Ladbrokes League 1
Saturday 9th September 2017
Bayview Stadium
East Fife 0
Queen’s Park 1 (Millen 56’ (P))
East Fife XI: M Hurst, Dunsmore, Docherty, Watson (Page 82’), Duggan (Wilson 78’), Wilkie, G Hurst, Gordon, Linton, Flanagan, Willis (Lamont 67’)
Subs: Goodfellow, Kane, Millarm Slattery
Queen’s Park XI: Muir, Millen, Burns, Iredale, Cummins, Bailey, Gault, Green (McVey 69’), Donnelly (Orr 67’), Brady, Fotheringham (Docherty 81’)
Subs: Duff, Wharton, Gibson, Summers
Referee: Alan Newands
Attendance: 496
East Fife welcomed Queen’s Park to Bayview aiming to get their season back on track following the disappointing derby defeat two weeks ago but it was the visitors who took all three points back to Glasgow curtesy of a 56th minute Ross Millen penalty. Manager Darren Young made two changes to the side that lost to Raith Rovers last time out with Kieran Millar and Ryan Goodfellow making way for Scott Linton and new loan-signing Mark Hurst.
East Fife had the better of the opening exchanges, Ben Gordon heading a corner goal wards inside 5 minutes but the visitor’s defence were comfortably able to clear the danger before Nathan Flanagan sent an inviting cross into the box with 10 minutes on the clock but no one was able to get on the end of it. The first real chance of the match fell the way of the home side when Greg Hurst stole the ball off Michael Bailey inside the area but was off-balance when he pulled the trigger and the ball flew wide of the left-hand post.
The visitors almost took the lead in spectacular fashion on 24 minutes when Sean Burns, spotting the keeper off his line, unleashed a volley from 35-yards that sent Hurst scrambling back towards his goal but the ball landed on the roof of the net. Anton Brady should have put Queen’s Park ahead 3 minutes later when he broke down the right and cut inside but his tame shot was comfortably saved by Hurst. At the other end, Paul Willis should have done better when the ball was teed up for him after good play by Kyle Wilkie down the left but his shot was straight at Muir. The home fans thought they had taken the lead moments later when Chris Duggan latched onto a long ball and knocked the ball passed former Fife Willie Muir only to see the ball trickle agonisingly wide of the left-hand post.
Willis was involved again on 33 minutes when, following a free kick on the far side touchline, the ball fell to him at the back post but blasted over with the goal at his mercy. East Fife finished the half the stronger side with Flanagan, in particular, causing the Queen’s Park defence problems down the right but a combination of good defending and poor finishing saw the half finish goalless.
The home side started the second period with a bang and were extremely unlucky not to find the net on four occasions shortly after the restart. First Spider keeper’ Muir uncharacteristically mis-controlled on the edge of the area but Duggan, normally lethal in these situations, couldn’t take advantage before Greg Hurst struck the woodwork from 25-yards before Muir got a strong hand behind Flanagan’s follow-up to tip it over the bar. Muir denied Flanagan for a second-time moments later to keep out his 20-yard effort.
East Fife were left to rue their missed chances on 55 minutes when David Gault latched on a short back-past by Mark Docherty and was taken out by ‘keeper Mark Hurst giving referee Alan Newlands little option but to point to the spot. Ross Millen, who doesn’t miss many, stepped up and sent Hurst the wrong way to give the visitors the lead against the run of play. Flanagan had the opportunity to level the match minutes last when he got in behind the Queen’s Park defence but could only lift the ball over the bar from 5-yards.
Muir was on hand again to keep out East Fife, this time getting down well low to his right to deny Greg Hurst from close range. Flanagan was creating plenty of opportunities for himself but this time saw his effort from 25-yards sail over the bar on 71 minutes as the home side pressed for an equaliser. It was all one-way traffic at the stage however the visitors were looking dangerous on the counter-attack and Gault should have done better on 75 minutes when a cross from the right by Millen found him at the back post but sent his header, unchallenged, well wide.
Jonathan Page was introduced as an additional area threat with 8 minutes left to play but East Fife were struggling to break down a stubborn Spider backline. They did have one final chance from a dangerous looking corner into injury time but the ball evaded everyone and went out for a goal-kick much to the relief of the travelling fans who saw their team pick up their first win of the season.
East Fife were the better side for much of the game and had more than enough chance to win the game but a combination of poor finishing and individual mistakes results in a second home defeat on the bounce.
Queen’s Park are the visitors to Bayview Stadium tomorrow afternoon as East Fife look to get their campaign back on track after going down heavily to local rivals Raith Rovers two weeks ago.
Manager Darren Young will be hoping for a positive reaction, but can expect a tough game from a side looking for their first win of the league season. Gus MacPherson’s men have posed more problems than most opponents for the Fifers in recent years, particularly here in Methil, and you have to go back to January 2009 to find the last time East Fife secured three points at home to the Spiders. A Stevie Crawford double and goals from Greig McDonald and Chris Templeman helped earn a 4-2 victory on that occasion.
It remains to be seen if the Bayview boss will make changes to his starting line-up but there are certainly options available as the injury situation continues to improve with Chris Kane the latest to return to the squad. Numbers were also boosted last week with the return of goalkeeper Mark Hurst on loan from St Johnstone.
The men from the south side of Glasgow made several new signings during the summer, including Michael Bailey from Yoker Athletic and ex-Greenock Morton youngster Thomas Orr, who both featured in the 2-2 draw with Stranraer at Hampden a fortnight ago, with Queen’s Park fighting back from a two goal deficit to salvage a point.
Supporters of both clubs are reminded that they are welcome to enjoy refreshments in the stadium bars before and after the game.
Post-war record goal scorer George Dewar was guest of honour at last weekend’s game v Raith Rovers. Stephen Mill looks back at his East Fife career in an article which appeared in the program that day.
Having attended Aberhill Primary School, next door to Bayview Park, it was his boyhood ambition to play in the Black and Gold. He had previously turned out for East Fife reserves at Tynecastle some two years earlier, following spells with Leslie Hearts, Methilhill Strollers and Wellsgreen Athletic but after facing a Hearts team which included Willie Bauld, Alfie Conn and John Cumming he was advised to “get a pair of spikes and speed up!”.
Five months after signing, the 23-year-old was handed his first team debut by Charlie McCaig at home to Stirling Albion. Dewar wore the number sever shirt in a game that ended in a 1-0 defeat and retained his place in the side for the remainder of the season, opening his scoring account two weeks later, finding the net twice in a 4-2 defeat of Forfar Athletic at Bayview. The youngster’s performance offered a ray of hope for the supporters who had witnessed a calamitous fall in the club’s standing in Scottish Football in recent years.
1961-62 started with a bang as the Fifers won all six of their League Cup sectional ties with Dewar hitting four goals in an 8-2 win at Brechin, following this up with a hat-trick at home to Arbroath four days later in a 6-0 success. A quarter final tie with Rangers was earned after Albion Rovers were seen off in the supplementary round. Although both legs against the Ibrox side ended in a 3-1 defeat, Dewar’s performances had caught the eye, scoring in each game. Despite being unable to reproduce this cup form in the league, the Methil men did manage a mid-table finish, an improvement in the previous two campaigns, Dewar finished top scorer with 31 goals having forged a productive partnership with Ian Stewart and goalkeeper-come-striker George Yardley.
Dewar continued to hit the target regularly the following season, finding the net on 24 occasions, including four goals in a 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Edinburgh University but the continued lack of league success saw Charlie McCaig replaced as manager by Jimmy Bonthrone in April 1963. Bonthrone made an immediately impact, with East Fife reaching the quarter finals of the League Cup, once again being paired with Rangers. It was a much closer affair this time around with Dewar’s second half equaliser earning a 1-1 first leg draw in front of a 14,000 Bayview crowd. A 2-0 defeat followed at Ibrox but, perhaps more importantly, performance in the league were showing marked signs of improvement, notably a 3-1 home win against eventual runaway Champions Morton. Dewar notched the second goal in a victory that brought the Greenock side’s record breaking 23 successive wins to an end. Fourth position was achieved at the end of a season with ever present Dewar finishing top scorer with 34 goals.
From a league prospective, 1964-65 was disappointing but the 9th place was compensated by another quarter final appearance in the League Cup with goals gfrom Andy Waddell and George Christie helping to secure a remarkable 2-0 first leg defeat of Celtic at Bayview. Unfortunately, a defensive collapse at Parkhead resulted in a 6-0 reverse and no place in the semi-finals for the men from Methil. In the Scottish Cup East Fife created another upset after holding Aberdeen to a goalless draw at Pittodrie. A 27th minute goal from Dewar was enough to see off the Dons in the replay. Kilmarnock, the side that would go on to lift the First Division Championship that season, were just too good for the Fifers in the next round, although it took another replay before the Ayrshire team progressed with a 3-0 win at Rugby Park.
The following two seasons saw the Fifers finish six points short of a promotion place. For the fifth successive season Dewar finished top goal scorer in 1965-66 but the next campaign found him on the side-lines through a knee injury, requiring an operation in December 1966 and causing him to miss out on another Scottish Cup shock, a 1-0 success away to Motherwell. Manger Bonthrone continued to bring in fresh blood in his efforts to return o top flight football, signing the experience Bertie Miller, Walter Bothwick, Peter McQuade, Dave Clarke and Dave Gorman. A third-place finish was achieved in 1967-68, four points behind runners up Arbroath, with top scorer Dewar also receiving the accolade of club’s Player of the Year. The goal of promotion eluded East Fife in the following campaign, again missing out by one place in Jimmy Bonthrone’s last season in charge. Bill Baxter taking over the reins after Bonthrone’s appointment as coach at Aberdeen in April 1969. For a club record seventh time Dewar ended the year as top scorer.
1969-70 was to be Dewar’s farewell season at Bayview Park as a player. He found the target for the last time in November 1969 at East Stirlingshire and played his part in a thrilling Scottish Cup run which saw Raith Rovers and Morton being knocked out before losing narrowly to Dundee in the quarter final. His final appearance in the black and gold was away to Brechin City in April 1970. After 337 appearances and a post-war record 193 goals for the club, Dewar elected to hang up his boots and was awarded a testimonial match against a Stoke City side that included Gordon Banks in November 1970 which attracted a 6,000 crowd
George Dewar gas a spell as a coach with East Fife, assisting Pat Quinn in bringing top division football to Methil after 13-year absence in 1971. A successful businessman, he continued to retain strong links with the area and in 2008 was voted into the pre-1970’s All-Time Greats team; a fitting and deserving tribute to a true Bayview legend.
Once again East Fife FC is indebted to Specialist Cars of Kirkcaldy for sponsoring our manager's car. Above is Darren Young receiving the keys from The Volkswagen Specialists in the Kirkcaldy Garage.
Goalkeeper Mark Hurst has returned to Bayview on loan from St Johnstone FC until January.