarm bells ringing a bit that they had one manager go right before the season started and another right before a semi-final to end the season, especially after the relative consistency of the previous years. Maybe I am reading too much into it.

The Lowland League board has decided that Shire's win over Braves stands despite the extra-time mix-up, so it's Shire-Bo'ness in the semi-final the Saturday after next.

Overall this season, while they maybe don't have the skill or experience of previous squads, this is the most I've enjoyed watching Shire play since the first two seasons in the LL. There's a real fight and desire about them, and I'd rather than watch that and be genuinely beaten by better teams, than go between scudding a terrible Gretna side 9-1 and then give up whenever the going gets tough. Hopefully we can keep the bulk of this squad together for next season, although I'd be surprised if Offord at least isn't on loan at a higher tier. Hopefully we can keep the good vibes going into the cup next week.

Good game, great result, both teams really went for it and, while it was a bit touch and go at times, Shire showed a lot of spirit to score in the last after Berwick leveled around 70 mins. Although he didn't keep a clean sheet I thought Connelly was great, made a brilliant save from a free kick not long after we scored the second and was out to collect every cross. Dean Watson and Connor Greene were also particularly good imo, although there wasn't really a bad performance in there.

Any time I've seen someone from Shire talk about this it's been that we need to finish top 6 after the OF have been taken out, no mention of also scrubbing the points gained against them. Unsurprisingly, there's no word from the league itself - their new social media output is limited to nice match graphics rather than actual news