Peterhead 2-0 East Fife, cinch League Two
Saturday 4th November 2023, Balmoor Stadium
East Fife slumped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Peterhead, in the Highlands last weekend, as we recorded our second defeat on the spin. The loss sees us further adrift from playoff contention, as we sit just four points above the dreaded relegation zone.
Greig McDonald made 3 changes from the disastrous defeat at New Countess Park last weekend, with Jack Healy and Sean Docherty being replaced by Brogan Walls and club captain Stuart Murdoch. The other change saw loanee Kieran Mitchell start in place of Nathan Austin, giving us plenty change in the front line.
In the opening stages of the game, these changes looked to prove dividends as well, as the pacey front line of Shepherd, Mitchell and Walls terrorised the Blue Toon’s back line in early proceedings. For example, with 10 on the clock, some tidy football from the attackers forced a good clearance from the Peterhead centre back to stop a good opportunity for Scott Shepherd.
After 25, Walls had his golden opportunity, bursting into the box, he let a shot go, forcing McKenzie into a comfortable save.
The tide slowly started turning after this, and Peterhead began to take control of the tie. After thirty-five minutes they had their first real shot, although it was blazed well over the bar.
Five minutes later, they broke the deadlock through new signing Kieran Shanks, who joined from championship side Arbroath in the summer. The pacey striker chased down a flick on, and took it expertly well, before lashing his shot past Allan Fleming, putting the Fifers on the back foot. The goal also helped Kieran Shanks reach the summit of the league two scoring charts, highlighting his good form this season.
East Fife had a chance to reply before the break, but Peterhead goalkeeper McKenzie done very well in shutting down Mitchell, snuffing out any danger.
Half Time: Peterhead 1-0 East Fife.
At the start of the second period, the Fifers had another chance to get on level terms, but it was squandered. We saw some very tidy football out wide, which ended with Kieran Millar firing in a sensational ball, which broke loose after a stramash in the area. Unfortunately, there were no Fife takers, and it was cleared before there could be any danger.
Ten minutes later, Peterhead had another good chance of their own, although Allan Fleming did well, denying McKee from a cross come shot.
Other than Ryan Schiavone (harshly) finding himself in the book 30 seconds after being subbed on, there was no real action until the 78th minute. Sadly, for us, it was the two-punch knockout, and Peterhead doubled their advantage, killing the contest with 10 on the clock. Player manager Jordon Brown got the goal, after Robert Ward done superbly on the wing, turning our defenders into pretzels before lashing a cross into the box. Fleming parried it away, though sadly into the path of the Blue Toon gaffer, who slotted home from rather close.
The goal ended any of East Fife’s threat, and the game sadly teetered out. Peterhead clearly showed why they are top of the league on the day, with a result that few Fife fans can say was undeserved.
This weekend, we host Dumbarton, in what will be another tricky contest. We will be hoping to match the performance we had against them last time out as we bossed the game at the Rock for the vast majority of proceedings. We will also be hoping to better the result however, as a late bullet header for the Sons sent us back home empty handed last time out.
Report by Oli Anderson
Peterhead – McKenzie, D Strachan (Goldie 53‘), Jason Brown, R Strachan, Ross, McCarthy (Jordon Brown 53’), Jack Brown, McKee (Ward 76’), O’Keefe, McAllister (Reid 86’), Shanks. Subs not used: Armstrong, Wood, Thompson
East Fife – Fleming, Murdoch, Newton, Easton, Comerford, Millar (Healy 64’), McManus, Trouten, Shepherd (Nicol 83’), Micthell (Schiavone 74’), Walls. Subs not used: Slattery, Docherty, Murray, Hambrook, Rollo
Referee – Chris Fordyce
Attendance - 633