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Match Report - Stranraer

East Fife 1-2 Stranraer, William Hill League 2, Saturday 9^th November 2024, MGM Timber Bayview Stadium

We succumbed to yet another disappointing result last weekend, falling from the top of League Two following a 2-1 loss at home against Stranraer.

The Blues started the game much more positively and took the lead inside 25 minutes with Max Guthrie on the scoresheet. Deryn Lang latches onto a long ball over the top and forces McFarlane into a good save but the ball fell to Guthrie who made no mistake on the rebound.

We did not create enough in the first 45, and could not get going, though neither side was able to dictate the tempo of the game. Just before half-time, East Fife should have pulled level against the odds. Goalkeeper Mutch had to produce the goods with a fantastic double save right before the whistle.

The inclusion of Adam Laaref brought East Fife a much-needed spark and led to us grabbing an equaliser early in the second half. Pat Slattery took the corner kick, which found Munro and the centre half made no mistake with his bullet header.

The Fifers looked to be the team on the ascendency with Mutch again called into action to deny Munro a second with another top-quality save before Stranraer grabbed a winner with a little over 10 minutes left to play. A deflected shot rebounded off the post and into the path of Matty Grant who converted with just ten minutes to go, and the Blues were able to hold on and see the game out.

After the match, Ian Campbell expressed his disappointment in an interview with East Fife TV. The Fifers’ assistant manager said: “Obviously it is a poor result. The first half was a very, very disappointing performance. Just because we are top of the league, it does not mean that we are entitled to win games. Stranraer are a good side, and they showed that today. We have dropped massively in the last three to four weeks, and that needs to improve soon.”

Goalscorer Andy Munro shared a balanced take on the team’s form too, saying: “Every team goes through one of these spells. I’d much rather it happens now than in April or May, our main objective is to pick ourselves up and get a result at Clyde next week.”

East Fife visit Clyde next week, while Stranraer return to Stair Park to host Bonnyrigg Rose.

Reporter’s Man of the Match: Adam Laaref.

Adam added a different dynamic in the second half upon his inclusion into the game. He gave us a threat that was absent in the first half and was fully deserving of the MotM award at the full-time whistle.

East Fife – McFarlane, Murdoch, Slattery (Trouten 72’), Peggie, Munro, Millar, McManus, Norey, Shepherd, Healy (Laaref 45’), Austin (Walker 56’). Subs not used: Fleming, Briggs, Winn, Docherty.

Stranraer – Mutch, Ross, McQueen (Cummins 68’), Reis, Robertson (Grant 61’), Gallagher, Russell, Hawkshaw (Brindley 77’), Ecrepont (Edgar 77’), Guthrie (Dunlop 77’), Lang. Subs not used: Pazikas, Adam, McKnight.

Referee – Ryan Lee

Attendance - 639

Injury Update - Nathan Austin

Nathan Austin sustained a dislocated shoulder during yesterday's match against Stranraer in an innocuous challenge.

Fortunately, the injury is not as bad as initially feared, and his shoulder was put back in place by medical staff at Victoria Hospital A&E.

Fash would like to thank everyone who has reached out to him via social media and hopes to be back playing very soon.

Match Preview - Stranraer

Oli Anderson previews today’s match against Stranraer

East Fife remain at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium this weekend, as we host Stranraer in the league. The Fifers are now at three games without a win and are hoping to improve on the result the last time they faced the Blues at Stair Park too. Stranraer are also looking for progress as they fell 1-0 to Elgin City at Borough Briggs last week.

In Memoria

There will be a minute silence to mark Remembrance Day ahead of this afternoon’s game. We kindly ask that supporters be in their seats to observe this.

William Hill League Two Table

	Team	Pld	GD	Pts
1	East Fife	11	16	23
2	Elgin City	11	8	23
3	Peterhead	11	6	21
4	Stirling Albion	11	1	19
5	Bonnyrigg Rose	11	-3	14
6	Edinburgh City	11	-3	12
7	The Spartans	11	-4	10
8	Stranraer	11	-6	9
9	Forfar Athletic	11	-7	9
10	Clyde	11	-8	9

Last Week’s Results

Clyde 2-2 Bonnyrigg Rose

East Fife 1-1 Stirling Albion

Edinburgh City 2-0 Forfar Athletic

Elgin City 1-0 Stranraer

Peterhead 2-1 The Spartans

This Week’s Fixtures

Bonnyrigg Rose vs Elgin City

East Fife vs Stranraer

Edinburgh City vs Clyde

Forfar Athletic vs The Spartans

Stirling Albion vs Peterhead

The Form

The Fifers

East Fife’s last six games have seen three wins, two draws, and one loss.

The defeat came in incredibly disappointing fashion, as we slumped out of the Scottish Cup at the first hurdle for the fourth year running, as we lost 1-0 at home to Banks O’Dee.

Our draws have also been in recent weeks, with a goalless draw against Forfar Athletic, and a 1-1 draw with Stirling Albion coming in both of our most recent league games.

When our wins have come, they have been spectacles. The first win was against Peterhead when we beat the then-league leaders at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium. The routine display saw Alan Trouten and Stewart Murdoch both on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win. The following week, Nathan Austin scored the only goal in a 1-0 win away to The Spartans, a result which saw us climb to the top of the league. The following week, East Fife showed their cutting edge, burying five against a 10-man Bonnyrigg Rose side. Alan Trouten bagged a hattrick, with Andrew Tod making it on the scoresheet for the first time in his professional career.

Our Opposition

Stranraer have won two, drawn one, and lost three of their last six. Their three losses came against Forfar Athletic, Stirling Albion, and Elgin City where they fell 2-1, 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.

Their draw was a goalless affair with title challengers Peterhead.

The wins have come against Edinburgh City in William Hill League 2, as well as a 3-2 win over Threave Rovers in the Scottish Cup. The Threave game was not as easy as the Blues perhaps assumed however, with the non-league side running Stranraer all the way to the last kick of the game, where Ryan Edgar completed the turnaround, coming back from 2-0 behind. The match has been largely remembered for Deryn Lang’s wonder goal.

Previous Encounter

Stranraer 2-1 East Fife

14th September 2024, Stair Park

East Fife were met with a frustrating day at the office when Stranraer hosted the Methil Milan. Mark Russell opened the scoring with a wonder strike from Stranraer, capitalising on a string of defensive errors from the Fife. We pulled ourselves back into the game through Alan Trouten, before moments later Russell regained the lead for the Blues. The dying embers saw two sending-offs for the Fifers, with goalkeeper Liam McFarlane and manager Dick Campbell both seeing red before the end of the game

Squad News

Outs: Liam Newton continues to miss out due to a long-term knee injury. Alan Trouten hasn’t yet fully recovered so misses out this afternoon too.

A couple of players will have their fitness assessed pre-kick-off today.

Ins: Logan Briggs and Masson Winn keep their place in the senior squad for today’s game.

Match Tickets

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 tickets online in advance where possible. Our online ticketing system now accepts both Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Tickets can also be purchased (cash and card) from the matchday reception for those unable to do so.

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

Turnstiles will be open from 2:00pm this afternoon.

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 Daniel Hughes. There is no live-streaming option for viewers within the UK or Ireland this weekend.

Club Colours

The Fifers will don the MPH-sponsored home kit this afternoon. They will wear the traditional black and gold striped shirt, with black shorts and socks. The Fife goalkeeper will be clad in yellow for the match.

Stranraer will also be in their traditional colours of a blue shirt with white shorts and blue socks, with the Blues goalkeeper in red this afternoon.

Officials

The referee today will be Ryan Lee with his assistants Elliot Husband Powton and Terry Ormiston running the lines.

Catering

The stadium bar will be open from 12.15pm this afternoon and again after the full-time whistle for post-game refreshments.

Pie stalls will be open at both ends of the stadium from 2:00pm this afternoon. Both cash and card are accepted.

Misc

The Bayview issue 12 will be available to purchase at today’s game for £3. This week’s edition features an interview with Under 20s Head Coach Roy Barnes. If you can't make it to today's game, programmes can also be purchased online for home delivery.

The club shop will open at 1:45pm today.

Mon the Fife!