Clyde 1-2 East Fife, Saturday 8th March 2025, William Hill League 2, New Douglas Park
East Fife returned to winning ways on Saturday following a 2-1 victory over Clyde at New Douglas Park.
Dick Campbell made four changes to the side which fell 1-0 to Stirling Albion a week prior, some of which were forced due to injury, while others were tactical. Reis Peggie and Stewart Murdoch returned to the first eleven, while Robert Jones made his first official start in his second tenure, and Mamadou Bah was granted his full first team debut.
Jones, who was yet to find the back of the net in either of his two spells with the Methil Milan, took only 117 seconds to break the deadlock. Andy Munro played a slick through pass to Alan Trouten, whose dummy let the ball run through for Jones. On the angle, Rob Jones put his laces through the ball, leaving Robbie Hemfrey stranded. It was a dream start for the Fifers, with the goal being the first time East Fife have scored in the first half since we visited Stranraer back in January.
As they have in recent weeks, East Fife continued to play high up the pitch causing many a problem to the Clyde defence, although after the opening goal, East Fife struggled to test the Bully Wee goalkeeper.
Jones had a chance for a brace, although McKenna’s cross was too high for the striker to muster anything of note, before McKenna once again looked to create for East Fife, this time for Trouten, but he was beaten to the ball before he could fully control it.
Jones had another crack at a brace with five minutes left in the first half, with McKenna once more setting up the striker. This time however, Hemfrey was alert, managing to deny Jones at the near post.
Moments before the half time break, East Fife came inches away from doubling the advantage. McKenna’s free-kick was destined for the bottom right corner, but a strong hand from Hemfrey punched the ball onto the bar and out of danger.
East Fife were the stronger team in the first step, so naturally, we expected a response from Clyde. That was exactly what East Fife got, as Clyde came out at the start of the second half well and truly on the front foot.
As we have seen often in recent meetings between the two sides, Martin Rennie was the main danger in Darren Young’s side, and that was the case once more on Saturday.
A flurry of attacks spearheaded by Rennie saw Clyde grow into the game, with Liam McFarlane being forced into a couple of very good saves.
A long throw looked to be East Fife’s undoing after just ten minutes into the second half. A defensive miscommunication saw Reis Peggie allow the ball to bounce before attempting to clear it. Ray Grant snuck in between the ball and Peggie, and it was Grant who he connected with instead. This left the referee no choice but to point to the spot.
Martin Rennie stood over the ball, and sent McFarlane the wrong way, grabbing the equaliser for Clyde, which considering how they started the second half, was probably deserved.
East Fife were not prepared to settle for a draw however, and ninety seconds later, we were back in front in Hamilton! Rob Jones did fantastically well to bring the ball down in a deep position, breaking the defensive line with a killer pass which found Alan Trouten. Trouten made no mistakes with his finish and rolled the ball into the side netting for his 20th league goal of the season.
East Fife looked comfortable, although failed to really challenge the Clyde goalkeeper again, and with five minutes to go, it looked like calamity would see Clyde steal a point. Mamadou Bah, who had played out an impressive debut on the whole with a commanding performance, misjudged the pace of his header back to McFarlane and Taylor Sutherland latched onto the ball. Fortunately for East Fife, Sutherland snatched at the effort sending it well over McFarlane’s head, and the crossbar too.
That brought an end to the real action of the game, as East Fife picked up their first win in four games.
Reporter’s Man of the Match: Robert Jones
There were three real shouts on Saturday for man of the match for me, with a strong debut from Bah, and the best performance that we have seen yet from Michael McKenna, whose engine and creativity were catalysts in our early control of the game. However, Robert Jones was exceptional on Saturday, scoring the first, and setting up our second are a testament to that. His confidence grew with every minute that passed, making him more than look the part last weekend.
Clyde - Hemfrey, Robson, Hamilton (Dunachie 45’), Howie, Hynes (Sutherland 69’), Grant, Rennie (Connell 80’), Leitch (Bradley 69’), Lyon, Murdoch, Williamson (Nevans 69’). Subs not used: Kennedy, Hannah, Docherty, Scullion.
East Fife - McFarlane, Murdoch, Newton, Munro, Bah, Millar, McManus (Norey 80’), McKenna, Trouten, Peggie (Healy 90’), Jones (Shepherd 80’). Subs not used: Fleming, Nicol. Laaref, Higginbotham.
Referee – Peter Stuart
Attendance – 765
Report by Oli Andrson