After a month away from Bayview, the Fifers returned home in high hopes after a convincing 2-1 away win at Elgin City last weekend. The Methil men have faced the Warriors 3 times already this season with two going the way of the visitors, and the other being a 2-2 draw.
One change was made to the team that won at Borough Briggs with Scott Mercer returning to the starting line up in place of Jack Healy who was suffering from a slight ankle injury.
The first chance of the game fell in the 8th minute when Ferguson’s corner found the head of Mercer who forced Warrior’s keeper Lyle into a good save, but he could only push the ball back into danger however Quinn’s header is cleared for the Stenhousemuir defence.
In the 15th minute, East Fife took a deserved lead when a poor clearance from Stenhousemuir from an East Fife corner fell for Ferguson who sent the ball back into the danger zone from the edge of the box. The ball was picked up by Millar who flicked through Trouten with only Lyle to beat and showed good composure to find the corner and puts East Fife into the lead.
Six minutes after going behind, Stenhousemuir had a chance to snatch a quick-fire equaliser through Orr who found himself in clear sight of goal however Fleming was off his line quickly to stop the ball from rippling the back of the net.
Stenhousemuir had another chance shortly before half-time when Orr, again, found himself in some space on the edge of the box but his low shot is comfortably saved by Fleming. An uneventful end of the second half saw the referee blow his whistle with no added time.
HALF TIME: East Fife 1-0 Stenhousemuir
Early in the second half, East Fife had an effort to double the lead when Steven picked up the ball on the right side and proceeds to cut inside but his curling effort couldn’t find enough dip to drop into the top corner of the net.
On the hour mark, Stenhousemuir scored an equaliser when Yates cross from the left-hand side evaded everyone and bounced over the bewildered Fleming.
After gaining momentum from the goal, Stenhousemuir had a flurry of goal scoring opportunities. The first fell to Yates but Fleming was again off his line quickly to block and the second coming from a sliding pass by Yates through to Orr but yet again Fleming was quickly out to make the save.
After a long period of little to no action, the Methil men had one final chance to win the game late on. A corner from Agnew found Steele inside the area who knocked the ball on to Trouten however his header from close range was over the bar
FULL TIME: East Fife 1-1 Stenhousemuir
A draw was probably a fair result for both teams. The Fifers remain in fourth, three points behind Elgin City. Next up is another home game against Stranraer who have so far struggled away from home this season and the team will be keen to pick up maximum points.
East Fife Team: Fleming, Mercer, Murdoch, Millar, Steele, Shepherd, Trouten, Newton (Schiavone 64’), Ferguson (Agnew 70’), Steven (Walls 64’), Quinn
Stenhousemuir Team: Lyle, Corbett, Higgins, Jamieson, Yeats (Anderson 86’), Brown (Frobes 68’), Miller, Wedderburn, O’Reilly (Walker 87’), Yates, Orr (Sewell 78’)
Referee: Calum Scott
Attendance: 518
Match Report: Andrew Laing