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Match Preview - The Spartans
Oli Anderson previews today’s match against The Spartans
After our first defeat of the year against Elgin City last week, we have the chance to get ourselves back on track as we visit Ainslie Park for the second time this season.
We have claimed victory over The Spartans in both of our previous encounters this season, though with The Spartans now able to focus solely on the league we could be in for a close affair today.
The Spartans are coming off the back of a midweek away win against Stirling Albion, where a Blair Henderson brace undone the Binos.
William Hill League 2 Table
| Team | Pld | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Fife | 23 | 27 | 45 |
| 2 | Peterhead | 23 | 8 | 41 |
| 3 | Elgin City | 22 | 11 | 40 |
| 4 | Edinburgh City | 23 | 1 | 34 |
| 5 | The Spartans | 21 | -1 | 29 |
| 6 | Stirling albion | 23 | -8 | 27 |
| 7 | Bonnyrigg Rose | 23 | -10 | 25 |
| 8 | Stranraer | 22 | -6 | 24 |
| 9 | Clyde | 23 | -11 | 23 |
| 10 | Forfar Athletic | 21 | -11 | 16 |
Last Week’s League Results
Saturday 1st February
Elgin City 1-0 East Fife
Edinburgh City 4-3 Stirling Albion
Bonnyrigg Rose 1-0 Clyde
Peterhead 2-2 Forfar Athletic
Stranraer 2-0 The Spartans
Tuesday 28th January
Stirling Albion 1-3 The Spartans
Elgin City 3-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
This Weekend’s Fixtures
Bonnyrigg Rose vs Peterhead
Clyde vs Stranraer
Forfar Athletic vs Edinburgh City
Stirling Albion vs Elgin City
The Spartans vs East Fife
A message from the management team
Speaking with East Fife TV before today’s game, assistant manager Ian Campbell said: “We are really looking forward to the game against a Spartans side who are getting their big defensive players back to full fitness. Last week hurt everyone at the club so we will be looking to get back to what we do best."
The Form
The Fifers
Despite last week’s defeat, East Fife are still on fantastic form on the whole, having won five of our last six games, accumulating 15 points from a possible 18 in the league.
Firstly, Alan Trouten scored the only goal from the spot in a 1-0 victory over 10th placed Forfar Athletic.
Midweek victory over Edinburgh City showed the squad’s character further, with a quick double countering Connor Young’s first half strike, before three goals in the last ten minutes saw the game wrapped up 4-2 in East Fife’s favour.
A commanding second half performance then saw us claim a 3-0 victory over Darren Young’ Clyde side, before our dominant first half display against Stranraer made it five wins in five.
A fortnight ago, 15 minutes of pure quality blew Edinburgh City out of the water. Eighty minutes of mediocrity drew null and void, as Nathan Austin, Adam Laaref, Reis Peggie and Alan Trouten all found the back of the net in the dying embers of the contest. Edin Lynch saw red too, in what was a shambolic end to proceedings for the Citizens, who competed well in the majority of the match.
Last week, Kyle Girvan scored the only goal in a 1-0 defeat against Elgin last week.
Our Opposition
The Spartans have won three, a draw and lost three of their last six matches.
Their losses came firstly away to us where they lost 5-1, before they fell to Stranraer on the road again, with the Blues running out 2-0 winners last Saturday.
Their draw was a 2-2 affair with Bonnyrigg Rose, the Spartans came from behind twice in the game to grab a point.
The Spartans have been victorious over Edinburgh City, Peterhead and Stirling Albion. Both the Citizens and the Blue Toon fell 1-0, whereas the Spartans won 3-1 over the Binos.
Previous Encounter
East Fife 5-1 The Spartans
Saturday 21st December 2024, MGM Timber Bayview Stadium
Alan Trouten, Connor McManus, Scott Shepherd and Kieran Millar all found the scoresheet in a 5-1 drubbing of the Spartans the last time the sides met. Trouten grabbed a brace in the first half, while the other three scored, more than cancelling out Mark Stowe’s second half strike.
Squad News
Gregor Nicol is our only confirmed absence today as he remains out long term but a couple of players will have their fitness assessed before kick-off.
Match Tickets
Admission prices for today’s game are as follows:
Adults- £17
Concessions (Over 65s/Disabled)- £12
Under 16s- £5
Tickets can be purchased online however pay-at-the-gate is also available.
East Fife fans will be housed in the north half of the main stand and the embankment behind the goals for today’s game.
Live Stream
For our international fans, live streaming for today’s game will be available on EFTV, using a Monthly, or Annual Gold Pass. Today’s commentator will be Oli Anderson.
Club Colours
The Fifers will don the MPH Group-sponsored home kit. They will wear the famous black and gold striped shirt, with black shorts and socks. The Fife goalkeeper will wear yellow for the tie.
The Spartans will be in their traditional colours too, wearing a white top with red shorts and white socks. The Spartans goalie will be all green.
Officials
The referee today will be Ryan Lee, with his assistants Stuart Stevenson and Ian Hart running the lines.
Mon the Fife!
Award Double for East Fife
It was an awards double for East Fife in January with Dick Campbell being voted Glen’s Vodka League 2 Manager of the Month and Alan Trouten picking up the William Hill Leage 2 Player of the Month.
It was a fantastic month for the club, picking up 15 points from the matches played last month with victories over Forfar athletic, Edinburgh City (Twice), Clyde and Stranraer which saw us strength our lead at the top of League 2.
Trouten was also in fine form with 6 goals and 1 assist from the 5 matches, taking his goal tally to 21 for the season with 17 of these coming in league matches.
Dick Campbell: "This is my 42nd Manager of the Month award but you appreciate everyone more than all of the previous ones. I must pay tribute to my backroom staff of Pink, John, Malky, Jim & Jeb, and the players who, at the end of the day, are the ones who put us in the position we are in."
Alan Trouten: "I am delighted to win this trophy for the second time this season and while these are officially personal awards, they can only be achieved with the help of my teammates who have been magnificent in setting up chances for me. It is important that we remain focused and ensure that we continue to push on again for the rest of the season."
Congratulations to both!
Match Report - Elgin City
Elgin City 1-0 East Fife, Saturday 1st February 2025, William Hill League 2, Borough Briggs
East Fife fell to their first defeat of 2025 in the Highlands as they were beaten 1-0 at Borough Briggs at the hands of Elgin City.
There were two changes to the prior weekend’s 4-1 victory over Edinburgh City, with January signings Kallum Higginbotham and Michael McKenna both getting their first starts for the black and gold at the expense of Jess Norey and Jack Healy.
Chances flowed early doors for both sides, with Elgin making the most of theirs, grabbing the first and only goal of the game after ten minutes. Kyle Girvan rose highest to a ball whipped in from the left-hand side. There were no takers from East Fife, and Elgin’s Girvan grabbed the advantage after ten minutes of play.
East Fife almost pulled level on two separate occasions. Firstly, Scott Shepherd found the back of the net after rounding McHale, before the linesman flagged for offside. Then Connor McManus had a chance to grab the equaliser, and even though his ambitious effort forced McHale into a strong save, it was not enough to haul East Fife back into the game.
Just before the half time whistle, Liam McFarlane made his first of many great saves, denying Gallagher from far out, which was the last action of the opening forty-five minutes.
East Fife were denied a goal just after the restart, with Alan Trouten and Reis Peggie both coming close, but being kept out by a resolute Elgin back line.
Liam McFarlane was at it again on the hour mark, plucking a ball out of the top corner, at full extension, a marvellous save to say the least.
He was called into another two or three saves as the game continued, and East Fife could not get that killer ball to pull level.
Elgin ran out deserved winners on the day unfortunately.
Reporter’s Man of the Match: Liam McFarlane.
At least three world class saves on Saturday, with more instances of pure quality throughout. A result to forget, but a performance to remember.
Elgin City – McHale, Booth, Dolzanski, Dingwall, Cameron, Golding (Leslie 75’), Sargent (Draper 83’), Girvan, Hyde, Gallagher, Hester. Subs not used: Taylor, MacEwan, Cairns, Allen, Mcaleman, McDonald, MacDonald.
East Fife – McFarlane, Murdoch, Millar (Norey 69’), Easton, McManus (Laaref 83’), Shepherd (Healy 69’), Trouten, Peggie (Jones 76’), Higginbotham (Austin 69’), Munro, McKenna. Subs not used: Fleming, Newton, Slattery.
Referee – Daniel Graves
Attendance – 1,001
Report by Oli Anderson
New Hospitality Catering Partner
East Fife FC is delighted to announce our new partnership with RL Catering as our new Corporate Hospitality provider.
Currently operating at Arbroath FC, RL Catering are expanding their operations to cover also East Fife FC. With 18 years of experience in catering, we feel they’ll be a fantastic addition to the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium.
Lee Gillies, Commercial Associate Director said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled with this announcement. It’s important that we thank Iain Rennie at Fab Foods who we’ve worked with for a few seasons and who will continue to run our pie stalls for home matchdays.
“We are always striving for greatness at East Fife FC and Arbroath have had renowned success with their corporate hospitality, so we moved quickly to bring them on board. Louise and her team have been fantastic from the get-go and with some of the sample menus that we’ve seen, fans and businesses alike will be desperate to try it out.
“They’ll begin from our next home game against Bonnyrigg Rose, and we encourage everyone to come along and enjoy the experience. The club are flying high at the moment, and this is another step forward in the right direction for making our match day experience as enjoyable as possible.”
Louise Walker from RL Catering said: “Rod and I were delighted to be approached by the club and are excited to expand our operations within the football hospitality sector. We are looking forward to delivering a memorable matchday experience for all patrons attending Corporate at Bayview.”
Hospitality spaces are now filling up as we head into the final 6 home league fixtures of the season so book your table now to avoid disappointment.
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Phone: 01333 426323
