A second match in a home triple header for the Fifers saw Bonnyrigg Rose make the trip to Bayview. The previous time the two teams met saw East Fife come out as comfortable winners, sealing a solid 4-1 win at New Dundas Park thanks to a Ferguson masterclass with two goals and two assists. Last weekend, East Fife suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Annan Athletic and the team were wanting to put that results amends and pick up three points against rose.
One change was made to the team that lost to Annan Athletic as Joao Balde returned after a week out due to illness, taking the place of Jack Healy in the starting line-up.
The game took a while to get going and it wasn’t until the 17th minute where Bonnyrigg had the first effort on goal for wither side. A good cross from Smith found Barrett inside the box but Fleming comfortably saves.
Around the 25-minute mark, East Fife had a flurry of chances, the first coming from Shepherd not giving up on a long ball over the top of the defence to get to the ball ahead of Grigor but unfortunately the attempted lob drops just wide of the post.
A corner kick right after Shepherd’s effort was excellently crafted and straight off the training ground. A low pass from Ferguson and a dummy by Shepard saw the ball reach Mercer who rifles the ball towards goal but Andrews was able to make the save and puts the ball behind for another corner.
HALF TIME: East Fife 0-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
East Fife had the first chance of the second half when a free kick from far out was whipped into the box by Ferguson, finding the leaping Balde who guides the ball towards goal however Andrews calmly claims
The best chance of the game fell to Bonnyrigg Rose when Mitchell took the ball round Murdoch and into the box with a clear sight of the goal but a miraculous save from Fleming prevents the Rose from taking the lead.
10 minutes into the second half, another chance fell the way of Shepherd and East Fife. A long ball over the top from Millar put the striker through on goal but a heavy a touch created a tight angle for himself, but he still managed to force Andrews into a very good save.
With 20 minutes remaining Bonnyrigg Rose were reduced to ten men when ex-Fifer Johnny Stewart receives a second yellow for a pull on Trouten.
After an uneventful and frustrating final 20 minutes for the Fifers, the final chance fell the way of Denham who couldn’t guide his headed effort on target.
FULL TIME: East Fife 0-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
A dull affair ends with both teams sharing a point with zero goals scored. Next up East Fife have the third of the three home games in the row as Stranraer are next to make the journey to Bayview. Stranraer are currently in 4th place whilst East Fife 1 point behind in 5th.
Report by Andrew Laing
East Fife Team: Fleming, Denham, Mercer (Healy 59’), Steele, Murdoch, Millar, Ferguson, Balde, Newton, Trouten (Schiavone 78’), Shepherd
Bonnyrigg Rose Team: Andrews, Martyniuk, Grigor, Horne, Stewart, S Gray, Doan, R Gray (Kane 86’), Barrett, Mitchell (Hunter 78’), Smith (Young 74’)
Referee: Alan Newlands
Attendance: 399