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Fifers Stung By Wasps

Ladbrokes League 1

Saturday 21^st October

Recreation Park

Alloa Athletic 4 (Crossan 25’, Hetherington 45’, Graham 60’, Flannigan 74’)

East Fife 1 (Wilkie 8’)

Alloa Athletic XI: Parry, Robertson, Taggart, Graham, Crane, Cawley (Cook 81’), Flemming, Hetherington, Flannigan, Malcolm (Renton 68’), Crossan (Martin 81’)

Subs: Wilson, Goodwin

Booked: Taggart

East Fife XI: M Hurst, Dunsmore, Piggott, Docherty, Slattery, Flanagan (Wilson 66’), Willis, Millar, G Hurst (Smith 66’), Wilkie, Duggan (Reilly 83’)

Subs: Goodfellow, Lamont, Mutch

Booked: Docherty

Referee: Mike Roncone

Attendance: 556

East Fife travelled to the Indodrill Stadium to face Alloa Athletic but it was the hosts who claimed all three points following a 4-1 win. Manager Darren Young made three injury-enforced changes to the side that produced the stunning comeback against Albion Rovers last time out with Chris Kane, Craig Watson and Scott Linton missing out and being replaced by Kyle Wilkie, Paul Willis and new loan-signing 18-year-old Jordan Piggott, signed from Dundee prior to kick off.

East Fife were in front inside 8 minutes when Wilkie turned his man and unleashed an unstoppable strike past Alloa ‘keeper Neil Parry – his first goal since February 2016. Aside from the goal, the opening 20 minutes were devoid of any real chances; Willis tried his luck from 25-yards at one end but couldn’t find the target before Kevin Cawley had a shot blocked by Piggott at the other the only chances of note during the early exchanges.

Alloa were level on 24 minutes when Mark Hurst spilled Jon Robertson’s cross from the right leaving Paul Joseph Crossan an easy tap in. The goal failed to dent East Fife’s confidence and it was the visitors who continued to create opening in front of goal. Chris Duggan had a shot blocked from close range before last-weekend’s goal-hero Greg Hurst’s shot from 15-yards was narrowly wide of the right-hand post with Parry beaten. The visitors were hit with a sucker-punch on the stroke of half-time however when Steven Hetherington’s free kick from the right-hand touchline evaded everyone and crept into the bottom left-hand corner.

East Fife started the second half on the front foot with Nathan Flanagan spurning two opportunities in front of goal albeit neither of the clear-cut chances before the visitors were hit with a second sucker-punch on the hour mark when Andy Graham fired past Hurst from close range. East Fife protested believing Graham to be in an offside position but referee Mike Roncone wasn’t interested – replays have so far been inconclusive.

Iain Flannigan wrapped up the points for the home side 15 minutes from time with a free kick which found the top left-hand corner. The game largely petered out after that with the home side content to keep position without causing any further threat. East Fife had one final opportunity 5 minutes from time but Piggott header from substitute Kevin Smith’s cross was straight at Parry.

A game that is difficult to sum up. East Fife played well in spells but defensive errors again proving costly.

Fifes On Top in 9-Goal Thriller

Ladbrokes League 1

Saturday 14^th October 2017

Bayview Stadium

East Fife 5 (Duggan 4’, Docherty 42’ (P), G Hurst 80’, 90+3’, Linton 90+1’)

Albion Rovers 4 (Marr 8’, Reid 54’, Vitoria 68’, Trouten 78’)

East Fife XI: M Hurst, Dunsmore, Watson (Wilkie 26’), Kane, Linton, Millar, Slattery, Docherty, Flanagan, Duggan (Smith 71’), G Hurst

Subs: Willis, Wilson, Reilly, Goodfellow, Lamont

Booked: Millar

Albion Rovers XI: Bowman, Reid, Marr, Perry, McLaughlin, Fisher, Holmes, Davidson, Higgins (McMullin 84’), Shields (Vitoria 68’), Trouten

Subs: Guthrie, Potts, Lightbody, McLeish, Watters

Booked: Perry

Referee:  Craig Charleston

Attendance: 502

Where to start?

On-form Albion Rovers were the visitors to Bayview on Saturday but it was the home side who claimed all three points following a nine-goal thriller. Manager Darren Young made one change to the side that lost to Ayr United last time out with Greg Hurst replacing Jonathan Page who was suspended following his red card two weeks ago. There was also a welcome return for club captain Kevin Smith who took his place on the bench after missing the start of the season through injury.

The visitors were unbeaten away from home this season coming into the match and having beaten league leaders Raith Rovers last time out, the Fifers knew this would be a tough encounter. Both sides showed their support for Show Racism the Red Card’s annual fortnight of action prior to kick off.

Alan Trouten should have given the visitors the lead inside the first minute when he beat the offside trap but couldn’t direct his header on target. Rovers were left to rue that miss when Chris Duggan latched onto a long ball from Mark Docherty to lob ‘keeper Graeme Bowman from 20-yards to give East Fife the lead. East Fife ‘keeper Mark Hurst pulled off a good save to deny former Fifer Gary Fisher moments later but the lead didn’t last long with Jason Marr levelling the match minutes later when he got on the end of Chris Higgin’s corner to head past Hurst on 8 minutes.

Duggan had a couple of opportunities to add to the scoring when first some good footwork saw him skip past Ross Davidson and cut inside only to see his shot blocked from close range by the Rover’s defence before he headed narrowly wide after getting on the end of Aaron Dunsmore’s cross from the right. East Fife weren’t having things all their own way, however, with Davidson’s chip clearing the bar following a short corner.

The home side should have extended their lead minutes before the break when Nathan Flanagan got to the by-line and lifted in a cross the was only partially cleared but Scott Linton blasted over from 8-yards with the goal at his mercy. Duggan was continuing to cause problem for the Rover’s defence down the right with a nice turn taking Marr out of the game before being body checked by Alan Reid inside the area giving referee Craig Charleston no option but to point to the spot. Docherty stepped up and sent Bowman the wrong way to score his 5^th goal of the season.

A cracking first half but few could have predicted what was to come in the next 45!

The match was level once again on 53 minutes when Reid rose highest to turn Higgin’s free kick past Hurst and into the net. Kyle Wilkie went close to restoring East Fife’s lead on 56 minutes with a snap shot from the edge of the area that just cleared the bar. Joao Victoria was introduced for the visitors just after the hour mark and it proved to be an inspired substitution when he gave Albion Rovers the lead for the first time in the match following a mix up in the home defence. Victoria almost added his second of the match moments later but was denied by a goal line clearance from Docherty

Victoria turned provider next when he laid the ball off for Alan Trouten to pass the ball into an unguarded net to give the visitors a 2-goal lead with 12 minutes to play. Few would believe what was about to unfold!

East Fife pulled one goal back shortly after the re-start when Docherty’s free kick was poorly cleared by the Albion Rovers defence and Greg Hurst was on hand to tap home from 5-yards. The visitors were hanging on while East Fife continued to press for an equaliser and it duly came as the clock ticked past 90 minutes. Aaron Dunsmore was bundled over by McLaughlin 20-yards from goal and up stepped Scott Linton to curl a near-perfect free kick over the wall into the top right-hand corner to level the match.

East Fife had recused a point but they weren’t done yet! Greg Hurst was denied by some last-ditch defence by Marr after a complete mix-up between the defender and his goalkeeper. What happened next will go down in East Fife folklore. Dunsmore won the ball on the half-way line, laid the ball off for Docherty the pick up again on the right-hand touchline following a nice flick-on from Flanagan before hitting the by-line and squaring the ball across the face of goal. Smith kept the ball alive at the back post before Hurst bundled the ball over the line with the last kick of the ball to spark mass celebrations in the home end.

A fantastic game that will be remember for years to come.

The Bayview | Black and Gold and Blue - Henry Morris

What was the name of the footballer who scored a hat-trick on his international debut but was never selected to play for his country again? This question has undoubtedly cropped up in pub quizzes all over the country, and the answer, if you didn’t already know, is East Fife’s Henry Morris!

Henry was born in Dundee on 17^th December 1919, and was relatively late in stepping up to the Senior game at the age of twenty-six; his football development having been delayed by active service during World War Two.

Before the war, Henry had turned out for Lochee Central, where he formed a striking partnership with inside-forwards Jake and Dougie Davidson, a trio which was destined to fill the same role at Bayview during East Fife’s Halcyon days. Indeed, all three were transferred from Lochee to Dundee Violet during the summer of 1939, where the lethal striking force scored an incredible 36 goals in just four games, with Morris netting four times and the Davidson brothers a goal apiece in a league match against East Craigie at Glenesk Park on 11^th August. Such was the attraction of the high-scoring Violet team at this time, an incredible crowd of 6,270 paid to see the ‘Pansies’ take on Dundee Harp at Glenesk Park that same month!

After being de-mobbed at the end of the Second World War, all three players teamed up once again at Dundee Violet, but it wasn’t long before the senior talent scouts came calling. On Friday 7^th June 1946, East Fife fought off a host of Scottish and English clubs, including Dundee United and Blackpool, to land the signature of Henry Morris, who was joined a week later by Violet team-mate Dougie Davidson. Doug’s brother Jake, however, opted instead to sign for Dundee United, thus breaking up the striking partnership.

In Henry’s first season at Bayview, 1946/47, the centre-forward scored an amazing 36 goals in 37 competitive appearances; but things were to get even better the following season following the signing of old partner Jake Davidson, who had failed to hold down a regular place in the Dundee United first team during his year at Tannadice. The old trio were now back together again, and season 1947/48 saw Henry Morris score 59 goals in 48 appearances with the Davidson brothers weighing in with 32 goals between them; all three ending the campaign with a League Cup winners’ medal and a ‘B’ Division Championship medal to show for their efforts!

Although playing against tougher opposition in the top flight during season 1948/49, and without the assistance of Doug Davidson for most of the campaign following the player’s transfer to Blackpool in October 1948, Henry Morris still managed to find the net no fewer than 25 times in 37 appearances. It was inevitable that Henry’s scoring exploits would come to the attention of the international selectors, and the player was finally called up for international duty for the Home International Championship match against Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast on 1^st October 1949, which was also to double as a qualifying match for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

On the Tuesday preceding the match, Henry and East Fife team-mate George Aitken met up with the rest of the Scotland party at Broomielaw Quay in the centre of Glasgow, where they battled their way through hordes of young autograph hunters and newspaper reporters before boarding the steamer Royal Ulsterman, bound for Belfast. Asked on the quayside how he felt about getting called up to the national team, Henry modestly replied: “I’ll do my best not to let Scotland down”.

Henry certainly didn’t let the team down, as after just two minutes’ play he got his head on to a cross from Willie Waddell to put the Scots ahead. It was a dream start to his Scotland debut and, into the bargain, Henry had written himself into the history books as the first British player to score a World Cup qualifying goal! And it wasn’t to end there, with Henry Morris scoring another two second half goals to complete a debut hat-trick which, along with two goals from Rangers’ Willie Waddell and further strikes from Derby’s Billy Steel, Hibs’ Lawrie Reilly and Third Lanark’s Jimmy Mason, was more than enough to sweep the Irish aside and record a remarkable 8-2 victory.

Having made such an impressive Scotland debut, one would naturally assume that Henry Morris would once again line up alongside East Fife team-mate George Aitken in Scotland’s next international at Hampden on 9^th November 1949. Morris was not in the team that beat Wales 2-0, however, and it was assumed by many that the player had been snubbed by the international selection committee, but this is not quite true. The facts of the matter are that Henry picked up an injury in a league match against Motherwell just days before the Wales match, which effectively ruled him out. By the time he had regained his form, the Scotland centre-forward position had been claimed by Hearts’ Willie Bauld, which effectively spelled the end of Henry’s international career.

Despite a fall-out with East Fife just weeks after playing for his country, during which speculation was rife that he had played his last match for the club, Henry remained at Bayview until April 1953, during which time he picked up a second League Cup winner’s medal in 1949 and made an appearance in the 1950 Scottish Cup Final. He ended his senior career following brief spells at Dundee United and Portadown in Northern Ireland.

Henry passed away in Kirkcaldy in March 1993, aged 73.

Jim Corstorphine