East Fife returned to New Dundas Park to take on bottom of the league Bonnyrigg Rose for the fourth and final time this season. East Fife have had a mixed bag of results against the Rosey Posey this season, win one win (4-1 at Bonnyrigg in October), one loss (3-0 at Bayview in August) and one draw (0-0 at Bayview in December). Last weekend the Fifers grabbed a massive three points late on against playoff rivals Stenhousemuir as Scott Shepherd snatched an 81st minute winner to clinch a 2-1 win for the Methil men.
Two changes were made to the team that beat the Warriors at Ochilview as Connor McManus made his return to the starting after a very long injury spell along with Stewart Murdoch, with Jacky Healy dropping to the bench and Jonathan Page missing out through illness.
The first chance of the first half came to Bonnyrigg in the 26th minute when Doan’s throw finds Faye inside the penalty area who, on the spin, forces Fleming into a good save. From the resulting corner, Currie found the head of Connolly, but his effort was over the bar.
In the 37th minute, Faye attempted to go for a spectacular long-range effort when he took advantage of a poor clearance, but his effort is narrowly over the bar.
With five minutes remaining of the first half, Bonnyrigg had a chance to go 1-0 up at the break when a corner was whipped into the front post and flicked on to Gray who’s volley was kept out by a wonderful diving from Fleming.
HALF TIME: East Fife 0-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
Early on in the second half, East Fife had their first good chance of the game when good play between McManus and Schiavone saw the ball played out to Walls who’s cross found the head of Shepherd, but he couldn’t direct his header towards goal.
In the 57th minute East Fife took the lead when a long throw from Steele was only partially cleared into the pathway of Trouten who’s curled volley is blocked only for Ferguson to pick up the loose ball and feed it back to Trouten who takes a few touches past the stagnant Rose defenders and rifles it into the top corner from close range.
Only three minutes after the Fifers taking the lead Bonnyrigg nearly scored a quick-fire equaliser. Doan, on the right by-line, picks out McGachie who forces Fleming to turn his effort behind for a corner.
Bonnyrigg scored a deserved equalised in the 75th minute after a good chunk of pressure when Currie’s corner was turned in by Connelly from close range.
FULL TIME: East Fife 1-1 Bonnyrigg Rose
With the Fifers picking up a point they drew level with 3rd placed Annan Athletic with Stenhousemuir just two points behind and Forfar Athletic a point further back. Next up is a Friday night fixture against Elgin City under the lights at Bayview.
Bonnyrigg Rose Team: Martin, Young, Horne, Grigor, Brett, Currie, Gray (Arnott 86’), Doan (Murray 67’), Connolly, Faye (McGachie 55’), Mitchell (Rodden 67’)
East Fife Team: Fleming, Murdoch, Steele, Newton, Denham, McManus, Trouten, Walls, Ferguson, Schiavone (Young 88’), Shepherd (Denholm 80’)
Referee: Daniel Graves
Attendance: 948
Report by Andrew Laing
Tickets for our cinch League Two match against Elgin City on Friday 24th March at the MGM Timber 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.
For those who can’t make it to the game on Friday night, a live stream is available worldwide via East Fife TV.
Oli Anderson previews tomorrow’s match against Bonnyrigg Rose.
The Fifers are back on the road this week as they travel to New Dundas Park to face bottom of the League Bonnyrigg Rose and the Black and Gold will be hoping to replicate the result from their last visit in September. Greig McDonald’s men recorded yet another comeback victory last weekend with second-half goals from Alex Ferguson and Scott Shepherd, handing East Fife their first win against Stenhousemuir this season. Bonnyrigg are coming into this weekend’s tie after a devastating 91st minute goal denied them of any points against Stirling last week. Calum Connolly put the Rosey Posey ahead, but the title chasers clawed their way back into the game.
Form
Bonnyrigg have recorded 7 points from their last 6 games, despite being in last place in the league. They have also recorded two wins in that time, both on the road, at Stranraer and Elgin. The Rosey Posey also recovered a point in their game against Forfar a few weeks back thanks to an 87th minute equaliser from Kieran McGachie.
East Fife are currently enjoying their finest form of the season so far, having hit a real purple patch. The Methil outfit have recorded 13 points in their last 6 games. They are currently averaging 2.2 points per game. This is an incredible increase on the form for the rest of the season where they have averaged just 1.1 point per match. The disappointing game against Stranraer 3 weeks ago is the only blemish on what has been a stellar run since the beginning of last month.
The cinch League Two Table:
Position |
Team |
Played |
Points |
GD |
1. |
Dumbarton |
26 |
53 |
16 |
2. |
Stirling Albion |
25 |
51 |
22 |
3. |
Annan Athletic |
28 |
40 |
7 |
4. |
East Fife |
28 |
39 |
-4 |
5. |
Stenhousemuir |
28 |
38 |
-1 |
6. |
Forfar Athletic |
26 |
34 |
-4 |
7. |
Elgin City |
27 |
33 |
-7 |
8. |
Stranraer |
27 |
32 |
-10 |
9. |
Albion Rovers |
27 |
27 |
-4 |
10. |
Bonnyrigg Rose |
28 |
27 |
-15 |
Last Week
The Hosts
Bonnyrigg fell to Stirling Albion last week, as the Binos had a strong second half to take all three points at Forthbank. The scoring was opened by Calum Connolly giving Bonnyrigg an unexpected lead into half time. Their performance was all for naught unfortunately, as a wonder strike from youngster Flynn Duffy and an injury time winner from Jack Leitch completed Stirling’s turn around, moving them into just two points behind Dumbarton, with a game in hand.
The Fife
East Fife continued their stellar form, in a comeback victory over Gary Naysmith’s Stenhousemuir side. Goals from Alex Ferguson and Scott Shepherd completed the second half turnaround. The Fifers have now recorded 13 points in their last 6 matches.
Greig McDonald’s men were slow out the blocks and it was the Warriors who imposed themselves on the game in the early stages.
Nat Wedderburn and Michael Miller controlled the midfield battle and never let any of the Fife midfielders have time on the ball. Stenny looked at their most dangerous from set pieces and came close after 15 minutes when Sean Crighton’s driven shot blew over following a short corner.
The deadlock was broken after 32 minutes, with the hosts putting themselves in front. Miscommunication between Allan Fleming and Jonathan Page led to Stenhousemuir getting a needless corner kick. The Warriors capitalised on the opportunity, with Ross Forbes linking up with Matty Yates, who coolly slotted the ball through Allan Fleming’s legs. 1-0 Stenhousemuir.
The half finished in scrappy action, with Stenhousemuir still on the ascendency, though the Warriors couldn’t capitalise and only went in at the break with the one goal advantage.
Half Time: Stenhousemuir 1-0 East Fife.
The Fifers came out for the second period with fire in their bellies and a spring in their step.
They were rampant, and pushing for the goal, with Schiavone and Healy on the wings starting to cause bother.
They created two half chances but nothing of note, until the 52nd minute, when Jack Healy beat Jacob Blaney on the wing, before cutting inside and firing a low cross into the box, which Alex Ferguson was able to convert. 1-1.
The Fife never stopped and spent the rest of the half trying to put Stenhousemuir to the sword. They even had the ball in the net after 70 minutes after a stramash in the air following a corner, but the referee pulled play back for a foul on Warriors’ keeper Jay Cantley.
The winner came a further 10 minutes later, when Ryan Schiavone turned Callum Yeats on the wing, and lofted a cross in which met the head of Brogan Walls, who nodded the ball back across the face of goal. Of all people, it was Scott Shepherd who converted to hand East Fife all three points.
Squad News
There are no fresh injury worries ahead of tomorrow's game. Unfortunately it looks like the will come too soon for Aidan Quinn to make a return to the squad but Kieran Millar may be available after recovering from the back injury that's kept him out of the last 2 matches.
Previous Encounter
East Fife played out their first goalless draw of the season when they hosted Bonnyrigg Rose on match day 17 of the cinch SPFL League Two calendar. The game had broken the trend of high scoring clashes between the two sides, where we saw 8 goals in their last two meetings.
The Rosey Posey started the game on the offensive, and the first five minutes were largely played in and around the Fife 18-yard box. When the Fifers got the ball, they moved fast and with purpose, firing the ball to Scott Shepherd, who drew a foul intelligently.
The best chance of the first 45 came courtesy of Shepherd, who, as he does every week, worked his socks off, chasing down a long ball. He latched onto it and looked to have it over stranded Bonnyrigg ‘keeper Michael Andrews, but the stopper got a fingertip to it, and saw it out for a corner. The set-play that followed was very reminiscent of the Dutch free-kick in the World Cup quarterfinals, lovely one touch passes, before a drilled effort low and hard, which was only kept out by an extraordinary Andrews save.
The first half teetered out, with Jonathan Stewart being booked for a cynical foul acting as the only other action of note.
Similar to the first 45, Bonnyrigg started fast, and had their best chance of the game shortly after the restart. Kieran Mitchell powered down the left side, and broke into the box, firing a curled effort goalwards. Fleming showed his experience, and produced an excellent diving save from close range.
There were only a couple of half chances to show for very defensive game of football, and the only other shot on target came for Fife’s front-man Shepherd, who once again chased down a loose ball, and struck it well, from a tricky angle, Andrews once again denied him though.
With twenty minutes still to play in the game, the Rosey Posey captain was sent to the stands after a second bookable offence, hauling Trouten to the ground when on a counter.
The sending off marked the end of the game for both sides, as Bonnyrigg subbed on another two defenders, shoring up the backline, playing for the draw. The visitors got what they were after though, and the two sides split the points.
Match Tickets
Admission will be pay at the gate on Saturday, with cash and card accepted at the away entrance (Gate D). Prices below:
Adults: £12
Concession: £7
Children under 12 with a paying adult: Free!
Note- The card readers at New Dundas Park do not accept prepaid cards such as GoHenry. Please advise your child to take out cash if they use these cards so that they do not attempt to use these in the ground.
Away supporters are asked to enter through Gate D. Those requiring disabled access can enter through the double gates (Gate C).
Away Supporters will be housed in areas 5 & 6. These are on the right-hand side of the dugouts, filtering round to behind the goals on the terracing.
Parking
There will be strictly NO parking at New Dundas Park on the day of the game. There will be stewards on site to ensure that parking is reserved for players and officials, except for those who have booked a disabled parking space in advance. There is a large car park at Lasswade High School which is a 5–10-minute walk from NDP, which you can use on matchday.
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.
Team Colours
East Fife will be in their home kit this weekend, tartan top accompanied by black socks and shorts. The goalkeeper will don Turquoise for the tie.
Bonnyrigg Rose will wear their classic Red and White hooped shirt, with red shorts and white socks. The Rosey Posey’s ‘keeper will be clad in neon green for the affair.
Officials
Daniel Graves will be the on-field official for the clash this weekend. His two assistants running the lines will be Alastair Mather and Thomas Denholm.
East Fife made the trip to Ochilview to take on Stenhousemuir for a fifth and final time this season (unless the sides meet in playoffs). Despite playing Stenhousemuir four times already this season, East Fife had yet to win a single one, losing 2-1 twice (once in the cup and once in the league) and drawing 2-2 and 1-1 in the other two meetings. Last weekend, Alan Trouten’s leaping header snatched the three points for the Methil men, as East Fife won 3-2 against Forfar Athletic.
No changes were made to the starting squad that overcame Forfar last weekend, however Pat Slattery did returned from injury to take a place on the bench.
The first chance went the way of the visitors when a floating corner from Alex Ferguson was cleared by Jamieson but only as far as Brogan Walls who’s controls the ball and, from distance, forces Lyle into a good save.
On the half hour mark, Stenhousemuir had a good chance to take the lead after a strong spell with the ball. Reilly drove down the right-hand side, before cutting the ball across to Wedderburn who tried his luck from 25-yards, but his attempt sailed over the bar and into the stand behind the goal.
After a period of good possession for the Warriors, the home side took a deserved lead when poor communication from the back line resulted in Page giving away a cheap corner. The short corner from Forbes finds Matty Yates in the middle of the box who fires home through the legs of Allan Fleming.
Straight after the Warriors took the lead, Shepherd was gifted a chance to quickly level. A combination of Schiavone’s putting pressure on Yeats and a poor headed back pass from Crichton puts Shepherd in through in goal inside the penalty area however he couldn’t get the ball under control and Lyle picks up the pieces
HALF TIME: Stenhousemuir 1-0 East Fife
East Fife came out at the second half all guns blazing in search for an equaliser. Trouten, in the centre of the park, fed the ball out to Healy on the left side who skips past Blanley into the penalty area before going down under the defender’s challenge, but no penalty kick was awarded.
A few minutes after the penalty shout East Fife grabbed a deserved equaliser. Good passing play in the middle of the Stenhousemuir half from Schiavone, Walls and Trouten ends with the ball at Healy’s feet. Healy dances down to the by-line and cut the ball back across face of goal where Ferguson tapped the ball into the empty net, pulling the Fifers level.
In the 65th minute, East Fife had an opportunity to take the lead after some sustained pressure. Schiavone played through to Shepherd, but his first-time shot is well saved by substitute Cantley in the Warrior’s goal.
With only 9 minutes remaining, East Fife secured a deserved win with an incredibly well worked team goal. A one-two between Denholm and Ferguson saw the ball played out to Schiavone on the wing who’s cross was headed back across goal by Walls into the path of Shepherd to tap home sparking celebrations in the away end.
FULL TIME: Stenhousemuir 1-2 East Fife
An incredible three points for the Fifers, saw them jump up to 4th in the table and only a point behind 3rd placed Annan Athletic. Next up is a trip to bottom of the league Bonnyrigg Rose, however this will be no easy task as the Rose have picked up 7 points out of their last 6 games.
Stenhousemuir Team: Lyle (Cantley 45’), Blaney (Anderson 87’), Crighton, Jamieson, Yeats (Lowdon 87’), Yates, Miller, Wedderburn, Brown )O’Reilly 68’), Reilly, Forbes (Orr 76’)
East Fife: Fleming, Steele, Page, Denham, Newton, Walls (McManus 85’), Ferguson, Trouten, Healy (Denholm 73’), Schiavone (Omar 90+3’), Shepherd (Young 85’)
Referee: Scott Lambie
Attendance: 474
Report by Andrew Laing
Admission prices for our cinch League Two match against Bonnyrigg Rose on Saturday 18th March at New Dundas Park have been confirmed as follows:
Admission prices
Adults - £14
Concessions - £9
Under 16s - £5
Admission is via pay-at-the-gate. Cash and card payments are available at the away entrance (Gate D).
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.
The 1903 Travel Club’s bus to Bonnyrigg Rose is currently full. A second bus has been added however there are only 6 seats remaining. The bus will depart Leven at 12:00PM with pick-ups at Methilhill Bowling Club (12:05PM) and the Lomond Centre (12:15PM). The cost of the bus is £12/person. Anyone interested in travelling on the bus should contact Ian Lowson (phone number available on request).
Oli Anderson previews tomorrow’s match against Stenhousemuir.
This weekend, East Fife make their third trip to Ochilview Park this season to play Stenhousemuir. The Fifer’s are coming off the back of an incredible 3-2 victory when they hosted Forfar Athletic last week. The Black and Gold nabbed all three points at the death through a magnificent looping header from East Fife’s number 10, Alan Trouten. Gary Naysmith’s Warriors are also coming into this game after a win at the death, with Ross Forbes scoring in the 91st minute to topple Annan Athletic at Galabank, in a game which also finished 3-2.
Form
Stenhousemuir have recorded 11 points from their last 6 games, their only loss coming against current league leaders Dumbarton. They have recorded wins against Annan Athletic, Bonnyrigg Rose and Albion Rovers in recent weeks. The Warriors also drew with the Sons at the beginning of February, and with Ray Mackinnon’s Forfar side in their last 6.
The Fife have recorded 10 in their last 6, beating Albion Rovers, Dumbarton and Forfar Athletic in recent weeks. We also split the points with title chasing Stirling Albion. The Fifers have tasted defeat recently too, unfortunately, losing out to Annan Athletic, as well as Stranraer.
The cinch League Two Table:
Position |
Team |
Played |
Points |
GD |
1. |
Dumbarton |
26 |
53 |
16 |
2. |
Stirling Albion |
24 |
48 |
21 |
3. |
Stenhousemuir |
27 |
38 |
0 |
4. |
Annan Athletic |
27 |
37 |
4 |
5. |
East Fife |
27 |
36 |
-5 |
6. |
Forfar Athletic |
26 |
34 |
-4 |
7. |
Elgin City |
26 |
33 |
-4 |
8. |
Stranraer |
27 |
32 |
-10 |
9. |
Albion Rovers |
27 |
27 |
-4 |
10. |
Bonnyrigg Rose |
27 |
27 |
-14 |
Last Week
The Hosts
Stenhousemuir overcame Annan Athletic last weekend in a back-and-forth encounter. Annan broke the deadlock after 4 minutes through Tommy Goss, though Stenny levelled just 2 minutes later thanks to a Nat Wedderburn strike.
Annan started the second half quick too, with Dom Docherty putting the Galabankies back in front after 50 minutes. It was Stenhousemuir who would have the chance to celebrate however, as the Warriors struck after 70 minutes through Matty Yates, and then right on the full-time whistle with a great goal from Ross Forbes.
The Fife
The Fifers bounced back from their blip at Stranraer last week to overcome Ray McKinnon’s strong Forfar Athletic side, scoring the winner at the death, at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium.
It looked to be a repeat of the dismal display at Stranraer to start with, as the Fifers could not get off the blocks, going 1-0 down after 10 minutes courtesy of a Finn Robson tap-in.
This did not dishearten the Black and Gold though, and rather than going under, they bounced back with venom, with Brogan Walls rattling the post after 20 minutes of play.
Going a goal down lit a fire under East Fife, who started to dominate, and eventually got their equaliser through Brogan Walls, who fired his shot into the roof of the net from close range. The Fifers kept pushing and should have taken the lead after 31 minutes, when there was a stramash in the box, but nobody could pull the trigger and beat the stranded ‘keeper. Trouten, Shepherd and Schiavone all had a chance but none could tuck it away.
Half Time: East Fife 1-1 Forfar Athletic.
East Fife were rampant at the start of the second half, they never gave any space at all as they pushed for the goal to put them ahead. After lots of hard work, and good football, it eventually came in the 69th minute, through an own goal, as Craig Slater’s header changed the course of the ball, and it bobbled past Marc McCallum for 2-1 Fife.
The lead never lasted long though, as the Loons bounced back just 7 minutes through Stefan McCluskey, who rolled his shot into the bottom corner after some great build up play.
East Fife fought to the whistle though, and earned their reward in the 89th minute, as captain Alan Trouten scored the winner. It was a lovely ball whipped in from Alex Ferguson, and Trouten had to leap like his namesake to fire it home. Trouten was instrumental in East Fife’s positive play during the entire match, and his goal capped off an excellent team display.
Full-Time: East Fife 3-2 Forfar Athletic
Squad News
Outs: Kieran Miller remains out with his back injury, as does Aidan Quinn who is out with a knee knock.
Ins: In-form Pat Slattery returns to the squad this week after his two weeks away through injury.
Previous Encounter
The two sides last met on a Stormy Saturday Bayview in January and played out a 1-1 draw in the league.
The adverse weather conditions more than played a part in the proceedings, as the wind made football practically unplayable at times over the course of the ninety minutes.
The first chance came early for the Fifers when Scott Mercer couldn’t get the ball over the line after a stramash from a corner kick. Set plays were all unreliable during the proceedings as any lofted ball was blown all over the park.
The Black and Gold struck first, when Alan Trouten beat the Stenny offside trap, and with help from the wind, slotted past a stranded Lyle to fire Fife in front.
While Stenny pushed hard for the next five minutes, they couldn’t beat Allan Fleming, who pulled off some crucial saves in the game.
Youngster Taylor Steven found himself beating the defenders to a loose ball after 35 minutes of action, but Jamieson was there to put in an exceptional tackle, in what was a Man of the Match performance.
The half ended with a booking for East Fife, as Trouten was carded for a tackle on Warriors’ Captain Miller.
Despite being the better of the two sides in the first 45, Fife were only one goal up, which proved costly, as Stenhousemuir had grit, and the wind, on their side.
HALF TIME 1-0.
It was clear in the second half that the long ball tactic attempted by Stenhousemuir in the first halfwas going to be much more successful, and it proved to be the case as in the first 5 minutes of the second period, Fleming was forced into a pair of saves after a long ball floated over the back line.
New signing Aidan Quinn was a formidable addition to the backline and made a massive challenge after 55 minutes of play to deny a 1-on-1 situation.
The equaliser came from nothing, after 61 minutes of action. Rangers Academy graduate Matt Yates whipped a ball in from long range, and goalie Fleming misread the bounce, as the ball trundled into the back of the net.
He more than made up for it later in the half though, making an impressive save to keep Orr out, which was just as crucial as a goal at the other end would’ve been.
The last touch of the game brought Fife their best chance of the 90. The corner was whipped in, then headed high into the air. Trouten of all people jumped to get onto it, but his header was plopped over.
Match Tickets
Tickets can be paid for in cash at the gate or online by card pre-match.
Prices below:
Adults- £14
Concession- £9
Child- £5
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.
Team Colours
East Fife will be in their green and white kit this weekend, accompanied by white socks and shorts. The goalkeeper will don Turquoise for the tie.
Stenhousemuir will wear their classic maroon shirt, with white shorts and maroon socks. The Warriors’ ‘keeper will be clad in yellow for the affair.
Officials
Scott Lambie will be the on field official for the clash this weekend. His two assistants running the lines will be David Dunne and Mark Harris.