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East Fife we’re bank on the road, this time to take on 4th place Annan Athletic at Galabank. The two teams have met twice already this season, the first time ended in a 2-2 draw and the second, at Bayview, resulting in a 3-1 loss for the Methil men. Last weekend, the Fifer suffered a defeat at the hands of Stranraer who triumphed 3-1 at Bayview.

After the disappointing defeat to Stranraer last weekend, Greig McDonald made 4 changes to the starting eleven. Ryan Schiavone, Liam Newton, Jack Healy and Sam Denham all returning to the starting line-up in place of Stewart Murdoch, was out after carrying a slight knock, Scott Agnew, Taylor Steven and Scott Mercer, who all dropped to the bench. 

The first chance of the game fell to the hosts when a long thrown from Smith found Kilsby in the box but his flicked header who comfortable for Fleming in the East Fife goal.

East Fife’s best chance of the game came in the 22nd minute through a good pattern of play from Millar to Ferguson then Trouten who slid the ball through to Shepherd inside the penalty area, but his effort was saved. 

In the 35th minute, Annan took the lead of the game when a low curling through ball found the on running Chris Johnston 1-on- with Fleming and fires into the back of the net, putting the hosts 1-0 up.

Straight after Annan taking the lead, the Fifers had a chance to hit a quick-fire equaliser when Shepherd won a free kick right on the edge of the area. He took the set play himself and managed to get the up and over the wall but only into the hands of Greg Fleming in the Annan goal.

HALF TIME: Annan Athletic 1-0 East Fife 

2 minutes into the second half, East Fife were reduced to 10-men when Millar received a second yellow card for a foul on Wallace. 

6 minutes after going down to ten, East Fife were handed an ever-greater mountain to climb as Annan doubled their lead, again through Johnston who broke quickly following an East Fife free kick to add his second of the match.

Around the hour mark, Annan were looking to add a third to their tally. The first of a flurry of chances fell to Johnston when he battled his way into the box past and, from a tight angle, his shot was well blocked by Quinn. Another chance shortly after from a clever corner which fell to an Annan player on the edge of the box but his drilled shot flew over the bar. 

With 15 minutes remaining Annan had yet another chance to put the game to bed when Barnes rans into a gap in the defence but he took too long to shoot and Fleming was quickly off his line to block. 

After numerous efforts of trying, the Galabankies finally got the third and final goal when a low driven shot from Docherty bounces off the post, however the ball fell to Kilsby who, with a tap in, signs and seals the three points for the hosts. 

FULL TIME: Annan Athletic 3-0 East Fife 

After another poor performance, East Fife drop to 7th in the league with two teams below having games in hand, bottom of the table Bonnyrigg Rose are currently 6 points behind the Fifers. Next up for the Methil men is a tricky home game against high flying 2nd place Stirling Albion.

Annan Athletic: Fleming, Kilsby, Hooper, Muir, Trialist (Barnes 63’), Lyon (Luissint 73’), Wallace (McCartney 83’), Docherty, Smith (Galloway 73’)

East Fife: Fleming, Steele, Newton, Denham, Quinn, Millar, Trouten, Healy, Ferguson, Schiavone, Shepherd (Walls 55’)

Referee: Chris Fordyce

Attendance: 386

Oli Anderson previews tomorrow’s trip to Galabank

The Standings

Annan Athletic and East Fife sit fourth and fifth respectively, with the Galabankies sitting on 27 points after 21 games, and the Fifers on 26 after the same amount, so they are well and truly in a battle for the playoffs. Unfortunately, the two sides are simultaneously in a survival battle, as there are only 7 points separating 10th to fourth. Perhaps even more worrying for the two sides is that there are multiple games in hand to be played around them, which has the potential to further tighten the league standings.

In Annan’s last 6, they have recorded 11 points to East Fife’s measly 5. In this run, they have recorded 3 huge wins, including a 3-1 win over Fife at Bayview, and a5-1 trouncing of Albion Rovers.

East Fife’s only win in their last 9 came against Elgin City, a fortnight ago, winning 2-1 on the road at Borough Briggs. Our only other points in the last 6 have come from 1-1 and 0-0 draws against Stenhousemuir, and bottom placed Bonnyrigg Rose.

Last Week

The Hosts

Anan hosted Bonnyrigg Rose last week, in a game that was thoroughly one-sided from the off. The Galabankies took their time to get on the score sheet but fired themselves in front after 24 minutes of action, thanks to Aidan Smith. That saw the only goal of the first 45.

The second period brought many more goals for Annan, with front man Goss scoring after 55 minutes, doubling Annan’s lead. It was then made three with 15 still to go, when Max Kilsby got involved in the action. Tommy Goss added the icing onto what was already a rather impressive cake when he scored from the spot to make it 4-0 with ten left on the clock.

The Fife

East Fife were on the receiving end of a 3-1 humbling at the hands of Stranraer last weekend, falling back out of the playoffs once more.

McDonald’s men were completely outclassed by Stranraer’s high press in the second half and at no point looked comfortable in the contest.

Fife started brightly though and were looking the more likely of the two to take the opener, before Aaron Steele was tied up in knots by new Blues signing Aaron Brown, who was adjudged to have been fouled in the box, as the referee pointed to the spot. Josh Walker stepped up, and fired home with an excellent penalty, right in the top corner.

The game was then back and forth, as no side was able to capitalise on the half chances they were creating. East Fife missed two free kicks, with Scott Shepherd firing his effort off of the crossbar. He also missed a fantastic opportunity that he should’ve finished, now making it five months since the front man last had the ball in the net.

On the stroke of half time, East Fife found themselves 2 goals down after an unusual blunder from Scott Mercer saw him miss the ball and play James Hilton through one-on-one with Allan Fleming, and the winger slotted home to give the Blues a much stronger grip on the game.

The visitors came out for the second period with fire in their bellies, playing with an incredibly high press, not allowing East Fife to play any worthwhile football.

Though the one opportunity that did come their way they took. After an hour of play, Steele launched a throw in into the box. There was a scuffle for the first header, and the ball landed perfectly for the aforementioned Mercer, who lashed his shot into the back of the net, mounting an East Fife comeback.

That comeback was short lived however, as Kilmarnock loanee Brown went down to the other end, and instantly restored Stranraer’s two goal lead. He latched onto a cross, unmarked, and slotted home, with what was a goal that manager McDonald deemed “criminal, from an East Fife perspective”.

Squad News

Unfortunately, Skipper Stewart Murdoch picked up an injury last week during the Stranraer game and will miss out this week.

Previous Encounter

The Fifers succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Annan Athletic the last time the two sides met.

Fife started slowly and struggled to get out of the blocks. In this period Annan struck in a move all too easy for the Galabankies, as Tony Wallace beat Mercer to a loose ball and tucked the ball round Allan Fleming.

Annan had the chance to double their lead after the referee controversially pointed to the spot after an altercation between Kieran Millar and Aidan Smith. Allan Fleming became the man of the moment again however, as he guessed the right way and kept Tommy Goss’ penalty out.

This lit a fire under McDonald’s men, as East Fife started playing much better football and settled into a small period of dominance for the remainder of the half creating many chances.

Alan Trouten done the best he could, and along with Shepherd they both held the ball up very well, drawing fouls from Annan’s Benjamin Luissint, who wound up in the book.

While it was not a game to remember for the East Fife backline, it was a moment to remember for young centre half Sam Denham, scoring his first East Fife goal, and just his second senior professional goal, as he bundled the ball over the line from a set piece.

It was clear that the whistle came at the wrong time for the Fifers, who were certainly on the up at the end of the first period. Annan recovered well, and the turning point of the game came at the 51st minute. Healy broke into the box for Fife, but hit his attempt straight at Greg Fleming, the Galabankies then broke down the other end of the park and Tommy Goss finally got his goal.

The game then quietened down, East Fife struggling to make chances and Annan looking comfortable on their lead, but they were able to stretch it with ten minutes to go, well and truly killing the game, when Tony Wallace broke into the box and beat Allan Fleming, to take a two-goal lead. Annan then saw out the game well after a disappointing Fife performance.

Team Colours

East Fife will be clad in their pink away kit for the game this weekend, accompanied by the matching pink socks and black shorts. The man in between the sticks will don the all green goalkeeper kit.

Annan Athletic will wear their home colours of black and gold, with black shorts matching the gold shirt and socks. The Annan keeper will be dressed in blue for the tie.

Match Tickets

East Fife will be housed primarily in Zone 5, with covered seating available in Zone 6. Please find Ticket Prices below:

Adults - £14

Concessions - £10

U12 Free with a paying adult.

NOTE: There will only be 1 cash turnstile available on Saturday, so at the request of Annan, it would be appreciated if supporters could buy their tickets in advance.

Live Stream

Unfortunately for our fans in the UK and Ireland there will be no livestream for the clash this weekend. However, for our global audience, the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass.

Officials

Chris Fordyce will be the on-park referee for the affair this weekend. His two assistants who will run the lines are Colin McAlpine and Sean Duff.

Tickets for our cinch League Two match against Annan Athletic on Saturday 28th January at the Galabank are now on sale and can be purchased here. Annan are encouraging supporters to buy their tickets in advance where possible, however 1 cash gate will be open.

Admission prices

Adults - £14

Adult & Child Under 12 - £14

Concessions - £10

Concessions & Child Under 16 - £10

East Fife supporters should purchase tickets in zone 5 with seating available in zone 6.

There is no live stream available for viewers within the UK & Ireland this weekend, however overseas supporters can watch the match via East Fife TV with a monthly or season pass.

A second home game in a row saw Stranraer make the trip up to Bayview in a rearranged encounter originally scheduled for December. Last week East Fife battled out a 1-1 draw against Stenhousemuir and the Fifers were looking to continue a solid start to 2023 with a home win versus Stranraer. The hopes were high as Stranraer were in poor form and winless away from home all season. The previous time the Methil men met the blues was an away fixture which 2-2 after a late Jack Healy wonder goal.

One change was made to the starting eleven as Scott Agnew made his first start since resigning with Liam Newton dropping to the bench.

East Fife had a chance to take the lead after 3 minutes when Stewart Murdoch attempted to recreate his wonder strike from Elgin City a few weeks ago. His shot was stopped by O’Connor in the Stranraer goal but only pushed out to Alex Ferguson a few yards out however the offside flag quickly raised. 

On the 14th minute Stranraer won a penalty kick when Aaron Steele was adjudged to have brought down Aaron Brown down inside the penalty area. Despite Allan Fleming guessing the right way, Josh Walker’s penalty is near unstoppable and as he fires into the top corner of the net.

Stranraer were now in the ascendancy and the Southern side had a chance to double their lead when Hilton sent a quickly drilled ball into Brown whose effort is incredibly saved by Fleming and out for a corner. 

East Fife’s best chance of the half came on the 29th minute when a close-range free kick taken by Scott Shepherd came crashing back off the crossbar, inches away from levelling the game. 

Five minutes later Shepard had another golden chance to equalise the game. Taylor Steven on the right-side outstretched finds Scott Shepard in the box, who wrstles the ball away from the defender and gets into a clear scoring opportunity however his poke at goal is narrowly wide of the post. 

With five minutes left of the half Stranraer doubled their lead when a hopeful ball through to Hilton should’ve easily been cleared by Mercer however, he fails to control the ball and it puts Hilton through on goal and into a 1-on-1 with Fleming to slots home at the near post.

HALF TIME: East Fife 0-2 Stranraer

As the second half began, Stranraer showed no signs of slowing down as their first chance of the second half came after 5 minutes. The ball in the air drops to Walker in the middle of the box and, on the volley, rifles it towards Fleming who makes the save.

On the 64th minute, East Fife reduced the goal deficit back to one. A long-throw dropped to Trouten who lays it off to Mercer to fires it into the back of the net, bringing the Methil men back into the game. 

Stranraer soon restored their 2-goal advantage when a cross from Hilton picked out Brown in the middle of the box who knocks the ball in, making the game 3-1 to the visitors. 

With one minute remaining of the 90, Stranraer have an effort go seal the three points when Brown had a strike on goal excellently saved by Fleming.

FULL TIME: East Fife 1-3 Stranraer

After a tough result to take, East Fife only drop one place to 5th, one point behind fourth place in a very tight league. Next up for the Fifers is an away trip down to inform Annan Athletic, the team will be hoping to secure a much needed three points. 

East Fife: Fleming, Mercer, Steele (Walls 76’), Murdoch (Newton 79’), Quinn, Agnew (Healy 56’), Trouten, Ferguson, Millar, Steven (Schiavone 57’), Shepherd

Stranraer: O’Connor, McIntosh, Girvan, Watt, Ross, Hilton, Forrest, Brown, Walker (Gallagher 80’), Brady (Eze 90+2’), Duffy (Malcolm 78’)

Referee: Stewart Luke

Attendance: 496

Report by Andrew Laing