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.”
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.
Scottish Football League 1
Saturday 11th March 2017
The Tony Macaroni Arena
Livingston 0
East Fife 1 (Kerr 85’)
Man of the Match: Mark Hurst
Referee: Grant Irvine
Attendance: 773
East Fife travelled to the Tony Macaroni Area to face Livingston in Ladbrokes League 1 and left with all 3 points curtesy of an 85th minute winner from Jason Kerr. Manager Barry smith named an unchanged team to the side that beat Albion Rovers the previous week with new signing Alex Cooper taking his place on the bench.
Livingston signalled their intent as early as the first minute when Scott Pittman fired in a shot that crashed off the crossbar before Rafa De Vita sent the follow-up into the stands. The visitors had ‘keeper Mark Hurst to thank for keeping the score line level when he pulled off a spectacular double save to twice deny Josh Mullin on 9 minutes.
East Fife were struggling to gain a foot-hold in the game with their best chance of the opening 45 minutes falling to Chris Kane whose header from a Nicki Paterson free kick was easily dealt with by the Livingston defence. Nickolay Todorov was causing the visiting defence all sorts of problems with his height and strength, and headed narrowly over on 30 minutes from Mullin’s free kick. Todorov thought he’d opened the scoring 7 minutes before the break when he lifted the ball over Hurst only for Jason Kerr to spoil the celebrations with an excellent clearance on the line.
The home side carried on where they’d left off after the break with some nice play between Danny Mullen and De Vita see the latter shoot narrowly over on 47 minutes. East Fife were growing into the game and had their first chance of the second half on 53 minutes when former Fifer Liam Kelly failed to hold Paterson’s free kick from the touch line however the home defence were able to clear the danger.
Chris Duggan went close for the visitor on 57 minutes when he volleyed narrowly over from a well-worked free kick. At the other end Mullin played a free kick along the 6-yard box on 61 minutes but was able to find a taker when the smallest of touches would have taken the ball past Hurst. Livingston continued to press with Declan Gallagher unfortunate to see his header rebound off the crossbar then have his follow-up was blocked on the line.
It was the visitors who were looking more dangerous as the clock ticked past 70 minutes with Duggan having a couple of chances to get his name of the score sheet when first he worked some space for himself at the back post but couldn’t divert his header on target before he cut inside and was unlucky to see his shot deflected for a corner when it looked headed for the top corner.
The deadlock was finally broken 5 minutes from time when Kelly could only palm down Paterson’s free kick for Kerr to knock the ball in at the front post for his 6th goal of the season. Livingston continued to pile forward but the East Fife defence held firm to record their 8th victory in 13 League games.
After the match Manager Barry Smith spoke to East Fife TV:
“The boys showed so much commitment, the work-rate was unbelievable and it’s a great three points coming from the league leaders. We take confidence from it yet again and built on it. There’s nine games left of the season we just look at the next one and we just look at the next one, that’s the most important, against Alloa. It’s a great three points for the lads. Based on their attitude, for me, they deserved it in terms of their attitude, their discipline and the positioning.”
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.
East Fife head for the Tony Macaroni Arena for the third time this season tomorrow, hoping to build on an impressive showing last week against Albion Rovers.
Speaking earlier today Bayview boss Barry Smith looked ahead to the clash against a side currently occupying pole position in the table.
"The boys are looking forward to the game and are going into it with a bit of confidence after a good performance and result last Saturday. We are however aware that we are up against a very good Livingston team and know that we will have to be at our best to get a result."
Smith also provided an update on the injury situation at the club, with Pat Slattery a doubt and wide midfielder Mark Lamont set to miss out. There could also be a new signing in the travelling party if international clearance can be obtained in time.
The sides are no strangers to each other this season, having met four times already, with the Fifers winning both meetings at Bayview and a win apiece in the games at Livingston. It promises to be yet another intriguing encounter.
