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Midweek defeat at Coatbridge
Ladbrokes Scottish Football League 1, The Exsel Group Stadium, Tuesday 28th March 2017
Albion Rovers 1 (Wallace 55’)
East Fife 0
Man of the Match: Jesse Curran
Albion Rovers XI: Stewart, McCann (Turnbull 64’), Reid, Fisher (Lightbody 89’), R Dunlop, M Dunlop, Ferry, McBride, Wallace (Gilmour 82’), Willis, Stewart
Subs Not Used: Potts, Ferguson, McManus
Booked: M Dunlop, Fisher, Stewart
East Fife XI: Hurst, Cooper (Austin 77’), Slattery, Kane, Kerr, Brown, Duggan (Insall 63’), Curran, Robinson, Penrice, Paterson
Subs Not Used: Gordon, Mutch, Reilly
Booked: Kane
Referee: Kevin Gordon
Attendance: 491
East Fife suffered their second defeat in a week following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Albion Rovers. Manager Barry Smith made two changes to the side that started against Brechin at the weekend with the injured duo of Jonathan Page and Kevin Smith making way for Jesse Curran and Alex Cooper who was handed his first start in an East Fife shirt.
East Fife started on the front foot and had their first sight of goal inside 5 minutes when Scott Robinson cut the ball back for Chris Duggan but the striker’s shot was just wide. Good play by Robinson down the left picked out Jesse Curran at the back post; his lay off landing perfectly for Alex Cooper who was unlucky to see his shot blocked. East Fife were bossing the midfield with Robinson winning the ball back before playing in Duggan whose shot was turned round the post by goalkeeper Ross Stewart on 13 minutes.
Midway through the first half Stewart was called into action again to stop Cooper’s 25-yard free kick from creeping into the bottom corner. Albion Rovers first chance of the match came on 31 minutes following a miscommunication in the East Fife defence leaving Ryan Wallace an unguarded goal to aim at but Mark Hurst did well to recover and punch clear. Duggan had another sight of goal shortly before the break but this time fired over from a tight angle.
East Fife started where they’d left off after the interval with Cooper denied by a good save from Stewart on 48 minutes before the ‘keeper spilled a cross by Robinson but the defence were able to recover. A free kick by Cooper out on the touch line picked out Chris Kane but he was unable to find the target on 52 minutes.
East Fife were left to rue missed chances 3 minutes later when Jason Kerr was caught in possession on the edge of his box leaving former Fifer Wallace to fire the ball into the empty net. East Fife were unlucky not to be level a minute later when a defensive mix-up at the other end saw Alan Reid send his header past Stewart however the keeper was able to scramble back just in time to prevent the ball crossing the line. East Fife had a penalty claimed waived away on 67 minutes when Jamie Insall was bundled over in the box by Mick Dunlop. The goal sparked life into the home side who began to look dangerous going forward without causing Hurst any real problems.
The visiting fans though they were level on 78 minutes when Insall had the ball in the back of the net but the flag was rightly raised for offside against the striker. East Fife were awarded a penalty in the 90th minutes when Insall was brought down in the box. Robinson stepped up to take the penalty but saw his powerful strike saved by Stewart.
The visitors had dominated for large parts of the game but mistakes and missed chances ultimately proved costly.
After the match Manager Barry Smith spoke to East Fife TV:
“I think we were worthy of something from the game, we did everything we could to try and get the goal but I’ve told the boys not to be despondent because they have been excellent this season up till now, we just don’t want the season to peter out. They’ve been brilliant since I came in and we just have to move on from this game and concentrate on the Queen’s Park game.”
Heart breaking late loss at Brechin
Ladbrokes Scottish Football League 1, Glebe Park, Saturday 25th March 2017
Brechin City 2 (Watt 20’, Jackson 90+2’)
East Fife 1 (Duggan 56’P)
Man of the Match: Mark Hurst
Brechin City XI: Smith, McLean, Lynas, Fusco, Hill, C O’Neil, Graham, Dale, Jackson, Caldwell, Watt
Subs Not Used: Trouten, Rodger, McCormack, Ford, Dyer, Dods, P O’Neil
Booked: Hill, Lynas
East Fife XI: Hurst, Slattery, Kane, Page (Curran 53’), Kerr, Brown, Duggan (Insall 80’), Smith, Robinson, Penrice, Paterson (Cooper 73’)
Subs Not Used: Austin, Reilly, Trialist
Booked: Kane, Smith
Referee: Alan Muir
Attendance: 525
East Fife travelled to Glebe Park to face Brechin City but left empty-handed after an injury-time Andy Jackson goal gave the home side three points and lift them above East Fife in the Ladbrokes League 1 table. East Fife made one change to the side that drew with Alloa Athletic last week with Jesse Curran making way for Jonathan Page who missed the previous game through suspension.
East Fife had their first sight of goal in the 2nd minute when Kevin Smith volleyed narrowly over from 15-yards. At the other end, Gary Fusco saw his header saved by Mark Hurst a couple of minutes later. The first real opportunity fell to Liam Watt when he unleashed a shot from the edge of the box only to see it rebound off Ross Caldwell. Watt wasn’t to be denied however as good hold up play by Jackson saw Caldwell lay the ball off for Watt in a similar position who this time found the bottom corner on 20 minutes. Nicki Paterson sent a free kick over the bar from 20-yards on 31 minutes after Pat Slattery was fouled by Aron Lynas.
East Fife were forced into a change on 53 minutes when Jesse Curran replaced Jonathan Page who’d aggravated an injury earlier in the game. East Fife were level 3 minutes later when Chris Duggan was brought down in the box by Fusco giving referee Muir no option but to point to the spot. Duggan took the penalty himself, sending Graeme Smith the wrong way for his 7th goal of the season.
A combination of a couple of good reaction saves from Hurst and last ditch defending by Smith and Chris Kane denied Caldwell and Dougie Hill twice on 69 minutes following a corner that East Fife struggled to clear. Kevin Smith saw a free kick from 25-yards narrowly miss the top corner on 77 minutes in what proved to be East Fife’s last chance of the match.
Brave goalkeeping from Hurst prevented Jackson from adding to the home side’s lead with 2 minutes of normal time remaining. Brechin did manage to find a winner into added time when Jackson sent a spectacular volley into the back of the net.
A game where East Fife never really got going and were beaten by the better team on the day.
After the match Manager Barry Smith spoke to East Fife TV:
“When it comes down to it we would’ve taken a point. We did try to push on and put forward thinking platers on the pitch to try and get the win but that late in the game we’d have taken a point so it’s disappointing to lose from a corner kick.”
“The good thing for me is that the boys know they could play better and they were disappointed with their performance in the first half and they certainly did better in the second half but we can’t afford to give team a goal lead to start off with. When it comes down to it that games gone and we have to focus on the Albion Rovers game.”
Pitch inspection at Albion Rovers today
Because of the weather in the Central Belt and especially Coatbridge, a pitch inspection is being asked for by Albion Rovers FC today, 21st March, between 1 and 2pm. At the moment according to information, it looks doubtful but this website will keep you up to date on the latest news.
Well-Earned Point Against Wasps at Bayview
Ladbrokes Scottish Football League 1
Saturday 18th March 2017
Bayview Stadium
East Fife 0
Alloa Athletic 0
Man of the Match: James Penrice
East Fife XI: Hurst, Slattery, Kane, Kerr, Brown, Duggan, Smith (Cooper 79’), Curran, Robinson, Penrice, Paterson
Subs Not Used: Trialist, Insall, Reilly, Austin
Booked: Robinson
Alloa Athletic XI: Parry, Taggart, Waters, McKeown, Graham, Holmes, Cawley (McCluskey 79’), Flannigan, Spence (Hetherington 68’), Kirkpatrick, Mackin (Longworth 86’)
Subs Not Used: McDowall, Marr, Robertson, Hynd
Booked: Mackin
Referee: Colin Steven
Attendance: 612
East Fife welcomed Alloa Athletic to Bayview and gained a well-earned and potentially crucial point. Manager Barry Smith made one change to the side that beat Livingston the previous week with Pat Slattery returning from injury to replace Jonathan Page who missed out through suspension. Slattery slotted into midfield with Jesse Curran moving out to the right wing, Ross Brown filling in at right-back and Chris Kane moving into central defence.
East Fife had an early sight at goal when Scott Robinson forced Alloa ‘keeper Neil Parry to turn his low drive behind for a corner inside 5 minutes. A couple of minutes later Parry spilled a strike from James Penrice but no one was able to follow up and the keeper managed to collect at the second attempt. Alloa had their first sight of goal on 8 minutes when Callum Water’s free kick was headed towards goal but Mark Hurst was comfortably able to collect.
East Fife had a few other chances inside the opening half hour when first Chris Duggan found himself in space near the penalty spot following a corner but couldn’t direct his volley on target before Nicki Paterson and Jesse Penrice narrowly missed the target from 35 and 20-yards respectively. The best chance of the half fell to Alloa striker Greig Spence when he got in behind the East Fife defence but sent his shot well wide of the post when most in the stadium expected him to score.
Paterson had East Fife’s best chance of the match 3 minutes after the re-start when he got on the end of Robinson’s cross but sent his header wide of the target with Parry beaten. At the other end, Jordan Kirkpatrick sent in strike that just swerved wide of the post on 53 minutes before Frank McKeown headed narrowly over from Flannigan’s free kick with 20 minutes to play.
East Fife finished the stronger side and had two good opportunities to claim all three points inside the final 15 minutes when first Parry again spilled a strike by Robinson but managed to recover with Duggan closing in before last-week’s goal hero Jason Kerr beat Parry with a header but Andy Graham was perfectly positioned on the goal line to clear.
After the match Manager Barry Smith spoke to East Fife TV:
“I thought it was a good game of football and I though, in the first half, we played some good stuff and in the second we kept it even. It’s a good point but when you look at it we’ve played the top two and taken four out of 6 we’ve got to be pleased with that. I think the effort, some of the passages of play and the football we played in the first half was excellent today. The boys deserve a lot of credit for that again.”