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Match Preview - Stenhousemuir

Oli Anderson previews today’s match against Stenhousemuir.

This week has seen the dawn of a new era at Bayview, with one of the biggest personalities in Scottish Football, Dick Campbell, and his worthy team of his brother Ian ‘Pink’ Campbell, and John Young. However, if they want the perfect welcome at the MGM Timber Bayview on Saturday, they are going to have to work for it, as the Black and Gold will come face to face with Gary Naysmith’s high-flying Stenhousemuir side.

Last week saw defeat to Elgin City in rather disappointing fashion as we never looked like scoring. However, a line can be drawn under this as the club has an opportunity for a fresh start, finishing this season as strongly as possible.

Our opponents are coming off the back of a 1-0 win over Dumbarton, which allowed the Warriors to maintain their 15-point lead at the summit of League Two. Defeat for Dumbarton, who have slipped into 4th (the final playoff place) leaves them now 9 points ahead of us in 6th, although the Sons do have 2 games in hand.

A Message from the New Management Team

Speaking with new Assistant Manager Ian Campbell before Saturday, regarding Stenhousemuir and beyond, Pink said:

“This has the potential to be a fantastic game against a side that has had a brilliant season to date and fully deserve to be top of the league. From our viewpoint, this is the first game for the new regime, and we are really looking forward to it.”

The cinch League Two Table

Position	Team	Played	Pts	GD
1	Stenhousemuir	23	55	25
2	Peterhead	23	40	13
3	The Spartans	21	36	12
4	Dumbarton	21	34	10
5	Bonnyrigg Rose	22	28	1
6	East Fife	23	25	-3
7	Forfar Athletic	22	24	-5
8	Elgin City	23	24	-21
9	Stranraer	22	23	-15
10	Clyde	22	15	-17

Last Week’s Results

Bonnyrigg Rose 0-0 Stranraer

Clyde 1-1 Peterhead

Elgin City 1-0 East Fife

Forfar Athletic 1-0 The Spartans

Stenhousemuir 1-0 Dumbarton

This Week’s Fixtures

Dumbarton vs Forfar Athletic @ The Rock

East Fife vs Stenhousemuir @ The MGM Timber Bayview Stadium

Stranraer vs Clyde @ Stair Park

The Spartans vs Elgin City @ Ainslie Park

Bonnyrigg Rose and Peterhead will not face off in league action this weekend due to the Rosey Posey’s progression in the Scottish Cup. They tee up to play Premiership Giants Aberdeen this afternoon.

Previous Encounter

The last time the two sides met, a spirited East Fife second half was not enough for a victory.

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, 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 opening 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, 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 create one of the many chances created by the midfield talismans.

With 64 minutes on the clock, 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 match 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.

Updated Season Ticket Offer

Should you wish to come along to Bayview for the remainder of the season to support the lads and be part of the new Campbell and co. buzz, look no further than our ‘Season Ticket’ deal for all home games between now and the end of the season. These are only on sale for a limited time, and we have two offers available, one which includes this weekend’s battle with the Warriors, giving 7 games, or another without, which leaves 6 games at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium between now and the end of the season. Please find prices below.

7 Game Deal (Includes Stenhousemuir)

Adult- £112

Concession- £88

6 Game Deal (Valid only after Stenhousemuir Game)

Adult- £100

Concession - £88

Squad News

Ins- Brendan Ramsey returns to fitness after the youngster missed the last few weeks due to an ankle problem.

Outs- Unfortunately Pat Slattery and Jacob Comerford remain on the long-term injury list, while a couple of other squad members will have their fitness assessed pre-kick off tomorrow.

Team Colours

East Fife will don the 120th anniversary black and gold top, matched with black shorts and socks, while the goalkeeper will be clad in the yellow kit.

Our opponents will be in their away colours at the Wooden Fortress, with a white top and maroon shorts and socks. The Stenny goalkeeper will be wearing red for the clash.

Match Tickets

Full and half season tickets are valid for our league campaign, with prices below:

Adults- £18

Concessions (Over 65s/Disabled)- £14

Under 16s- £5

Parent and 1 child- £21

Parent and 2 children- £24

Like last season, EFCFC players Under 16 years of age will be admitted for free!

There are no cash turnstiles at Bayview, so supporters are encouraged to buy their ticket online in advance where possible. However, ticket can also be purchased from the matchday reception for those unable to do so.

Please note, parent & child ticket must be purchased in person from the matchday reception.

Live Streaming

Live Streaming of the game will be available on East Fife TV for our international fans. This can be accessed through a monthly or season pass. You can access this HERE!

Officials

The on-pitch official this afternoon will be Calum Scott while his assistants running the lines are Colin Drummond and Ian Hart.

Refreshments

The stadium bar will be open from 12.15pm on Saturday! We welcome you to join us for a drink before the match. The bar will be open again after the full-time whistle for post-match refreshments.

Pie stalls at both ends of the stadium will be open from 2.00pm today. Both cash and card are accepted.

Programme

Issue Number 14 for the 23/24 edition of the Bayview will be available from vendors outside the ground pre match. This week’s edition includes an interview with Robbie Hamilton along with all of the regular features.

Let’s get behind the boys as we embark on a scintillating new chapter of this fantastic football club. Mon the Fife!