Oli Anderson previews tonight’s Fife Cup tie against Burntisland Shipyard

East Fife have yet another break in league action tonight, as we host East of Scotland Second Division side Burntisland Shipyard in the second round of the Fife Cup. Coming off the back of an incredible 4-0 win against Stranraer at the weekend, the boys are on a high, as they currently remain undefeated in 6 (over 90 minutes). Our opponents find themselves in a comfortable midtable position of the 3rd tier of the East of Scotland Leagues, sitting in 8th place. Perhaps fortunate for the Fife, the game has been moved away from Recreation Park in Burntisland, where the Shippy are on good form, recording 12 points from their last 6 at home. On the other hand, they are struggling on the road this season and have only recorded 1 win away from their home comforts.

Last week, due to the adverse weather, the 2017/18 Fife Cup champions, Burntisland, were unable to fulfil their fixture against fellow Fifers Kennoway Star Hearts. This means that their most recent game came while we were sunning it up on our European adventure! Shippy hosted high-flying Stirling University. The university side ran out 4-2 winners, and Burntisland Shipyard’s match reporter described their defending as their “Achillies Heel” marking poor defending and indecision as catalysts to their loss. This was backed up by manager Lee Richardson who said:

“What is most disappointing is that Stirling did not have to work for their goals. We (Burntisland) are gifting teams goals game after game, and until it stops, we are going to struggle.”

In East Fife’s casual win on Saturday, overcoming Stranraer 4 goals to nil, there was some truly impressive football on display, and after the game, when asked about the performance, Greig McDonald said:

“I thought we were excellent from minute one, I really do. We picked up where we left off last week. We have been playing at a high level for a number of weeks now, and are now only at 1 defeat in 8, but unfortunately there are too many draws in that. We wanted to stamp our authority early doors, and I thought that we did that. We got off to a good start, it was important to do that having the wind behind us in the first half. It wasn’t just the starters though, everyone who came on was bang at it.”

Fun Facts from the Fife Cup

• The Fife Cup was the first trophy lifted by the Methil Milan, back in the 1907/08 season, when the Fifers overcame Lochgelly United 4-2.
  • A further tidbit from that game, the captain of the Fife side that day was Tommy Fitzpatrick, the grandfather of current Associate Director Stephen Mill.
• East Fife’s last two League Titles have come hand in hand with a Fife Cup victory too, as in 2015-16 we overcame Cowdenbeath 1-0 and in 2007-08 we overcame Raith Rovers 2-0.
• We have appeared in 35 Finals, in the competition’s 141-year history, and have won the Final on 16 occasions, which gives us a 46% success rate in the finals.
  • In bizarre fashion, in the years 1953/54 and 1974/75, East Fife played in the Final and drew! (2-2 with Raith in ’54, and 3-3 with Cowdenbeath in ’75).

The Quarter Finals of the Fife Cup

Dundonald Bluebell 4-4 Cowdenbeath (Cowdenbeath win 6-5 via penalty kicks)

East Fife vs Burntisland Shipyard

Raith Rovers vs Hill of Beath Hawthorn (date tbc)

St Andrews United vs Dunfermline Athletic (Postponed on April 25th new date tbc)

Kelty Hearts bowed out in the First Round, losing out on Penalties to Raith Rovers in July.

Previous Encounter

The most recent encounter I can find came in the preseason of the 2021/22 season, where Darren Young’s East Fife side romped to a 15-0 victory in the friendly against Shippy. There were plenty goalscorers on the day, with current skipper Stuart Murdoch among the scorers, grabbing a brace. Fife legend Kevin Smith also grabbed a brace on the day. Then-trialist Mikey Cunningham also bagged two on the day, as well as goals from Danny Denholm, and a hattrick from Sean Brown in the second half all contributed to making it a dismal day for Shippy.

Squad News

Outs- There are no injuries to note tonight for the first time this season!!!

Ins- With an important Scottish Cup tie at the weekend, Manager Greig McDonald has augmented the squad with a number of Under 20s players. Greig also hinted at the weekend that tonight could see the return to action of long-term absentees Pat Slattery and Charlie Murray.

Team Colours

East Fife will wear the Taxi Centre-sponsored pink away kit tonight, with black shorts and socks, while the goalkeeper will be clad in all yellow kit for the tie.

Burntisland Shipyard will wear their traditional colours for the tie, donning a white shirt, with black shorts and socks. The Shippy goalie will be in all lime green for the contest.

Match Admission

Season Tickets are not valid for our Fife Cup campaign. Tickets are Pay at the Gate with prices below:

NOTE: Like Saturday, only the away end will be open for supporters.

Adults- £7

Concessions (Over 65s/Disabled/U16)- £4

Live Streaming

Live Streaming of the game will be available on East Fife TV for our international fans. This can be accessed through a monthly or season pass. You can access this HERE!

There is no live stream for viewers within the UK or Ireland.

Officials

The on-pitch official on Saturday will be Alan Budd while his assistants running the line are Taylor Martin and Scott Morris.

Refreshments

The stadium bar will be open from 7pm pre-kick off this evening! We welcome you to join us for a drink before the match.

MON THE FIFE!