A testimonial match against Heart of Midlothian was a fitting send off to a modern-day East Fife legend, Kevin Smith. Scoring 50 goals and making 238 appearances for the club are numbers which make him a modern day great. The friendly was also a good chance for Stevie Crawford to get some players minutes against a strong Hearts side before competitive action begins on Saturday.
In the opening exchanges of the game, East Fife seemed lively and raring to go. It was almost a dream start for the man of the moment when, after 10 minutes, Smith had the ball in the back of the net, the goal was however chalked off due marginal offside decision. Shortly after King Kev scored another but was yet again ruled out for offside.
At the 15th minute mark, Hearts took the lead after a good bit of link up play between Gary Mackay-Steven and Liam Boyce which saw Alex Cochrane pick up the ball and send a powerful shot past Jude Smith. In the 20th minute Hearts doubled their lead due to the ball falling nicely to ex-East Fife man Finlay Pollock at the edge of the area who smashed a sensational half-volley into the top corner, making the game 2-0 to the Edinburgh club.
Despite Hearts dominance, East Fife did see a splattering of chances. One chance in particular saw Jack Healy played through on the left-hand side of the pitch, Healy took a shot from a tight angle, however the ball dribbled past the post.
At the half-hour mark Hearts scored another. A good set piece delivery from Grant on the left-hand touchline picked out the Heart’s trialist, who scored with a diving header. The half time whistle went after an uneventful final 15 minutes of the first half
At the break both teams switched their starting elevens around. East Fife brought on Scott Mercer, Brogan Walls, Allan Trouten and Ryan Schivone with Murdoch, Sutherland, Trialist and Newton making way. In the Hearts team, Mackay-Steven and Scott McGill came off for Cammy Logan and Connor Smith.
5 minutes into the second half, Hearts managed to find a fourth hrough Stephen Kingsley who sent a sweet strike into the bottom corner from 25 yards. In the 57th minute Hearts further extended their lead, again through Kingsley leaping high and scoring into the centre of the goal from a corner. Five minutes later East Fife give away a penalty when Finlay Pollock was fouled in the area. Kingsley scored third for himself and a sixth for Hearts when he converts from the spot. Allan Forest added a seventh for the visitors by drilling the ball past Smith from a narrow angle.
Despite the score line, East Fife kept their heads up and were shortly after presented with an opportunity when Healy dispossessed a Hearts midfielder and played the ball through to an unmarked Kevin Smith. Smith effort from outside the box, forcing the Hearts keeper into a save low to his left.
With 15 minutes left of the game, Kevin Smith playing career with East Fife came to an end when he left the field to a standing ovation from the Bayview faithful.
The referee blew up for full time ending the match without further scoring. The night was an emotional goodbye to a player who always gave 100% whenever he pulled on an East Fife jersey. That player was Kevin Smith.
Andrew Laing