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The Bayview | League Cup Winners 1947 Part 1

This year marks the 70^th anniversary of East Fife’s first League cup triumph in the 1947-48 final. The competition had come into existence in 1946-47 as successor to the wartime Southern League Cup played throughout the hostilities only by teams in the Southern League.

When the war finished the two leagues were resurrected but as Divisions A and B. given the popularity of the Southern League Cup it was decided to retain it but open it up to all clubs in the two divisions of the league. Season 1946-47 began with league games on 14^th August and the first matches in the League Cup on 21^st September. East Fifer entered the record books in that first season as the first team to go through their section without conceding a goal in any of their six games.

Double-legged quarter-finals followed with East Fife meeting Hearts at Tynecastle where they won 1+0 on 1^st March only to lose 5-2 at Bayview four days later. The semi-finals were played on 22nmd March with the final, in which Rangers defeated Aberdeen 4-0, on 5^th April.

Season 1947-48 opened with matches in the league cup sections on 9^th August. Midweek league games were played with the cup clashes on the Saturdsys, Knockout matches were held on the Saturdays with the final on the last Saturday of the month.

East Fife were drawn in Section D of the Division B clubs along with Ayr united, Kilmarnock and Stirling Albion. On 9^th August, the Fifers opened the new season entertaining Stirling Albion at Bayview and beating them 3-2 with two goals from Henry Morris and one from Davie Duncan. The team was; Niven, Laird, Stewart, Philp, Finlay, Gilmour, D Davidson, Morris, Bain, Duncan. Twelfth-man W Fleming.

During the next midweek East Fife went through to Edinburgh to play Leith Athletic in a league match. A goal from Davie Duncan was enough to produce a 1-0 win. The second League Cup tie was against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on 16^th August. Manager Scot Symon made only one change from the team that played the week before introducing jimmy Canavan at the left-half for George Gilmour who was the twelfth-man. It ended 0-0.

The third match of the campaign was against Ayr United at Somerset Park on 23^rd August. That venue, which has never been regarded as one of East Fife’s favourites, saw the visitors secure a 5-2 victory. Again, the manager made only one change from the previous week with William Fleming replacing Ian Bain ay inside left. The incomer started the Fifers on the road to success with their opening which equaliser the home side’s first. Both Henry Morris and David Duncan score in the first-half to give a 3-1 interval lead. Both scored again in the second-half to ensure the comprehensive win. Again, George Gilmour was the twelfth-man.

In midweek the league visitors to Bayview were St Johnstone whom the host beat 2-0 with goals from Dougie Davidson and William Fleming. The return league cup fixtures began on 30^th August with Fife travelling to meet Stirling Albion at Annfield. There were no changes from the team that had beaten Ayr United but Ronnie Mitchell was twelfth-man this time. The Fifers recorded another 5-2 victory with two goals each from Henry Morris and Tommy Adams and one from Davie Duncan.

Kilmarnock visited Bayview on 6^th September and put a pole in the Fifers wheel with a decisive 3-1 win, Henry Morris netting the consolation goal. For that game the manager brought in Danny McLennan at left-half and moved Jimmy Canavan to inside left to the exclusion William Fleming who was twelfth-man.

The final match of the section at Bayview on 13^th September against Ayr United was crucial for both teams as each had seven points and so the winner would win the section. Given that the manager’s changes to his side had been at left half and inside left, it was no surprise that he had gone into the transfer market to sign Jack Davidson from Dundee United. He was to join brother Dougie at inside left in the forward line. To accommodate him, Jimmy Canavan was restored to left half with Danny McLennan twelfth-man.

The Fifers were in devastating form winning 5-0 with Henry Morris notching a hattrick and both Tommy Adams and Dougie Davidson also finding the net. East Fife were section winners.

Part 2 will feature in this weekend's (25th November) edition of The Bayview (Issue No. 9) for Saturday's game v Airdrieonians

Fifers Progress In Scottish Cup With Win Against Clyde

William Hill Scottish Cup 3^rd Round

Saturday 18^th November 2017

Broadwood Stadium

Clyde 0

East Fife 2 (Smith 32’, Page 67’)

Clyde XI: Currie, Home, Breslin (Wright 68’), McNiff, Stewart, Duffie, Nicoll (Ramsay 75’), Cuddihy, Lowdon, Gormley (Osadolor 67’), Goodwillie

Subs: Wilson, Brown, Lamont, Craig

Booked: Breslin, Nicoll

Dismissed:  McNiff

East Fife XI: Goodfellow, Dunsmore, Kane, Page, Wilson, Wilkie (Reilly 82’), Docherty, Lamont (Watson 75’), Millar, Smith (Mutch 75’), Duggan

Subs: Willis, Cordery

Booked: Page, Dunsmore

Referee: David Munro

Attendance: 527

East Fife progressed to the 4^th round of the William Hill Scottish Cup curtesy of a 2-0 win against Clyde at Broadwood, although the game was a lot closer than the score line suggested. Manager Darren Young made four changes to the side that lost to Forfar Athletic last time out with Ben Reilly making way for fit-again Captain Kevin Smith and Ryan Goodfellow, Chris Kane and Kyle Wilkie replacing Mark Hurst, Jordan Piggott and Nathan Flanagan who were denied permission to play by their parent clubs.

East Fife were unlucky not to be ahead inside 3 minutes when Mark Lamont whipped in a free kick from the touchline which was met by Smith with a diving header at the near post but Clyde ‘keeper Blair Currie got down well to his left to stop the ball on the line. The home side’s first chance of the game fell to former Fifer Kieran Duffie on 13 minutes when a quickly taken free kick made its way to him on the right-hand side of the box and forced Goodfellow into a smart save low to his left. Clyde should have taken the lead 5 minutes later when David Goodwillie picked up the ball on the half-way line and raced in on goal only to drag his shot wide of the right-hand post with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Chris Duggan fired in a cross from the left on 29 minutes that was cleared by the Clyde defence but only as far as Mark Docherty but he couldn’t find the target with a volley from 20-yards. Goodwillie forced Goodfellow into a save from a tight angle just before the half-hour mark before East Fife took the lead. Chris Kane’s cross from the right was headed down by Duggan into the path of Smith who volleyed past Currie for his first goal of the season on 32 minutes. Clyde had a half-claim for a penalty on 33 minutes when David Gormley went down inside the area but referee David Munro was uninterested.

Clyde came out fighting after the break; a long-throw making its way to Barry Cuddihy on the edge of the box but his shot was straight at Goodfellow. Smith should have doubled the visitor’s lead on 53 minutes; Docherty got in behind the Clyde defence, his initial shot was blocked before laying the rebound off for Smith but he was unable to find the target from 10-yards.

Clyde’s best chance of an equaliser came on 59 minutes. Duffie fired in a cross from the right that Goodfellow did enough to push the ball away from Goodwillie but only as far as Gormley who could only lift the ball over the bar from 8-yards. Aaron Dunsmore then pulled off a superb last ditch blocked to deny Gormley on 64 minutes before East Fife put the game to bed on 67 minutes. Smith was fouled by Jamie Breslin on edge of the box, 5-yards from the by-line. Docherty whipped in the free kick from the right-hand side of the goal and Jonathan Page rose highest to head the ball past Currie.

As the game drew to a close, the home side had a couple of opportunities to pull a goal back. First, Goodwillie fired high and wide from 12-yards before Goodfellow was on-hand to punch away a long-range effort from Cuddihy. In between that, Martin McNiff was dismissed for the home side for a miss-timed challenge on Ben Reilly. The decision looked harsh at the time and replays showed that although McNiff didn’t play the ball, the challenge was neither malicious or dangerous.

East Fife have played better and lost this season but a win’s a win and, more importantly, we’re into the 4^th round where we have been drawn a home tie against Highland League side Brora Rangers.

Clyde Matchday Information

Kindly provided by Clyde FC.

Clyde v East Fife

Kick-off: 3pm

Match Sponsor: WILLIAM HILL

Admission: Season tickets are not valid. Entry prices are; adults £13, concessions £8, Under-12s from both clubs go FREE (when accompanied by an adult). Free un-der-12 tickets should be collected from the Clyde Matchday Office, situated in the Pod to the south end of the Main Stand, before entering via the turnstiles.

Visiting Supporters: Fans of East Fife should enter by;

Turnstile A for Adults

Turnstile B for concessions

Both turnstiles are located at the south end of the Main Stand

Refreshment facilities for East Fife fans fans will be situated in Kiosk 2 on entry to the stadium through turnstiles A and B

Car Parking: Access to the Main Stand car park will be restricted to those with ac-creditation; players, staff and officials, visiting directors, Executive Club members, hospitality guests and those with disability parking badges.

Home Fans

As usual, home fans will be directed to the parking spaces behind the south stand

Visiting Fans

Car parking provision for East Fife fans will be provided at the nearby St Maurice’s school.

Car parking in and around the Broadwood campus is free of charge, including St Maurice’s School

The Clyde View: No programme will be published for this match

Teamsheets: Available from the Clyde Matchday Office approximately 30 minutes before kick-off and charged at 20p per copy.

Bar 58: Open for both sets of fans, both pre-match from 1pm to 2.45pm and post match 5pm to 5.45pm. Entrance is via the turnstiles from 2pm onwards, and via the main reception door of the Main Stand until 2pm.

For Post match entry to Bar 58, fans should leave the ground and enter via the main reception door. Please note, Bar 58 is not available at half-time.

Smoking Areas: Open at half-time only, in the designated area at the North end of the Main Stand for Clyde fans, and at the South End of the Main Stand for East Fife fans.

Fifers Up for Cup Challenge

For the third Saturday in succession East Fife are on their travels, this time in the Scottish Cup, where they take on Clyde at Broadwood Stadium.
The home side have had a challenging start to the campaign but will be rejuvenated following the appointment of Danny Lennon earlier in the week. The former Cowdenbeath and St Mirren boss has a wealth of experience both as a player and manager and will be keen to get his time in Cumbernauld off to a good start.
Bayview manager Darren Young was left frustrated last Saturday, as his side failed to capitalise on controlling large periods of the game and returned pointless from this to Forfar Athletic. Tomorrow’s game does however provide the Fifers with an opportunity to enjoy a run in the cup, with the possibility of earning a money-spinning draw should they progress.
Broadwood was the scene of a title party on the Methil men’s last visit in April 2016 following a 0-0 draw, but you have to go back a further seven years to find the last time that a win was recorded there. Paul McManus with a double and Bobby Linn were the men on target in a 3-1 success on that occasion.
The sides have been paired three times before in the Scottish Cup with Clyde progressing in 1935 following a 2-1 victory at Bayview Park. In 1967 the Bully Wee once again came out on top, winning 4-1 at Shawfield, while ten years later it was the Fifers turn to triumph courtesy of a 2-1 win in Methil.
There was some better news on the injury front last week with the return of Chris Kane to the squad after several weeks’ absence, while midfielder Kyle Wilkie will be available for selection tomorrow after serving a two game suspension.