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Stenhousemuir 2-1 East Fife, Saturday 16th December 2023

Ochilview, cinch League Two

Despite a much improved second half from the Fifers, they fell short against League Leaders Stenhousemuir for the second time this season, falling 2-1 to the high-flying Warriors at Ochilview.

Despite defeat on Saturday, our league situation has not really changed, while we have slumped into 7th place in the cinch League Two table, we have a game in hand over our opposition in 6th and 5th place, and a victory on Friday evening would see us overtake both sides. Unfortunately, we still have a bit of work to do to reach the playoff positions, as 4th placed Spartans are 10 points clear of the Methil Milan. Relegation, however, looks more and more unlikely as the weeks progress, as Clyde are well and truly struggling at the foot of the pyramid, on a measly 8 points after 16 games of football.

Speaking of measly, I don’t think that there is a better way to describe East Fife’s start than that. Just two minutes into the game, the hosts took the lead, in a move that was far too simple for the Warriors. Euan O’Reilly and Kinlay Bilham found themselves two on one versus East Fife full back Sean Docherty on the edge of the penalty area, and the East Fife full back got himself tangled up trying to block out a through pass, leaving O’Reilly one on one with Fleming. The winger made no mistake about his shot and lashed it into the roof of the net. 1-0 Stenny.

Walls had an opportunity bang on the nine-minute mark to make it level, after McManus dispossessed the Stenhousemuir midfield. Walls pounced, and found himself in space, though his shot was tame, and easily gathered up by Darren Jamieson.

Just minutes later, Stenhousemuir should have made it two, as Matty Yates had a chance on the edge of the area. Luckily for the Methil Men, it was a tame attempt, and Fleming could easily recover.

Walls had another chance in the 17th minute when a delivery was whipped in by Schiavone. Sadly, it was straight at Jamieson who controlled it well, snuffing out the danger.

The misery compiler came moments later for Fife fans, when Matty Yates scored a lovely 20-yard free kick, handing the hosts a two-goal lead after just 21 minutes of play.

East Fife had their best chance of the half in the dying embers before the break. Captain Stewart Murdoch dinked a lovely ball into Austin from deep, although the striker’s touch was just slightly too heavy off his chest, and he couldn’t get his shot away clearly. This left the Methil Milan 2 goals down at the break.

Some questionable defending at the start of the second period from the Fifers handed Stenny an opportunity, though the Black and Gold were saved when the shot glanced wide of the far post.

East Fife had a flurry of chances early in the second half, after their defensive mishaps, largely thanks to the inclusion of Alan Trouten and Jack Healy at half time. Jack’s pace, along with Trouten’s intelligence and vision brought a new dimension to the Fifers in the second period, though it took some time for the attacking line to capitalise one of the many chances created by the midfield talismen.

In 64 minutes, the travelling Fife faithful were subject to the most ludicrous decision I have seen on a football field (it sounds extreme, but it is very true). After a 10-minute period of completely controlling the game, the Fifers deservedly had the ball in the net, though it was flagged for offside. This ended up being a gutting call, as it could have possibly cost the Fifers a point, or maybe more on the road. With that being said, nothing can take Stenhousemuir’s win away from them, as their first half performance was superb and worthy of their two-goal lead, maybe more.

Stenny had a spell after the “offside goal” and cannoned a shot off the woodwork before Flem saved the follow up attempt. He then had another, albeit comfortable save, with ten minutes on the clock, as the Warriors looked to be seeing out their win with ease.

The Methil Men never go down without a fight however and stuck the ball in the back of the net in injury time. It was made by the birthday boy Jack Healy, who jinked inside, and set up McManus, who floated an inch-perfect ball to Austin, to get the Fifers back in the tie with just minutes to go.

We could have, and perhaps should have nabbed an equaliser in the 94th minute too, when Darren Jamieson made a hugely important save to deny Connor McManus from close range, the parry was in the path of Trouten, though everything happened far too quickly, and we couldn’t capitalise sadly.

We’re back for our 3rd rendition of Friday night Football in two seasons next week, as we gear up to take on Bonnyrigg Rose in a festive clash.

Stenhousemuir – D Jamieson, Buchanan, N Jamieson, Bilham (Meechan 70’), Lynch, Wedderburn, Yates (Brown 81’), Taylor (Ferrie 90+4’), O’Reilly (Berry 70’), Anderson, Aitken (McKay 90+4’). Sub not used: Lyle

East Fife – Fleming, Murdoch, Page, Docherty (Comerford 90+3’), Easton, Millar (Trouten 57’), McManus, Schiavone (Healy 45’), Walls (Nicol 90+2’), Shepherd (Mitchell 79’), Austin. Subs not used: Newton, Rollo, Ramsay

Referee – Andy Gamble

Attendance - 429

Tickets for our cinch League Two match against Bonnyrigg Rose on Friday 22nd December at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium are now on sale and can be purchased here. 

Admission Prices

Adults - £18

Concessions* - £14

Under 16s** - £5

Parent & Child** - £21

Parent & 2 Children** - £24

*Over 65s/Full-Time Students/Disabled – proof of age/eligibility may be requested

**Proof of age may be requested.

All member of East Fife Community Football Club & East Fife Girls & Womens’ Football Club who are under 16 go free with a paying adult or as part of an organised group for all cinch League Two matches at Bayview this season. Tickets for this are arranged through EFCFC.

Season tickets are valid for this match.

There are no cash turnstiles at Bayview and supporters are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online. Online sales are available right up until kick off. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling 01333 426323 or directly from the club office.

Please note, parent and child tickets cannot be purchased online and should be bought directly from the club office. 

As this match takes place outwith blocked hours, a live stream is available to viewers worldwide via East Fife TV.

East Fife 2-2 Kelty Hearts (East Fife win 5-4 on penalties), Friday 15th December 2023

MGM Timber Bayview Stadium, Knockout Cup R1

The Young Fifers squeezed past Kelty Hearts’ U20s side needing penalty kicks to overcome our Fife rivals. The line-up included many who have featured in and around the first team, and the squad is full of experience considering their age.

They got off to a stellar start too, taking the lead inside 5 minutes. A failed attempted clearance ended up right in the path of Bodhi Taylor. The striker readied himself, and launched his half volley into the far corner, scoring a true poacher’s goal.

Matty Rollo then had to make a fantastic save, just seconds after the restart, and did so very well, in what was a strong showing for the youngster.

In the opening stages, it became apparent that the Kelty Hearts’ tactics were to go from the long drop kick from the ‘keeper up to the attacker and go from there. Credit goes to Adam Wilkie and Charlie Murray at the back, who both did a stellar job in snuffing out the danger.

Just after the half an hour mark, Rollo did excellently once again, as he rushed off his line, into the danger zone, cutting out a cutback, and launching an East Fife counterattack. It sadly came to nothing, but the speed, and distribution from Rollo was very impressive.

In the 18th minute, the Young Fifers doubled their advantage, this time through Brendan Ramsay. It came from a well implemented high press, as the team worked together to dispossess the Kelty winger, before Ramsay got onto the end of a floated ball and fired his shot into the bottom right corner.

After the initial quick start, both sides settled into the game soon after, and the game was largely played in the midfield, with both sides defending resolutely. Kelty got themselves back into the game just before half time, when they capitalised on a stramash in the box from a corner kick.

Half Time: East Fife U20s 2-1 Kelty Hearts U20s

The second half saw the game break down much more than the first, with both sides creating a few half chances, but never really looking like scoring. The equaliser, when it did come, came from absolutely nothing as well.

It wasn’t until the 75th minute that we saw it, and nobody knew much about it, including the scorer! The Kelty right back sclaffed his cross, for lack of a better word, though the angle in which it came down dumbfounded Rollo and found itself in the back of the net.

That was a sucker punch for the Fifers, causing the game to eventually go to penalties.

It has to be said, that every one of the Fifers who started, and came on looked impressive, and all caused bother, in one way or another. Notably, the pace in the Fife front line was blistering, and I trust that it will cause more teams issues in weeks to come.

The shootout came around with winners advancing to the second round of the Knockout Cup.

Jude Black stepped up first, and beat the ‘keeper, with a well struck pen handing the Fifers the lead. The Kelty Hearts taker replied, 1-1. Next up was Brendan Ramsay, who also struck his well, giving the Fifers the lead for the second time. Like the first, Kelty replied, making it two apiece.

Full back Tyler Dickson took Fife’s third, and made no mistake about it, 3-2 Fife. Kelty stood firm though, answering back for 3 apiece. 16-year-old Jaiden Fairley was next, and the central midfielder tucked his penalty away nicely, putting the pressure back on the visitors. As the saying goes though, pressure is for tyres and footballs, and the Kelty youngster answered back with a tidy finish.

The last man to step up for the Fifers was Adam Wilkie, who has been in the Fife set up for a number of years. He once again tucked his away, making it sudden death for Kelty Hearts. Finally, Kelty cracked, and the 5th penalty was ballooned over the bar, allowing East Fife to progress into the second round of the Knockout Cup, and handing new Under 20s head coach Aaron Anderson his first victory as gaffer.

After our League Cup 2nd round tie vs East Kilbride was postponed earlier in the week, we have to wait until the 12th of January to see the young Fifers back in action (unless the East Kilbride game is rearranged of course). That game would be the second round of the Knockout Cup, after the draw has been completed.

East Fife Team: Rollo, Dickson, Briggs, Wilkie, Murray, Ramsay, Black, Taylor (Stewart), McCafferty, Leddy (Allan), Fairley. Subs not used: Menzies, Donaldson, Morrison

Highlights from yesterday's match against Stenhousemuir along with post-match reaction from Greig McDonald, Nathan Austin and Jonathan Page.