Because of the weather in the Central Belt and especially Coatbridge, a pitch inspection is being asked for by Albion Rovers FC today, 21st March, between 1 and 2pm. At the moment according to information, it looks doubtful but this website will keep you up to date on the latest news.

It's third versus second at Bayview Stadium tomorrow as East Fife and Alloa Athletic lock horns for the fifth time this season. Speaking earlier today, Bayview boss Barry Smith looked ahead to the clash.

"The boys are looking forward to tomorrow's game after a great result last week at Livingston. We had to dig deep to get the win and the players can take confidence from beating the league leaders away from home. It will be another very tough match against Alloa, who are going very well at the moment, but hopefully, with it being at home we can take the game to them."

On the injury front, the Gaffer reported that midfielder Mark Lamont remains sidelined, while striker Jordan Austin is doubtful through illness. Jonathan Page also misses out, serving a one game suspension tomorrow. Better news for home fans is that defender Luke Watt is closing in to a return to the squad, although he is unlikely to be involved before next week.

Alloa Athletic have had the upper hand in previous meetings this season, winning all three encounters at the Indodrill Stadium, while the Methil men were denied a Bayview victory in November by a last minute equaliser, in a game ending in a 2-2 draw.  

Supporters of both sides are reminded that they are welcome to enjoy pre and post match refreshments in the Stadium bars.

Ladbrokes Scottish Football League 1

Saturday 18th March 2017

Bayview Stadium

East Fife 0

Alloa Athletic 0

Man of the Match: James Penrice

East Fife XI: Hurst, Slattery, Kane, Kerr, Brown, Duggan, Smith (Cooper 79’), Curran, Robinson, Penrice, Paterson

Subs Not Used: Trialist, Insall, Reilly, Austin

Booked: Robinson

Alloa Athletic XI: Parry, Taggart, Waters, McKeown, Graham, Holmes, Cawley (McCluskey 79’), Flannigan, Spence (Hetherington 68’), Kirkpatrick, Mackin (Longworth 86’)

Subs Not Used: McDowall, Marr, Robertson, Hynd

Booked: Mackin

Referee: Colin Steven

Attendance: 612

East Fife welcomed Alloa Athletic to Bayview and gained a well-earned and potentially crucial point. Manager Barry Smith made one change to the side that beat Livingston the previous week with Pat Slattery returning from injury to replace Jonathan Page who missed out through suspension. Slattery slotted into midfield with Jesse Curran moving out to the right wing, Ross Brown filling in at right-back and Chris Kane moving into central defence.

East Fife had an early sight at goal when Scott Robinson forced Alloa ‘keeper Neil Parry to turn his low drive behind for a corner inside 5 minutes. A couple of minutes later Parry spilled a strike from James Penrice but no one was able to follow up and the keeper managed to collect at the second attempt. Alloa had their first sight of goal on 8 minutes when Callum Water’s free kick was headed towards goal but Mark Hurst was comfortably able to collect.

East Fife had a few other chances inside the opening half hour when first Chris Duggan found himself in space near the penalty spot following a corner but couldn’t direct his volley on target before Nicki Paterson and Jesse Penrice narrowly missed the target from 35 and 20-yards respectively. The best chance of the half fell to Alloa striker Greig Spence when he got in behind the East Fife defence but sent his shot well wide of the post when most in the stadium expected him to score.

Paterson had East Fife’s best chance of the match 3 minutes after the re-start when he got on the end of Robinson’s cross but sent his header wide of the target with Parry beaten. At the other end, Jordan Kirkpatrick sent in strike that just swerved wide of the post on 53 minutes before Frank McKeown headed narrowly over from Flannigan’s free kick with 20 minutes to play.

East Fife finished the stronger side and had two good opportunities to claim all three points inside the final 15 minutes when first Parry again spilled a strike by Robinson but managed to recover with Duggan closing in before last-week’s goal hero Jason Kerr beat Parry with a header but Andy Graham was perfectly positioned on the goal line to clear.

After the match Manager Barry Smith spoke to East Fife TV:

“I thought it was a good game of football and I though, in the first half, we played some good stuff and in the second we kept it even. It’s a good point but when you look at it we’ve played the top two and taken four out of 6 we’ve got to be pleased with that. I think the effort, some of the passages of play and the football we played in the first half was excellent today. The boys deserve a lot of credit for that again.”

Fife Elite Football Academy’s Annual dinner takes place this Saturday evening 18 March at Rothes Hall in Glenrothes. Over 200 guests will be in attendance and each of the 4 senior Fife Clubs have taken a table in support of the event.

Many prizes will be on offer in a raffle that will take place on the evening and some donations have been earmarked for auction. One of the auction prizes that stands out as being different from the norm is the offer from the Head Chef of the R&A golf club restaurant to offer his services for the night to cook a meal for up to a party of 12 at the winning bidder’s house.

Craig Sneddon Head Chef at the R&A headquarters in St Andrews and father of a son who plays in the Academy has prepared meals over the years for a who’s who of world golf and society.

He said….

I have cooked for Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Colin Montgomery Rory Mcllroy, Prince Andrew, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Nelson Mandela, Sean Connery and even Alastair McCoist! to name but a few. In addition I have worked to provide dinner for Companies on a corporate level like Rolex, Mercedes Benz, Ralph Lauren, HSBC, ABC Television, ESPN & Sky Sports.

In a glowing testimony from his boss at the home of golf, Graham Clark stated

Craig Sneddon is a multi-award winning Chef with over 30 years experience in the trade. Craig works as Head Chef at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and caters for a worldwide membership including royalty and dignitaries from across the globe. Craig not only oversees the day to day food at the Club but also provides world class fine dining for the members and national bodies of golf as well as for companies associated with The Open.

The winning bidder would have the opportunity to discuss the menu for the evening with Craig and the winning bidder would be required to pay for the food used for the occasion.

For this magnificent and unique prize Fife Elite Football Academy welcomes bids from any supporter who will not be in attendance at the event. To make a bid send an email to

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. giving details of the bid and a contact telephone number. Bill Hendry from the Academy will contact those who email prior to the event to confirm their interest.