A Friday night fixture under the lights welcomed Elgin City to Bayview. This was the fourth meeting between the sides this season with the Fifer coming out on top in the three previous matches. A 3-1 win at Borough Briggs on the opening day of the season was followed by a 2-1 victory at home in October before another 2-1 triumph in Elgin in January.
This was a tale of the league’s most in form team versus the league’s least in form team. East Fife had picked up 13 points in their last six matches whilst Elgin has only picked up 4 over the same period.
Greig McDonald made two changes to the team that drew with the Rosey Posey at New Dundas Park last time out with Jack Healy and Aiden Denholm returning to the starting line-up at the expense of Ryan Schiavone and Brogan Walls who were placed on the bench.
East Fife had the first chance of the game when Alex Ferguson dances his way to by line and cut the ball back to Denholm on the edge of the box but unfortunately, he sliced his shot high and wide of the post.
In the 23rd minute the Fifers had a very good chance to take a deserved lead. A pinpoint accurate corner from Ferguson found the leaping Aaron Steele who’s header forces some pre-emptive celebrations from the home crowd but the ball effort landed on the roof of the net.
A few seconds later, Healy cut inside and attempted the spectacular, but his curling effort just didn’t dip enough, and the ball fell wide of the post.
In the 34th minute, East Fife took the lead after a period of sustained pressure. A floating corner by Ferguson once again picked out Steele in the middle of the box but this time he sent his bullet header into the back of the net, giving the Fifers a 1-0 lead.
As the first half came to a close, East Fife had yet another chance to put themselves further in front. A poor back pass from Mailer put Scott Shepherd through on 1-on1 with Hoban, however the ball had too much pace on it and Hoban was able to save from a tight angle.
With 2 minutes remaining of the first half, Elgin had their first and only real chance of the game when Findlay sent a low cross in the danger area that was met by MacEwan but Fleming pulled off another remarkable save to deny the Elgin forward. The danger wasn’t cleared yet however and Liam Newton was fortunate to see his clearance come back off the upright.
HALF TIME: East Fife 1-0 Elgin City
Early on in the second half, East Fife had an opportunity to double their lead. Ferguson’s free kick hit the wall, but the ball landed at the feet of Shepherd who lifted it back into the penalty area where both Denham and Trouten were waiting but the pair got in each other’s way and Hoban was able to collect.
As the game entered the final 20 minutes, the Fifers continued to pile on the pressure in search of the crucial second. Steele drove down the right wing to the by-line and drilled the ball into the box where it found Shepherd, but his flicked effort bounced off the post and out for a goal kick.
With 10 minutes left of the game, East Fife were awarded a penalty when Shepherd was brought down inside the area. Trouten did his usual and calmly slotted the ball home to seal the three points.
FULL TIME: East Fife 2-0 Elgin City
A huge three points won for the Fifers cements their place in the playoff positions for the time being as Annan Athletic, Forfar Athletic and Stenhousemuir all failed to pick up maximum points on the Saturday. Next up for the Fifers is another home game when Annan Athletic are welcomed to the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium next Saturday.
East Fife Team: Fleming, Murdoch, Steele, Newton, Denham, McManus, Trouten, Healy (Young 86’), Ferguson (Omar 90+2’), Shepherd (Young 86’), Denholm (Schiavone 79’)
Elgin City Team: Hoban, Mailer, Towler, McHardy, Dolzanski, MacEwan (Reid 57’), Dingwall (Tod 81’), Findlay (Taylor 67’), Jamieson (Lawrence 67’), Cameron, Hester
Referee: Dan McFarlane
Attendance: 670
Report by Andrew Laing