Match Preview - Stenhousemuir

The Fifers return to the Locality Hub Bayview Stadium this weekend after a successful venture to Elgin last week. McDonald’s men are set to host a returning Gary Naysmith’s Stenhousemuir at the weekend.

The Warriors find themselves up to 6th in the cinch League Two table, after a valiant performance against Stranraer last weekend earning a 2-1 victory. Matty Yates opened the scoring for Stenhousemuir after just 22 minutes, but Stranraer were able to peg them back just 5 minutes later through Josh Walker. The Warriors showed their fighting spirit though, and Yates restored the Stenny lead before half time. They showed their defensive acumen too, as they survived a second half where Stranraer threw the kitchen sink at them, to run out deserved winners.

The Black and Gold have once again placed themselves in the playoff spots after an impressive victory over Elgin City last weekend. The Fifers found themselves one up after 19 minutes, when the skipper Stewart Murdoch produced a Puskas award contender, lashing a volley deep into the top bins. We doubled our advantage after Alan Trouten was brought down inside the box. He stepped up, doing what he usually does, beating the ‘keeper, and putting Fife 2-0 up. They defended well both individually and as a unit in the second 45, with new signing Aidan Quinn on top form for his East Fife debut. However, even that wasn’t enough to stop Hester, who is still scoring for fun in the division.

Despite entering the promotion spots, we still find ourselves in a battle with the vast majority of the league to avoid the dreaded bottom spot, as only 8 points separate 3rd and 10th, with East Fife currently 5 points above the drop. This only adds to the importance of the game this weekend, as Fife look to overcome Stenhousemuir for the first time this season.

We kindly ask all supporters attending tomorrow’s match to join us in a minutes applause prior to kick off as we remember Club Historian and Honorary Director Jim Stewart who sadly passed away last month.

Squad News

The gaffer is once again left with a headache as the entire squad bar anchor Conor McManus have returned to fitness. Long term absentee Brogan Walls returned last week, while new signing Rabin Omar was an unused substitute.

Team Colours

East Fife are back in their home kit this week, donning the tartan top, with black shorts and socks. The ‘keeper will wear the all turquoise kit for the match.

The away side will be clad in their maroon top, accompanied with their matching socks and white shorts. The Stenny Goalkeeper will be dressed in all green for the match.

Previous Encounter

The last encounter between the Warriors and the Fifers is largely remembered for the last kick off the ball. McDonald’s men started brightly, imposing themselves on the game, but unable to fire a shot to challenge Brennan, in between the sticks. Balde’s pace proved important as he caused the Warriors a whole host of issues over the ninety minutes.

It was the home side who broke the deadlock after twenty minutes of football, as the ball fell very favourably for Ross Philp after a stramash in the box. His shot was low, and hard, giving Fleming little chance to keep it out.

The remainder of the half saw a few chances, mainly for Stenhousemuir, who came close to a second when Nat Wedderburn’s shot was cleared off the line. Fife scraped through the first half and needed a big change in the performance, and the score line in the second half.

The Black and Gold came out for the second period with a spring in their step and got the ball on the ground and started playing football. The main success was coming from Healy, who was using his pace to burst down the left flank, and cut inside, but his shots were either wide, blocked or saved.

The chance came for the Fifers with twenty minutes still to play, when Scott Shepherd was hacked down in the box by Ex-Fife player Daniel Higgins, who was shown red for the challenge too. East Fife’s talisman from the spot Alan Trouten stepped up and slotted home, equalising for the Fife. 1-1 after seventy-five minutes of action.

The visitors seemed to slacken off for a moment, as the Warriors kicked off and bombed down the park, Fleming having to make a wonder save to keep East Fife level. The resulting corner however was poked home by full back Michael Miller; just two minutes after East Fife had levelled the score.

After going behind again, manager Greig MacDonald make a tactical gamble, taking off centre back Sam Denham, for striker Taylor Steven, in an attempt to punish the 10-man Stenhousemuir side. It came up trumps as another attacker in the mix opened up pockets of space for Trouten, Shepherd and Healy. Steveen nearly assisted the equaliser himself, when he sprayed a cross into the box, which Trouten just missed.

The game went down to the death, where local lad Jack Healy stepped up for East Fife again, taking his tally against Stenhousemuir to three in three, as he scored a magnificent, curled effort from outside the box, which couldn’t have found itself any further in the top corner.

Match Tickets

There will be no cash turnstiles for the game this weekend, and we encourage supporters to purchase their tickets online in advance. You can also get tickets from the club, either in person, or over the telephone at 01333 426323. Parent and Child tickets must be bought directly from the club office.

Season tickets will be valid for the game.

Turnstiles will be open from 2pm.

Prices Below:

Adult- £18

Concessions- £15

U16s- £5

Parent & Child- £21

Parent & 2 Children- £24.  

All child members of EFCFC & EFG&WFC have been granted free admission with a paying adult or as part of an organised group for all of our home league matches this season! Tickets for this are organised through EFCFC. We hope to see as many of you present as possible, to help support the team.

Live Stream

Unfortunately for our fans in the UK and Ireland there will be no livestream for the clash this weekend. However, for our global audience, the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass.

Officials

Our on-pitch official for Saturday will be Calum Scott. His two assistants running the lines are Chris Rae and Brian Christie.

Refreshments

The stadium bar will be open from 12.15pm for pre-game refreshments. The pie stalls will open prior to kick-off and will also be open at half time.

Programme

The Bayview Programme issue 14 is available from vendors outside of the stadium for £2.50. Also, half time draw tickets will be available pre-match.

Ticket Info v Stenhousemuir

Tickets for our cinch League Two match against Stenhousemuir on Saturday 14th January at the Locality Hub Bayview Stadium are now on sale and can be purchased here.

Admission Prices

Adults - £18

Concessions* - £14

Under 16s** - £5

Parent & Child** - £21

Parent & 2 Children** - £24

*Over 65s/Full-Time Students/Disabled – proof of age/eligibility may be requested

**Proof of age may be requested.

All member of East Fife Community Football Club & East Fife Girls & Womens’ Football Club who are under 16 go free with a paying adult or as part of an organised group for all cinch League Two matches at Bayview this season. Tickets for this are arranged through EFCFC.

Full and half-season tickets are valid for this match.

There are no cash turnstiles at Bayview and supporters are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online. Online sales are available right up until kick off. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling 01333 426323 or directly from the club office.

Please note, parent and child tickets cannot be purchased online and should be bought directly from the club office. 

There is no live stream available for viewers within the UK & Ireland this weekend, however overseas supporters can watch the match via East Fife TV with a monthly or season pass.

Match Report - Elgin City

After a weeks’ break, East Fife were back on the road, this time a long hike up north to Borough Briggs to face Elgin City. The host sat in 3^rd place in the table prior to kick off and were in a very rich vein of form however, after a couple of signings earlier in the week and few more returning from injury, the Fifers were hoping to put in a good performance for the travelling support.

Four changes were made to the team that lost out to Dumbarton on Christmas Eve as new signing Aidan Quinn was brought straight into the starting line-up along with Taylor Steven, Alan Trouten and Aaron Steele. Liam Parker, Ryan Schiavone, Sam Denham and Scott Mercer were placed on the bench alongside and player/coach Scott Agnew. 

The first chance of the game fell to the Fifers in the 10^th minute when Ferguson picked out Shepherd unmarked inside the box, but he couldn’t guide his headed effort goal wards. Another chance came quickly with Steven forcing McHale into a diving save from long range. 

Following numerous chances, East Fife finally took the lead in the 19th minute. After a good bit of passing play Stewart Murdoch found himself with a bit of space 25-yards out and his sensational shot managed to find the top left corner, adding his name to the goal of the season contenders. 

Shortly after taking the lead, the Fifers showed no signs of slowing down as a deflected shot from Steven landed for Jack Healy in acres of space inside the box who, after a couple of keepy-uppies, took a shot on the volley that bounces back off the post.

Elgin had their first chance of the game on 25 minutes when a long ball over the top found Hester one-on-one with Fleming, but his attempted lob was just wide of the post. 

On the half hour mark, Trouten was bundled over inside the area and the referee pointed straight to the spot with no hesitation. Trouten calmly and composedly slotted the penalty home, netting his 200th career goal and giving East Fife a 2-0 cushion. 

Towards the end of the half Shepherd had a flurry of chances to seal the three points. The first being a free kick from around 25 yards out which forced McHale to tip the ball over the bar. The second came from a defensive mistake which put Shepherd through on goal, however a heavy touch when he rounded the keeper tightened the angle and McHale was able to recover and make the save.

HALF TIME: Elgin City 0-2 East Fife

Elgin came out of the blocks the quickest in search for a goal after the break, however early second half chances were comfortably saved by Fleming. 5 minutes into the half, Steven was unlucky to see his strike cannon off the keeper’s near post from the edge of the area. 

20 minutes went by with a few Elgin half chances but nothing overly threatening but then after a short period of Elgin domination, East Fife had another chance to clinch the three points with a third goal when Newton won the ball in midfield and picked out Steven with an enormity of space in front of him who raced in on goal only to see the ball bobble narrowly past the post. 

With nine minutes left of the game Elgin City manage to pull a goal back when a deflected pass from Antoniazzi found Hester who halved the deficit with a strike in the near post. 

After a surviving an array of late chances, Healy cleared the ball up the park giving East Fife a much needed, and much deserved, three points.

FULL TIME: Elgin City 1-2 East Fife

A massive win for the Fifers sees the team find themselves in fourth position in the league table with only 3 points behind Elgin. Next up for the Methil men is a game at Bayview against Gary Naysmith’s Stenhousemuir who sit in 6th position, just a couple of points behind.

Elgin City Team: McHale, Cooper, Draper, Anderson (Mailer 68’), McHardy, Findlay (Lawrence 68’), Cameron, Dingwall, Taylor (Antioniazzi 79’), Reid, Hester

East Fife: Fleming, Murdoch, Quinn, Steele, Newton, Steven, Millar, Ferguson (Slattery 90+1’), Healy, Shepherd (Walls 84’), Trouten

Referee: Barry Cook

Attendance: 625 

 Report by Andrew Laing

Match Preview - Elgin City

The Fifers return to action this week making the long venture north to face Elgin City in a pivotal clash in East Fife’s season. A win in the play-off six-pointer could see the Black and Gold re-enter the promotion places after a poor run of games, potentially leapfrogging both Annan Athletic and Stranraer should other results finish favourably.

The Fifers are yet to record a win since the last time they faced Elgin, in what proved to be an action-packed encounter, all the way back in October. City find themselves with breathing room in third place, five points clear of the chasing pack, however they are trailing significantly in the title race, being 8 points behind second place Stirling Albion.

Fife will be hoping to improve on their Christmas Eve performance, where they fell victim to league leaders Dumbarton at “the Rock”, taking their winless run to 6 games.

On the other hand, Elgin nabbed a last-minute winner on Monday against relegation threatened Forfar, in what may prove to be an imperative three points for the Black and Whites.

Squad News

The whole team played in a bounce game over the new year where a number of impressive performances have well and truly given McDonald something to think about in terms of team selection.

New signings Scott Agnew and Aidan Quinn are both fit and available for selection along with Rabin Omar and Brogan Walls who both survived the game unscathed. Unfortunately, Gallacher and McManus both remain out.

Team Colours

The Fifers will be in their away colours, of illuminous pink with black shorts. The goalkeeper will wear the second all-yellow strip. The hosts will don their typical black and white striped kit, with their goalkeeper clad in all black.

Previous Encounter

The game kicked off with a red card, when Lewis Nicolson was sent down the tunnel after a late and harsh challenge, after just 7 minutes. City then perhaps should have gone down to nine 3 minutes later, when Russell Dingwall slid in from behind, clearing out Balde, but he only saw yellow.

Fife broke the deadlock on the 22nd minute mark after a textbook corner routine saw captain Scott Mercer nod home Alex Ferguson’s cross.

There were half chances for both sides going forward, notably Allan Fleming clearing out League Two’s top scorer Kane Hester, but rather than pointing to the spot, the referee instead gave a corner.

It was a tricky game for the officials to govern, particularly in the first half, due to Elgin’s ill-discipline, as they saw 4 cards in the first 45, and a further 3 in the second.

The half teetered out, with few chances of note after the penalty claim, and Fife went into the dressing rooms with a goal, and a man advantage.

The Black and Whites ran rampant in the second half, with their one-dimensional attack. Their over the top through ball landed right in the path of Hester who slotted home, equalising for City, in the 52nd minute, taking his goal tally to 12 in 12 in the league.

After the equaliser the Fifers started to find their way into the game again somewhat, and after Shepherd was pulled down inside the box, their chance came, as the referee pointed to the spot. Alan Trouten was the man stood over it, and despite Daniel Hoban guessing the correct way, the Trout’s spot kick found the back of the net and restored East Fife’s advantage with 20 minutes still on the clock. This closed out the game, giving East Fife their first win at Bayview since August.

Match Tickets

On the day there will be options to pay to be in the stand, or admission into the standing area. Tickets are available on the Elgin City website.

Prices as follows:

Ground Admission:

Adult-£13

Concession- £8

Stand Admission:

Adult- £15

Concession- £10

All under 16s go free today with a paying adult.

Live Stream

Unfortunately, there will be no available livestream for viewers within the UK and Ireland. For our international fans, the match will be available on East Fife TV with a monthly or season pass.

Officials

The on-pitch official for the clash will be Barry Cook, and his assistants running the lines will be Paul O’Neill and Gordon Seago.

Williamson Heads on Loan

Lucas Williamson has joined East of Scotland Premier Division side Sauchie Juniors on loan until the end of the season.

Manager Greig McDonald: “Lucas has a year to run on his contract and we felt playing games regularly would be more beneficial for him right now with a view to next season. Sauchie are doing well in the East of Scotland Premier division, and I know that they’ll look after him well”.

Sauchie are scheduled to face Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale in the league this weekend.

Good luck Lucas!