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East Fife head to Tynecastle tomorrow for the first time in over 34 years where they continue their Betfred League Cup campaign against Ian Cathro’s Hearts side. The Gorgie boss was not even born in 1983 when the Fifers considered themselves unfortunate as they went down 2-1 in the last sixteen of the Scottish Cup.

It will require a similar display in the capital city if the men from Methil are to stay in the hunt to qualify for the next stage but Darren Young will be heartened by Tuesday night’s efforts in drawing with county rivals Dunfermline Athletic. There were plenty positives for the Bayview gaffer to take from the game, not least a clean sheet and a sterling performance from a back four in only their second outing together.

The last time the two sides met in this competition was back in October 1999 which saw the Fifers drawn first out of the hat, but the game being moved to Starks Park on police advice. Hearts progressed to the quarter finals thanks to a first-half Colin Cameron penalty and a last minute Derek Holmes goal. Despite this disappointment East Fife have an impressive League Cup record against tomorrow’s opponents with five wins and four defeats. Hearts can however boast lifting the trophy on four occasions compared to three successes by the Methil club.

Tomorrow’s squad will hopefully be bolstered by the return of Chris Kane from injury and the availability of midfielder Kieran Millar after serving a two game suspension.         

East Fife head to the county of Angus tomorrow, where they face an Arbroath side who have made an impressive start to their league campaign with a win at home to Queen’s Park and a draw at Airdrieonians. Dick Campbell’s men gained promotion last season as champions and the Fifers can expect a tough game at Gayfield, a venue that has seen some gripping encounters between the sides in recent years.

Bayview boss Darren Young will be hoping for a performance of a similar standard to last Saturday’s victory against Alloa Athletic. He was left frustrated in midweek by defensive lapses and missed chances as his side went down to Peterhead in the Irn Bru Cup, despite dominating large spells of the game in terms of possession. The improving injury situation did, however, allow him to make five changes to the starting line-up, giving valuable game time to players returning to the squad. The Red Lichties meanwhile were also eliminated on Tuesday night, losing by a similar 2-0 margin against Championship side Dunfermline Athletic. 

The Fifers have enjoyed a decent record at Gayfield in recent years, the last meeting coming almost exactly a year ago in the Irn Bru Cup with the visitors having to dig deep to grind out a 3-2 win after extra time. Paul McManus converted a late penalty after he had been felled in the box to secure the win. Jonathan Page and Kevin Smith were also on target for East Fife, with  Ricky Little and Kane Hester finding the net for Arbroath.      

A reminder that Fifers for the Community (FFTC) are holding an open meeting on Thursday, 6th July at 6.30pm in the upstairs lounge at Bayview Stadium.
The purpose is to explain and take questions on all aspects of the current project to lay a 3G pitch in place of the grass pitch, also explaining as far as possible the relationship between FFTC and EFFC and their joint efforts to develop a community hub at Bayview. We hope to have a representative from the SFA present and he/she will explain how the East Fife Community Sports Club is being developed and by the end of the evening we hope to have explained how the three groups are working towards turning EFFC into a true community club. 

East Fife conclude their Betfred League Cup campaign for 2017-18 tomorrow night when they entertain Elgin City at Bayview Stadium. Unfortunately, despite Darren Young’s men’s best efforts, the Fifers are now out of the running for a place in the next stage, but there have been many positives to take, particularly after Saturday’s second-half showing against Hearts at Tynecastle when they had their Premiership opponents on the back foot at times with a spirited display.  

Opponents Elgin City find themselves in a similar position, having been on the receiving end of a 6-0 defeat at East End Park, but putting in an improved performance last Tuesday at home to Hearts, going down to a solitary Kyle Lafferty goal.

In contrast to Saturday’s meeting with Hearts, East Fife and Elgin City are no strangers to each other, having served up several hard fought encounters in the race to the championship in 2015-16. The clubs have only locked horns on one previous occasion in the League Cup, with goals from Rob Ogleby and Ryan Wallace giving the Methil men a 2-1 win in July 2011 at Bayview. Brian Cameron was the man on the mark for the visitors. The Bayview faithful will need no reminding that their favourites followed up this victory by defeating Dunfermline Athletic and Aberdeen, before eventually going down to Kilmarnock in the quarter final at Rugby Park.

The Fifers squad should be along the usual lines, with Ben Gordon looking set to miss out after being the recipient of two yellow cards on Saturday.