Annan Athletic 1-1 East Fife (East Fife win 4-3 on aggregate), Friday 16th May 2025, William Hill League 1 Play-Off Final 2nd Leg, Galabank
I would like to start the final report of this season with a sincere apology, due to celebrations on one end, and exams on the other, this has taken much longer to produce than planned.
A turbulent campaign for the Fifers saw Dick Campbell and his backroom staff steady the ship at the ideal time. A commanding second leg versus Edinburgh City handed us a two-legged opportunity at third tier football. We started tie well and led 3-2 after the first leg, though the general consensus was that we should have been out of sight.
That led us to the second leg in Dumfries. Annan, who looked so shaky at times in the first leg, had an ace up their sleeve which was unanticipated by many. That ace came in the form of their number 10 Tommy Goss, whose season has been plagued by injury. The target man started after missing the first leg, and scored after just seven minutes, answering a deep cross, putting the tie level on aggregate.
It should have been 2-0 to Annan just minutes later, and they were only denied by an excellent block by Mamadou Bah. That looked to be a minor turning point and gave the Fifers a lift going forward.
Ten minutes after the scare, East Fife found the equaliser. It was none other than Adam Laaref who scored getting to a spilled catch before Jamie Smith could recover. An impressive end to the season for Laaref has seen him leave his mark on this East Fife team, and its fanbase.
From there, East Fife were the team on the ascendency, firstly, Brian Easton had a shot cleared from the Annan goal line, before Andy Munro tried an audacious half volley which went awry.
At the start of the second half, East Fife went for the kill, and pressed high creating a handful of half chances, though naturally as the second half progressed, East Fife dropped deeper, fighting for the result.
With 20 minutes to go, Andy Munro made a remarkable block, denying what looked to be a stick on for the aggregate equaliser.
Chances came and went for both teams but the better of them came for Annan. With just two minutes left, Liam McFarlane made a superb save in what could have been his final appearance for the black and gold, denying Tommy Muir with his feet.
From there it did not take long for the referee to blow the final whistle, and East Fife were crowned playoff champions. League One football awaits!
Annan Athletic - J Smith, T Muir, Todd, R Muir (Carmichael 62’), Kilsby (Maxwell 79’), Dixon (Brown 62’), McGowan, P Smith, Ross, A Smith, Goss. Subs not used: Fleming, Strachan.
East Fife – McFarlane, Easton, Peggie (Murdoch 73’), Munro, Bah, Millar (Norey 80’), McManus, McKenna, Trouten (Shepherd 73’), Austin (Healy 63’), Laaref (Jones 63’). Subs not used: Fleming, Slattery, Nicol, Higginbotham.
Referee – Colin Steven
Attendance – 1,304
Report by Oli Anderson