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East Fife were back on the road on Saturday, taking a trip to Forthbank Stadium to face 2nd placed Stirling Albion. Off the back of a heart wrenching defeat last weekend against Albion Rovers, the team were hoping to leave that behind them and put in another solid performance. 

One change was made to the team that lost to Albion Rovers at Bayview last weekend as Aaron Steele, serving a one match suspension after being sent off early last weekend, was replaced in the starting line-up by Stewart Murdoch.

There was drama early on as the Binos struck first. In the fifth minute, Dunsmore was fed the ball on the right wing and sent in a pinpoint accurate cross to Fotheringham at the back who knocks it past Fleming putting the home side 1-0 up.

Five minutes later, the Binos doubled their lead as once again Dunsmore was the provider, this time finding Leitch in the box whose header finds the net, giving Albion a strong advantage after only 10 minutes. 

The Binos pressure didn’t stop there as instantly after the restart Carrick laid the ball off to Fotheringham on the left who took the ball into the area however this time Fleming was able to stop the ball from rippling the net. 

After the early onslaught from Stirling, East Fife began to grow more into the game as more chances fell the way of the Fifers. In the 28th minute, Shepherd took the ball round McGregor and drove into the box and fired in a a shot although the Stirling ‘keeper got down well at his near post to stop East Fife from pulling a goal back 

With five minutes left of the half, the pressure finally paid off for the Fifers. Newton plays in Ferguson who reaches the by-line to cut the ball back for Trouten in the middle of the box who taps it past Currie. 

HALF TIME: Stirling Albion 2-1 East Fife 

The East Fife pressure continued into the second half with a good passage play, starting from Fleming, saw the ball fall to Shepherd in the box whose shot had the power taken out of it by McLean and Currie was able to collect. 

Against the run of play, Stirling broke up the field and had a chance to put the game to bed when Carrick picked up the loose ball on the edge of the area and lays off to Cooper, but his shot is comfortably saved by Fleming to the centre of the goal. 

As the match was drawing to a close, East Fife ramped it up the ante searching for the equaliser. Substitute Steven took the ball out wide and crossed for Ferguson whose header dropped wide of the post. 

In the second minute of injury time, Stirling managed to kill the game with a quick break up the part from East Fife’s corner with the Binos finding themselves with two forwards against Fleming. Fleming did incredibly well to save the initial one-on-one against Fotheringham however Dunsmore collected the rebound and finds the net, capping off a game whereby both had strong spells of control, but it was the home side who claimed the three points.

FULL-TIME: Stirling Albion 3-1 East Fif

After a week’s break due to Scottish Cup matches, the Methil Men are back at home for three consecutive matches, the first being versus 8th positioned Annan Athletic.

 Report by Andrew Laing

Stirling Albion Team: Currie, McGregor, Dunsmore, McLean, McGeachie, Banner, Leitch (Clark 64’), Fotheringham, Denholm (Moore 76’), Davidson (Cooper 64’), Carrick (Burns 90+4’)

East Fife Team: Fleming, Mercer, Denham, Murdoch, Newton, Millar, Balde, Ferguson, Healy (Steven 70’), Shepherd, Trouten

Referee: Alan Newlands

Attendance: 893 (170 East Fife fans)

The Black and Gold journey to Forthbank this weekend for an encounter against Stirling Albion at the sharp end of the table. The Binos sit second in the cinch League Two table and have mirrored Fife’s results for the last 5 weeks, having lost last weekend 2-0 at home to Albion.

The Fifers will be hoping to replicate their second half performance, after fighting valiantly against Albion Rovers last week, falling to a last-minute penalty.

Squad News

Aaron Steele will serve this 1 match suspension after his early dismissal against Albion Rovers. Youngster Ryan Schiavone remains sidelined along with the long-term injuries: Conor McManus, Brogan Walls, Rabin Omar and ‘keeper Scott Gallacher.

Team Colours

East Fife will don their green shirts, with white shorts and socks, with the goalkeeper in all yellow.

The home side will be in their home colours, with a red top and shorts, alongside their red and white striped socks. Their goalkeeper will be clad in turquoise.

Previous Encounter

East Fife hosted Stirling Albion on 1st October, in what was Greig MacDonald’s first game as East Fife Interim Manager. The visitors took the game by the scruff of the neck, and after a flurry of saves, Fleming was beaten inside 6 minutes, giving Stirling the advantage.

Fife were given a lifeline, when Trouten scored a penalty just after the half an hour mark. It was all for naught though as Darren Young’s men re-took the lead in injury time.

Fife defended well in the second half to stop the score line being further stretched but struggled going forward last time out.

East Fife Team:

Fleming, Murdoch, Steele, Denham, Murdoch, Healy (Schiavone 61’), Ferguson, Slattery (Steven 61’), Baldé, Trouten, Shepherd.

Stirling Albion Team:

Currie, McGeachie, McLean, McGregor, Clark, Fotheringham, Leitch (Clark 78’), Banner (Denholm 85’) Moore (Dunsmore 27’), Thomson, Carrick (Davidson 85’).

Match Tickets

East Fife fans will be housed in the East Stand this weekend. Tickets are pay at the gate, and the turnstiles take cash only. They will be open from 2pm. Prices Below:

Adults: £15

Over 65s: £10

U17s: £5

U12s go free with a paying adult.

Parking

For fans travelling by car- there is free, unallocated parking outside of the East Stand.

Officials

Alan Newlands will be the on-pitch official at the weekend. His assistants running the lines will be Steven Traynor and Barry Reid.

Live Stream

There will be no Live Stream for British and Irish viewers, however for those outside the UK & Ireland, the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass.

Catering

It has been confirmed that Forthbank’s speciality pie for the week will be Steak and Sausage! This can be bought at the pie huts inside the stadium grounds. These will be cash only.

EAST FIFE FC HAVE ANNOUNCED THAT MACON RESOURCES, WHO SPECIALISE IN CONSTRUCTION LABOUR SUPPLY ARE THE NEW 3RD KIT SPONSOR.

Macon Resources Ltd provide qualified personnel to the UK construction industry. The firm have been operating from their head office in central Scotland for 5 years. Despite being a relatively young business, they’ve already achieved significant success, illustrated by their impressive portfolio of clients across the UK which include some of the best-known housebuilders and contractors in the country.

At Macon, all disciplines of construction staff are catered for, including (but not limited to):

  • All Trades
  • Civils/Groundworkers
  • Plant Operators
  • Engineers
  • White Collar Professionals
  • Labourers/Site Operatives
  • Site Cleaners
  • Back Office Staff
  • HGV Drivers

The firm are one of the few UK labour supply businesses who provide more than 40 years combined, real life, hands-on construction industry experience. They offer client’s access to almost 30,000 construction workers already registered, consultants with expert knowledge in key disciplines such as Drylining, Shuttering, Plant and Groundworks and specialist geographical awareness. All of this combined means that they will resource the right people at the right time, develop long term relationships with their workforce and manage their client's expectations quickly and efficiently

Macon’s sponsorship with East Fife coincides with their 2022/23 rebrand, in fact our 3rd team’s shirts and our ground’s advertising board provide the first, sneak peak of their new logo.

Darren McGlynn, Managing Director at Macon Resources says: “Our vision has always been to create a labour supply firm that is easy to deal with for clients and workers alike. Simplicity is key and giving back to the communities we work closely with has been something we’ve wanted to put in place for some time. With this in mind, sponsoring East Fife is a great fit for us as we love to help local businesses and we've got great relationships with a loads of Fife-based construction workers also our clients frequently work on projects in the area too.”

“Our rebranding marks the start of Macon’s next chapter and we can’t wait to share our vision of how recruitment can be more simple, effective and efficient for everyone in the construction industry. If you require additional construction resource, are looking for work, advice or simply want to learn more, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.."

Scott Young of both Macon Resources & the East Fife Commercial Team said "We are absolutely delighted to bring Macon Resources and East Fife together in a new partnership and hopefully one that will last a long time into the future".

Macon Resources will make their first appearance on our 3rd strip in tomorrow’s match against Stirling Albion.

Macon

The Fifers returned to Bayview after securing a last gasp equaliser away at Stenhousemuir last weekend where they hosted Albion Rovers, who were unbeaten in their last four games however their only win coming against Glasgow University in the Scottish Cup. 

One change was made to the team that drew at Ochilview last weekend as Liam Newton replaced Liam Parker in the starting line-up.

There was drama right from the start as East Fife were reduced to 10-men inside 5 minutes. A quick throw in from the visitors saw Leslie in a footrace with Steele attempted to hook the ball away but knocked the ball off Leslie’s chest. To the shock of most inside the stadium, the referee adjudged Steele to have taken out the Albion Rovers man, awarded a free kick to the visitors dismissed the stopper for a last man challenge. The resulting free kick from Reilly was blazed over the bar.

Despite being a man down, the Methil men took a deserved lead when Mercer sent a peach of a cross onto the head of the leaping Joao Balde who turns it in, putting the Fifers 1-0 up.

8 minutes after taking the lead, Albion Rovers hit back and equalise. A misplaced pass in the East Fife midfield gave Reilly a clear run in on goal and he scores high into the roof of the net. 

On the 30th minute, the ball dropped to Healy who wrestled his way past both Wilson and Leslie and into a shooting position outside the area however his shot drops just wide of the post.

With 5 minutes remaining of the half, Albion Rovers took the lead when Roberts plays the ball down the right side to Reilly who drives into the box and cuts the ball across goal which Malcolm just manages to get enough on the ball to guide it over the line.

HALF TIME: East Fife 1-2 Albion Rovers 

As the second half began, the Fifers came out all guns blazing in search for a much-needed equaliser and an early chance feel for Mercer from Ferguson’s free kick, but he sent his header over the bar.

Next up Healy skipped past numerous players in the middle of the park and lays the ball off for Ferguson down the left who drills the ball in toward Trouten, but his effort was well charged down.

In the 58th minute, a short corner from Reilly finds the head of Sonkur for the visitors but his header was comfortably saved by Fleming.

East Fife levelled the scoring at 2 each in the 65th minutes with a fully deserved second for Balde. Shepherd did well to take the ball down in the corner and find space for to pick out Balde who volleyed the ball past Leighfield from close range.

With 20 minutes to go, the Fifers won a penalty when Shepherd was taken down through on goal by Leighfield who was perhaps a tad fortunate to escape with only a booking. Balde stepped up looking to score his hattrick but his sclaffed effort was saved by the Rovers ‘keeper.

Numerous chances then fell to East Fife in quick succession when first Shepherd forced Leighfield into a save with an effort on the half-volley before substitute Steven made some space for himself inside the box and tries to catch the keeper out at his near post, but Leighfield safely gathers it. 

As the game was coming to a close, Reilly charged at the East Fife back line but was taken out by Newton upon entering the box giving the referee little option but to point straight at the spot giving the Rovers the chance to win the game. Reilly scored the penalty, despite Fleming getting a hand to it to clinch the points for the visitors.

The Fifers have an away fixture to look forward to next as they travel across to Forthbank to take on 2nd placed Stirling Albion. East Fife are unbeaten away from home this season and will be looking to maintain that against the Binos.

FULL TIME: East Fife 2-3 Albion Rovers 

Report by: Andrew Laing

East Fife Team: Fleming, Newton, Mercer, Steele, Denham, Millar, Balde, Healy, Ferguson, Shepherd (Steven 77’), Trouten (Slattery 66’)

Albion Rovers Team: Leighfield, Graham, Sonkur, Fernie, E Wilson, C Wilson, Leslie, Fleming (McColl 67’), Malcolm, Reilly, Roberts (Testa 87’)

Referee: Chris Fordyce

Attendance: 545