Match Report - Forfar Athletic

East Fife made the trip up to Angus to face Forfar Athletic in the first game of the second quarter of the season. East Fife previously lost out to Stirling Albion at Bayview and the team were hoping to bounce back and pick up as many points as possible. In the first game against Forfar this season, the Methil men came out victorious thanks to a late Alan Trouten penalty and a resolute defensive performance.

Caretaker manager Greig McDonald made 3 changes to the team that lost to Stirling last time out. Liam Newton, Kieran Millar and Ryan Schiavone were brought into the starting line-up, replacing Alan Trouten, Jack Healy and Pat Slattery. Ex-Fifers Mark Docherty and Craig Thomson lined up for the Loons. 

Shepherd got the game underway, and an early chance fell the way of the home side when Slater’s free kick was whipped into the centre of the area and met by the head of Munro, but his header was straight at Fleming who gathered at the second attempt. 

East Fife’s first decent chance came in the 17th minute, when Ferguson played in Shepherd, but couldn’t get the ball out of his feet and the Forfar defence were able to turn behind for a corner. Another chance fell the way of the Loons when again a corner from Slater found Munro in the middle do the box however, he could only head the ball over the bar and out for a goal kick. 

The Methil men took the lead with five minutes remaining of the half, when Shepherd dispossessed Moreland in the middle of the pitch and proceeded to sprint with the ball down the left wing, to the by line, and cut the ball across to Schiavone, who slots it home.

In the second minute of first half additional time, the Fifers added a second to their tally. Ferguson picked up the ball on the edge of the box, darted inside and drilled a pass across the face of goal to find Schiavone, once again, at the back post who slots the ball into the empty net with the last kick of the half.

Half-Time: Forfar Athletic 0-2 East Fife 

East Fife extended their lead early on into the second half when Ferguson won the ball of the edge of the box before forcing the Forfar defence into an error when, rather comically, Docherty attempted to pass the ball back to McCallum however the ‘keeper was left flat footed and could only to watch the ball dribble past him and into the net.

Despite East Fife mostly dominating the second half in terms of possession, Forfar began to grow into the game a bit more and had a chance to claw a goal back when Thomson, on the right side, played a cross into Armour, however he hit the ball into the ground giving Fleming a comfortable save. 

In the 72nd minute, Forfar pulled a goal back when a short pass from Jack found Hanratty who’s shot from 20-yards sailed into the bottom corner.

Greig McDonald made his first change with ten minutes remaining as Alan Trouten, Jack Healy and Taylor Steven replaced Mercer, Shepherd and goal scorer Schiavone. 

As Forfar threw men forward it left gaps at the back for the Loons leading to more room for the east fife forwards. Healy, Steven and Steele all had efforts saved in the closing stages. One notable chance came when Newton picked out Steven inside the area, who forces McCallum into a good save. The rebound to be dipping into the back of the net, however the ‘keeper recovered well to clear the ball off the line. Another late chance for the Fifers came thanks to a rifled effort from Healy which unfortunately cannoned against the crossbar. After five minutes of additional time the referee blows the full-time whistle. 

Full-Time: Forfar Athletic 1-3 East Fife

A solid performance from the Methil men sees them climb up to fourth in the table. The Fifer’s next face a trip to face Bonnyrigg Rose who triumphed 3-0 at Bayview earlier in the season. Since then, however, Bonnyrigg have been on poor form, losing their last four games. With some scores to settle the squad will be hoping to put in a performance to entertain the travelling fans and possibly pick up some points. 

Forfar Athletic Team: McCallum, Moreland (Dailly 59’), Brindley, Munro, Docherty, Slater (Hanratty 66’), Moore (Jack 55’), Hutton, Thomson, Aitken, Ferguson (Armour 55’)

East Fife Team: Fleming, Steele, Mercer (Healy 80’), Murdoch, Denham, Newton, Schiavone (Steven 85’), Balde, Millar, Shepherd (Trouten 80’), Ferguson

Referee: Jordan Curran

Attendance: 483

Andrew Laing

Match Preview - Forfar Athletic

We travel to Station Park this afternoon to face Forfar Athletic for the first match of the second quarter.

Squad News

There are no fresh injury concerns this week and Kieran Millar returns to the squad after suspension.

Brogan Walls, Connor McManus, Scott Gallacher and Rabin Omar continue to miss out today. Brogan will undergo an operation on his broken foot this week while Connor, Scott and Rabin are all progressing well with their rehab.

Team Colours

East Fife will be in our traditional colours of black/gold strips, white shorts and white stockings with the goalkeeper in all-yellow.

Forfar Athletic will be in their away colours of navy strips, navy shorts and navy stockings with the goalkeeper in all-purple.

Match Tickets

Admission for today’s match is via pay-at-the-gate. Cash payments only are accepted at the turnstiles

Ticket prices are as follows:

Adults - £14 (£15 for the stand)

Over 65s - £8 (£9 for the stand)

Under 17s - £5

Match Officials

Match Referee: Jordan Curran

AR1: Barry Reid

AR2: Scott Bunting

Previous Encounter

The last meeting between the sides took place on matchday 4 of this season at Bayview where the home side emerged with all three points thanks to a last-minute penalty from Alan Trouten.

East Fife Team: Fleming, Mercer, Denham, Steele, Murdoch, Balde, Ferguson (Trouten 65’), Millar, Newton, Schiavone (Healy 78’), Shepherd (Steven 59’)

Forfar Athletic Team: McCallum, Nditi, Hussain (Hutton 29’), Munro, Brindley, Flanagan, Slater, Moore, Hanratty (Jack 77’), McCluskey, Armour (Aitken 62’)

Live Streaming

No live stream is available to viewers with the UK & Ireland.

Viewers outside the UK & Ireland can watch the match via East Fife TV with a monthly or season pass.

Update on Vacant Manager Position

East Fife Football Club has now received over 20 applications for the vacant First-Team Manager position.

A closing date of noon on Sunday 9^th October has been set for applications to be received after which time the board of directors will consider all applications with a view to arranging interviews.

Supporters Club Quiz Night

East Fife Supporters Club are hosting a Quiz Night at Bayview on Friday 14^th October with a 7.00pm start.

Teams can be up to a maximum of 6 people with entry cost £2/person.

Non-members are welcome to attend.

Match Report - Stirling Albion

East Fife welcomed Stirling Albion to Bayview as the Fifers completed the first quarter of leagues games this season. Previously, the Methil men narrowly lost out to Arbroath in the SPFL Trust Trophy. Despite the loss, the performance was encouraging heading into a game where the opponents, the Binos, have been in incredible form of late.

One change was made to the team that lost out last weekend, as Liam Newton was dropped on the bench and replaced in the starting line-up by Aaron Steele. Three ex-Fifers were named on the Stirling bench, as Denholm, Davidson and Dunsmore all were signed up by former East Fife manager Darren Young in the summer. 

A very early chance broke the way of East Fife inside the first minute of the game when Shepherd got to the ball ahead of Paul McLean, took a touch out wide before sending in a cross that picked out the on-running Alan Trouten but his shot from close range was straight at the keeper. 

Despite East Fife’s early efforts, it was the Binos who took the lead after five minutes. The move began with a corner to Stirling on the far side, but the ball could only be cleared as far as Leitch on the edge of the box who hooks the ball back into the box. McLean’s effort forced a miraculous save from Fleming however the rebound found Robert Thomson who rifles the ball high into the net put Stirling 1-0 early on. 

After the goal Stirling grew into the game more and were begging to have more chances. In the 20th minute, Leitch found himself on the edge of the penalty area with the ball and fired in an effort that Fleming managed to push away, however the clearance drops to Leitch once again and his second shot was held by the East Fife stopper.

On the half hour mark, the referee awarded a penalty to the Fifers when Ross McGeachie bundled over Jack Healy on the bye-line. Stirling Manager Darren Young was sent to the stands for dissent after he voiced his disagreement over the referee’s decision. Alan Trouten, as the resident penalty taker, stepped up and sent Currie the wrong way, levelling the game up for the Fifers.

In the 37th minute, Balde received the ball in the middle of the park and was taken out by a very poor challenge from Leitch. Most in the stand expected to see a red card shown toward the Stirling man however the referee waved play-on to the dismay of most in attendance. 

Stirling went in front again again during injury time when Fotheringham played a pass into the feet of Dale Carrick who, after a bit of a scramble, manages to bundle the ball over the line to restore the visitor’s lead.

Half time: East Fife 1-2 Stirling Albion

Stirling showed no slowing after the break, as ten minutes into the second half, they had a chance to score a third. McGeachie, on the right-hand side, cut the ball into the centre of the box for Leitch whose powerless shot drops to Carrick clatters his shot off the post at close range, and the ball is eventually cleared by Steele. 

On the hour mark, Caretaker Manager, Greig McDonald made a double substitution as Slattery and Healy made way for Taylor Steven and Ryan Schiavone. A few minutes later, Stirling had another chance to kill the game off, when Thomson was sent through one-on-one with Fleming and took the ball around the ‘keeper but his blasted his effort over the bar and out for a goal kick. 

After a fairly uneventful final 20 minutes, the referee blew his full-time whistle, ending the game with ex-Fifer Darren Young reigning victorious. East Fife having had a poor performance will hope to bounce back at Forfar next weekend and potentially pick up a result at Station Park. 

Full-Time: East Fife 1-2 Stirling Albion

East Fife Team: Fleming, Mercer, Denham, Steele, Murdoch, Balde, Slattery (Steven 61’), Ferguson, Healy (Schiavone 61’), Trouten, Shepherd

Stirling Albion Team: Currie, McGeachie, McLean, McGregor, Clark, Fotheringham, Leitch (Clark 78’), Banner (Denholm 85’), Moore (Dunsmore 27’), Thomson, Carrick (Davidson 85’)

Referee: Daniel Graves

Attendance: 511