East Fife welcomed Stranraer in what was a must win for the Methil men as they looked to keep their playoff ambitions alive. Last weekend, East Fife battled out a 2-2 draw against league leaders Stirling Albion thanks to a sweet strike from Jack Healy and a header from Aaron Steele. This was the fourth meeting between East Fife and Stranraer this season with the visitors having the better on the encounters so far winning 3-1 and 2-0 in the last two meetings. East Fife did however manage to pick up a point was in august as the clubs drew 2-2. 

Greig McDonald made one enforced change to the team that drew 2-2 against the Binos. Alan Trouten dropped out of the squad through suspension with his place in the starting line-up taken by Connor McManus.

East Fife got the game underway and had the first chance of the match when lofted ball into the centre of the box found Stewart Murdoch however his lobbed header landed on the roof of the net. A few minutes later Stranraer had one of their very few chances when Josh Walker drove down the wing and curled a cross into James Hilton, but he could only direct his header wide of the post. 

In the 16th minute East Fife had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Brogan Walls played a defence splitting pass through to Ryan Schiavone putting into a 1-on-1 with Scullion, however Scott Robertson recovered to block the shot. The Stranraer man did however pick up a yellow card for his troubles after venting his frustration at the lack of an offside flag.

In the 18th minute East Fife took a deserved lead after a barrel of pressure. Connor McManus picked up the ball on the corner of the box and sent a low cross into the danger area which was turned into his own net by former Fifer Luke Watt.

The Fifers kept up the momentum and just a few minutes later Healy cut inside and curled the ball towards goal which forced Scullion into a very good save. The Methil men had yet another chance shortly after when Ferguson played through Schiavone who had drifted away from his marker, but he again failed to hit the target, this time firing wide. 

Stranraer’s best chance of the match came in the 24th minute. A chipped ball over the top of the East Fife defence put Hilton through on goal but his attempted lob was too high and sailed over the bar. 

After half an hour of football East Fife had another golden opportunity to double their lead. Healy, weaving in and out, managed to get to by-line and cuts the ball across goal for Schiavone who dragged his effort wide. 

With 5 minutes of the first half remaining, East Fife finally doubled their lead. A neat 1-2 between Scott Shepherd and Walls puts Shepherd clear down the left wing and he cut the ball across goal where Ferguson was on hand to slide the ball into bottom corner of the net giving the Methil men a comfortable 2-0 lead. 

Seconds before half time, Stranraer were reduced to ten men when Robertson lashed out at Steele which resulted in him picking a second yellow and being sent for an early shower.

HALF TIME: East Fife 2-0 Stranraer

Early in the second half, East Fife added a third which essentially killed the game off. An excellent cross field ball from Walls found Schiavone who, with a first time shot, guided the ball in the corner, giving the Fifers a controlling 3-0 lead. 

On the hour mark, East Fife added another with Walls again the provider. Walls fed Shepherd who did well to hold off the Stranraer defender to slots the ball into the bottom corner, giving East Fife their fourth. 

Five minutes it was 5-0 when Walls, from about 25 yards out, rifled in a long strike that cannoned off the crossbar before rebounding off the Blues keeper and into the net. 

With twenty minutes left, East Fife won a corner on the fire side that was lofted into the box by Ferguson where it was met by Sam Denham who powered a header into the roof of the goal to make it 6-0.

With the game is coming to an end, Shepherd added his second and East Fife’s seventh when he turned in Taylor Steven’s cutback from close. 

After a second minute of injury time, East Fife scored an insane eighth goal. Aidan Denholm battled through the midfield, skipping past most of the opposition midfielders, to feed Shepherd who laid the ball off for Connor Young who rifles the ball past Scullion for his first East Fife goal. 

FULL TIME: East Fife 8-0 Stranraer

A sensational result for the Fifers saw them climb to 4th in the League Two table, and into a playoff position. The high scoring result was the first time East Fife have scored 8 goals in a match since 1963 when Alloa Athletic were on the end of an 8-0 drubbing. Next up is an away fixture against second place Dumbarton. 

East Fife Team: Fleming, Steele (Page 61'), Denham, Murdoch, Newton, McManus, Schiavone (Steven 61'), Walls (Denholm 69'), Healy (Young 69'), Ferguson (Slattery 80'), Shepherd

Stranraer: Scullion, Robertson, McIntosh, Watt, Ecrepont, Grant, Forrest (Brown 34' (Ngandu 58'))m Brady, Gallagher, Walker (Malcom 77'), Hilton

Referee: Alastair Grieve

Attendance: 535

Report by Andrew Laing