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Oli Anderson previews today’s match against Elgin City.

Six wins on the spin! Victory over Edinburgh City sees the Fife train roll on. The next stop is Elgin, where the Fifers meet the Black and Whites at Borough Briggs.

Elgin City are coming off the back of a goalless draw with Clyde last weekend.

William Hill League 2 Table

  Team Pld GD Pts
1 East Fife 22 28 45
2 Peterhead 22 8 40
3 Elgin City 20 7 34
4 Edinburgh City 22 0 31
5 Stirling Albion 21 -5 27
6 The Spartans 19 -1 26
7 Clyde 22 -10 23
8 Bonnyrigg Rose 21 -8 22
9 Stranraer 21 -8 21
10 Forfar Athletic 20 -11 15

Last Week’s League Results

Clyde 0-0 Elgin City

East Fife 4-1 Edinburgh City

Forfar Athletic 0-1 Stranraer

Stirling Albion 3-0 Bonnyrigg Rose

The Spartans 1-0 Peterhead

Tuesday 28th January

Bonnyrigg Rose 3-1 Stranraer.

This Weekend’s Fixtures

Elgin City vs East Fife

Edinburgh City vs Stirling Albion

Bonnyrigg Rose vs Clyde

Peterhead vs Forfar Athletic

Stranraer vs The Spartans

The Form

The Fifers

East Fife’s are on fantastic form at the moment, having won all of our last six games, accumulating a maximum 18 from a possible 18 in the league.

Firstly, a 5-1 win over The Spartans was comfortable, with Trouten at the double. McManus, Millar and Shepherd all found the back of the net too.

Alan Trouten went on to score the only goal from the spot in a 1-0 victory over tenth placed Forfar Athletic.

Midweek victory over Edinburgh City showed the squad’s character further, with a quick double countering Connor Young’s first half strike, before three goals in the last ten minutes saw the game wrapped up 4-2 in East Fife’s favour.

A commanding second half performance then saw us claim a 3-0 victory over Darren Young’ Clyde side, before our dominant first half display against Stranraer made it five wins in five.

Last week, 15 minutes of pure quality blew Edinburgh City out of the water. Eighty minutes of mediocrity drew null and void, as Nathan Austin, Adam Laaref, Reis Peggie and Alan Trouten all found the back of the net in the dying embers of the contest. Edin Lynch saw red too, in what was a shambolic end to proceedings for the Citizens, who competed well in the majority of the match.

Our Opposition

Elgin City have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six matches.

Their losses came firstly away to Edinburgh City where they went down 1-0, before they fell 3-0 at home to Premiership side Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup, where the Black and Whites fought hard, but just came up short on the day.

Their first draw came on the 11th of January, where Forfar Athletic held Elgin to a score draw. Their most recent draw came last week on the road once more, as they played out a goalless draw against Darren Young’s ten-man Clyde side.

The wins have been big for Elgin, firstly against the aforementioned Clyde. Dylan Gavin was on hand to bag a hattrick, as they overcame the Bully Wee 4-2. Their second win came against Peterhead in a controlling display against the Blue Toon. Gavin was on the scoresheet once more, so he is a clear attacking threat, alongside new signing Kane Hester, who knows how to cause problems in this division.

Previous Encounter

East Fife 2-1 Elgin City

Saturday 7th December 2024, MGM Timber Bayview Stadium

Jess Norey bagged a 97th minute winner for the Methil Milan the last time the sides met, sending the East Fife faithful into raptures following an action-packed contest.

Reis Peggie opened the scoring, though was pegged back by Mark Gallagher’s equaliser. A tight second half saw both sides chasing the winner, though it came for the side in black and gold in the seventh minute of added time to claim all three points on the day.

Squad News

We’re pleased to confirm that the signing of Michael McKenna has now be ratified by the SFA and he is available for selection this afternoon.

Ins: The Campbell’s have an almost-full squad, with new signing Michael McKenna adding both depth and quality to an already thriving unit.

Outs: Gregor Nicol remains sidelined from injury. There are no fresh injury concerns ahead of today’s game.

Match Tickets

Please find match ticket prices below. Tickets can be purchased on Elgin’s Fanbase page, or at the turnstiles today.

Stand/Terrace.

Adult- £18/£16

Concessions- £12/10

Under 16-Free with a paying adult.

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 Oli Anderson

Club Colours

The Fifers will don the Back Onside sponsored away kit. They will wear the Argentina-esque sky blue and white striped kit, with white shorts and socks. The Fife goalkeeper will wear orange for the match.

Elgin will be in their away colours of a black and red shirt, with black shorts and red socks. The Elgin ‘keeper will be clad in yellow for the clash.

Officials

The referee today will be Daniel Graves, with Steven Wilson and Owen Lawrence running the lines.

Mon the Fife!

East Fife FC are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Michael McKenna on a 2.5-year contract, subject to SFA clearance.

The 34-year-old midfielder joins after leaving Falkirk earlier this week and brings a wealth of experience and quality to the squad. Before signing with Falkirk last summer, Michael spent seven years at Arbroath, where he made over 200 appearances for the Gayfield side. During his time there, he helped the team gain promotion from League 1 to the Championship and was named the PFA Championship Player of the Year for the 2021/22 season as they narrowly lost out on the league title.

Manager Dick Campbell: “We are thrilled to welcome Michael to the club. He is a player we have been monitoring for some time, and we’re delighted that he has chosen to join us. His work ethic, leadership qualities, and technical ability are exactly what we need to strengthen our midfield. We believe Michael will be a key player for us, and we look forward to seeing him help guide the team forward.”

Dick also paid tribute to his brother Pink who was instrumental in bringing Michael to the club, along with the fans who have generously donated to the manager’s fund, without which we wouldn’t have been able to make the three new additions this month.

Michael joined up with the squad at training tonight and will be available for selection against Elgin City on Saturday subject to SFA clearance.

Welcome to Bayview Michael!

MMcK

East Fife 4-1 Edinburgh City, Saturday 25th January 2025, William Hill League 2, MGM Timber Bayview Stadium

A rampant final twenty minutes from East Fife completed a turnaround against Edinburgh City to go five points clear at the top of the William Hill League 2, making it six wins on the spin for the Methil Milan.

A tight first half saw the sides go in goalless, with the Citizens being the marginally better team, playing some slick passing football though struggling to create in final third.

In the second half, the game opened up, and the goals poured in.

Edinburgh drew first blood, when Stokes fired home from close range. It was far too easy for Edinburgh who had looked off the pace in the attacking third after the sale of Connor Young.

A goal behind, the Campbell’s looked to their bench and made a triple substitution, a move which manager Dick Campbell described as ‘magnificent’ in his post-match interview with East Fife TV. Kallum Higginbotham, Adam Laaref and a returning Nathan Austin entered the fray, and the three men turned the tide of the contest, starting with ‘Fash’.

Substitutes Laaref and Higginbotham combined on the left-hand side, with the former eventually floating a ball into the box where it found Nathan Austin. He plucked the ball from the sky and volleyed it into the back of the net, giving the Fifers a surge leading to an unprecedented ten minutes at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium.

The floodgates opened thereafter, and Adam Laaref completed the turnaround with a cushty finish. He did well to beat the goalkeeper at the near post firing East Fife in front.

Edin Lynch saw red just moments later, after Laaref turned him inside and out once again. Lynch kicked out at the winger, ending his game prematurely.

Reis Peggie scored from the following free kick, bringing the ball down well, and lashing home with a tidy finish on his weaker right foot.

Finally, Alan Trouten found the scoresheet yet again from the penalty spot, handing him his 21st goal of the season. He won the penalty on his own, drawing a foul from the City ‘keeper before wrongfooting him from the spot.

Next Saturday sees the Fifers travel north to play Elgin City at Borough Briggs.

Reporter’s Man of the Match: Adam Laaref

Need I say more? What an impact the young man made! Honourable mentions to Fash and Higginbotham who both impressed upon their inclusion in the match.

East Fife – McFarlane, Murdoch, Waston, Peggie, Munro, Millar (Jones 75’), McManus, Norey (Higginbotham 62’), Trouten, Healy (Laaref 62’), Shepherd (Austin 62’). Subs not used: Fleming, Newton, Slattery, Docherty.

Edinburgh City – Weir, McArthur, Lynch, Grigor, Mitchell (Robertson 45’), Jones, Jarvis (Hamilton 70’), Zaid, Stokes (Daramola 82’), Lawson (Wells 70’), See. Subs not used: Gormley, Beveridge, Scally, Pitt.

Referee – Colin Whyte

Attendance – 615

Report by Oli Anderson

Tickets for our William Hill League 2 match against Elgin City at Borough Briggs on Saturday 1st February are now on sale and can be purchased here.

Admission Prices

Adults - £16

Concessions* - £10

Under 16s – Free with a paying adult

There is no live streaming option this weekend for viewers with the UK and Ireland however overseas supporters can watch the game live via East Fife TV with an annual or monthly subscription.