A westerly trip to the league leaders Dumbarton beckoned for the Fifers. Earlier on in the season, the two sides met at Bayview and a dull affair ended with the Sons scrapping a narrow 1-0 victory. Last weekend East Fife’s game against Stranraer was called off after a pitch inspection due to heavy snowfall the day prior.
3 changes were made to the starting squad that fought out a 0-0 draw against Bonnyrigg Rose last time out. Liam Parker, Jack Healy and Ryan Schiavone all returned to the starting line-up in place of Aaron Steele, Joao Balde and Alan Trouten.
The first chance of the game fell to the Sons on the 6th minute when Gray got down the line and delivered a low cross for Wallace but Denham managed to get to the ball first and turn behind for a corner.
A corner for Dumbarton in the 20th minute picked out Buchanan who had ghosted away from his man however the ball narrowly evaded him.
After 30 minutes, Fleming preformed yet another miraculous save to keep out Wallace’s header from near unmissable range to keep the scores level.
Dumbarton continued to knock on the door and another corner floated into Buchanan but this time he got good connection but the ball cannons off the crossbar.
On the 32nd minute, Dumbarton took the lead when a poorly cleared ball dropped onto the head of Buchanan who sent a looping header into the far corner of the net, putting the Sons 1-0 up.
HALF TIME: Dumbarton 1-0 East Fife
Two minutes into the second half, Dumbarton doubled their lead when a poorly dealt with ball puts Wallace in possession who slides through Wilson who rifles past Fleming
East Fife had a chance on the 62nd minute as the ball fell to Healy on the edge of the box but his effort falls into the arms of Long comfortably.
The best chance for East Fife came in the 67th minute when Healy’s skipped past Lynas and into the box before cutting the ball back for Trouten who failed to hit the target from close range, shanking the ball high and wide.
With 9 minutes remaining, the Methil men tried a clever shirt free kick when Healy plays a rolling pass to Ferguson whose powerful shot looked to be sailing towards the bottom corner but was kept out by a fine save from Long.
FULL TIME: Dumbarton 2-0 East Fife
The Sons came out victorious on their 150th Anniversary celebration day. East Fife are now in 6th, a point behind 4th placed Annan Athletic. Next up for the Fifers is an away trip to 3rd placed Elgin City and the team will be hoping to pick a first win in 6 outings.
Dumbarton Team: Long, Buchanan, Carswell, Lynas, McNiff, Wylde (Love 70’), Orsi, Wilson, McKee, Gray (McLean 69’). Wallace (Garrity 86’)
East Fife Team: Fleming, Murdoch, Denham, Parker (Trouten 61’), Mercer, Millar, Healy, Newton, Ferguson, Schiavone (Steven 61’), Shepherd
Referee: Graham Beaton
Attendance: TBC